The internet found its newest sensation to dote on as a broadcast moment from a tense college football game recently went viral.
At one point during Ole Miss Rebels’ nail-biting season opener against Louisville Cardinals on Sunday, September 6, in Nashville, the camera settled on a woman in the stands with a worried expression on her face.
Highlights
- Sara Smith from Knoxville recently went viral after attending a college football game between her alma mater, Ole Miss, and Louisville.
- Her response to her newfound fame, or its lack thereof, heavily impressed her recent fans.
- Sara later shared some of the “insane” DMs she received in the 24 hours since becoming internet-famous.
The camera moved on and so did the game, but the 5-second clip of the woman amassed millions of views.
Social media sleuths soon dug up her identity—Sara Smith, an Ole Miss alum—and other personal details, which impressed viewers even more.
“I would leave my family in the dust for her,” one user commented.
Sara Smith, an Ole Miss alum, went viral after attending a college football game
During the third quarter of the game, as the Cardinals celebrated tying the game with quarterback Lincoln Kienholz’s 62-yard touchdown pass to Tre Richardson, the TV cameras turned toward the stands to show the disappointment of the Rebels fans.
That is when the woman came on screen, blonde-haired and wearing a powder-blue dress, looking dejected for the Rebels.
Witnessing the touchdown, she stood in the “surrender cobra” pose, a universal sports-fan gesture of defeat where they clasp their hands behind or on top of their head in dismay.
The brief moment was enough for social media to erupt.
“Now that’s a woman you start a war over,” one said. Another wrote, “She knew what she was doing with those Margot Robbie armpits.”
“Cameraman deserves an Emmy, a pension, and federal clearance for this zoom-in,” said a third. A fourth wrote, “She is drop d**d gorgeous! That will make an old man wish he was young again!”
However, many criticized the internet’s “obsession” with Sara and called those who revealed her personal details online “creepy.”
“Whoever runs this page should be in jail for how fast they found this chick,” one said. Another commented, “Why are we putting her name out there for everyone to see?”
Netizens were impressed with Sara keeping a low-key profile despite newfound fame
It didn't take long for netizens to discover the woman was Sara Smith from Knoxville, Tennessee.
According to her Instagram, she is an Ole Miss (University of Mississippi) alum and is currently studying to become a Physician Assistant.
On her public TikTok account, which has about 3,000 followers, Sara showed off an engagement ring in an August 5 post.
On August 25, she posted another photo of it on her finger, writing, “Will never get over the thought that he spent all this hard-earned money just to get something that symbolizes that he wants to spend forever with me.”
However, her Instagram profile, which has about 3,000 followers, is private—a detail that seemed to impress her recent fanbase greatly.
They praised her refusal to turn her newfound fame into an opportunity to gain followers on social media and launch a career in content creation, which many others in her place have done before, such as the “Hawk Tuah” girl, Haliey Welch.
“She became an overnight internet sensation, and she decided to go private on social media to stay committed to her husband/fiance… Most impressive girl we've witnessed in ages,” one commented.
“This stunning woman probably works 9 to 5 while Zendaya makes $30 million per movie, and she can’t even act,” another added.
Sara Smith shared the “insane” DMs she has received since going viral
A day after going viral, Sara Smith took to TikTok and addressed her popularity by sharing a video of some DMs she'd received in the past 24 hours.
“Yes, that was me,” she captioned the post, confirming her identity.
Most of the DMs she shared were from men who offered to provide for her, financially or otherwise.
The first DM she shared was from a man sharing his credentials: “God-fearing, 6’1”, 260 pounds, business owner, 500,000 take-home annually.”
Another asked, “Going to Whole Foods. Want me to pick up something?” A third wrote, “Bankrupt me.”
Another offered to take her on a Miami trip, while one more asked if he could get her something from Paris. She jokingly replied, “I like Louis Vuitton.”
One person compared her to “nacreous clouds,” also called mother-of-pearl clouds, which are rare, highly iridescent polar stratospheric clouds that form in the lower stratosphere at extreme altitudes. Sara called the DM the most “unique.”
Another suggested that she should model for brands like Louis Vuitton and Gucci, and Sara played along, urging the labels to get in touch with her.
"Cameraman deserves an Emmy," one netizen commented
