The Popeyes Meme Kid is Now a NJ High School Football Champion

You may remember this meme spreading like wildfire back in 2013. To this day, the photo of Dieunerst Collin lives rent-free in the heads of thousands of people.

The subject of perhaps one of the greatest reaction memes in Internet history is a Jersey guy, and attends East Orange High School. But that's not where Dieunerst's story ends.

He just won a state championship playing on the offensive line for the East Orange High School football team. The big game was Dec. 5 between East Orange and Clifton. East Orange took home the title in a triple-overtime finish by a score of 30-24.

After winning, he took the opportunity to recreate the famous meme, and in the process, show the world just how far he has come.

While a lot of time has passed since going viral, Dieunerst Collin had a lot to mentally process before being able to poke fun at himself and his role in Internet lore.

He tells Sports Illustrated,

"When it first happened, I kind of felt sad about it. It was somebody randomly recording me, and I’ve never been viral before. When it first came out, I would take it as bullying, every time I used to hear ‘Oh, Terio, Terio,’ and that’s not my name … a couple weeks later, I figured out it was me based on the video. I got kind of emotional, cried a little bit. Over the years, I got over it.”

Collin's words serve as a reminder that for as much humor and relatability we may get out of viral memes, the people in the photos or videos that circulate could have a negative experience in the process of gaining brief fame.

The next step now for Dieunerst: Try to get recruited to play college football. You can follow along his journey by following him on Twitter here.