As we’ve seen, public sentiment is turning harshly against Immigration and Customs Enforcement, even in polling conducted before the assassination of VA ICU nurse Alex Pretti in Minneapolis on Saturday.
That doesn’t happen in a vacuum—or over an issue confined to explicitly political spaces. Rather, it stems from an issue so offensive to the American people that it has burst into non-political spaces.
Let me tell you about one of them.
A makeshift memorial is placed where Alex Pretti was killed by a U.S. Border Patrol agent on Jan. 24.
I am an avid Redditor, and one of my favorite subreddits is NFCNorthMemeWar. The NFC North is the NFL division that includes the Chicago Bears (GO BEARS!), Minnesota Vikings, Detroit Lions, and Green Bay Packers—some of the most storied and historic names in football history.
This is a delightful sub, with fans of each of those teams poking good-natured fun at each other via memes and jokes. It differs from the team-specific subs in that these Redditors actually have fun with their teams, unlike the incessant griping and whining you see in other parts of the fan internet—whether Reddit, X, Instagram, or elsewhere.
To me, sports should be fun, and friendly shit-talking among fierce sports rivals is a nice diversion from daily life.
But not anymore.
The NFCNorthMemeWar subreddit has become a fierce “abolish ICE” outpost, with fans of the other three teams setting aside their rivalries to support Minnesotans as ICE agents violently tear apart their communities.
Here are some of the memes that went viral on the sub this past week—as part of a broader trend across Reddit—including some NSFW ones.
The sub has been laughing at the Packers’ hiring of Jonathan Gannon as the team’s new defensive coordinator after going 3-14 as the Arizona Cardinals’ head coach. That meme notes how everyone had to pause the mockery for more important things.
“Skol” is derived from the Scandinavian word “skål,” meaning “cheers” or “good health.” Over the weekend, the entire sub became Vikings fans.
Some brave, lonely bootlickers have tried to push back at times, and it doesn’t go well for them.
Tampa Bay used to be part of the NFC North, so they often get affectionate cameos. That logo on Homer is a mashup of the various team’s names, colors, and logos—all united against ICE.
This “Lord of the Rings” meme was obviously a favorite!
It’s really nice seeing bro culture wielded for good.
The villain masked up is just … chef’s kiss.
Look at this user’s flair: “The Packers still suck! BUT ICE SUCKS EVEN MORE!”
I fully endorse that message.
