The Best Cultural Moments Of The Year

…According to The Gist. The proof is in the NFL and Hallmark collabs. The success of the Chiefs/Bills fictional romance films shows that audiences want more sports movies. Now, who will buy and develop my women’s basketball screenplay? (Not a joke.) 

Two brands with growing fan bases: LEGO and F1. Put ‘em together and what have you got? Bibbidi-Bobbidi-Boo!! I mean, a very successful partnership. And profit. Because F1 LEGOs are flying off the shelves. 

Your favorite new party game just dropped. And a former NFLer player created it. I had the pleasure of meeting Joshua Kalu at our OffBall25 event in Miami, and he was such a treat, I will basically do anything for him now. Not that it would take much convincing to get me to play a game called ‘Tequila Trouble.’ 

Venus Williams and actor Andrea Preti got married. Again. After their first ceremony in Italy in September, they ran it back with a five-day-wedding-extravaganza in Palm Beach. And you know what? Hell yeah. If you’re going to be rich, throw lots of weddings, in my opinion. Next time invite me though.

Today’s newsletter is about looking back at the best culture moments of ’25. So, here are the most viral moments in college football in the last 25 years. The highlights include Red Lightning, Johnny Manziel hitting hated rival frat parties, #Pac12AfterDark, and turnover chains. Though I am more partial to the turnover chainsaw. 

Today, I’d like to relive some of the biggest sports culture moments of 2025. It would be impossible to make an exhaustive list without leaving so many bangers out, so I will not be making an exhaustive list. If you do want to relive some of the best pure sports moments, check out this Ringer article or this Washington Post slideshow. 

If I have to pick just one — which, I guess I do, because I made the rules, and I made my coworkers submit their fave moments too — the biggest sports culture happening of the year was the U.S. Open. It felt like for a solid three weeks, everywhere you looked, everyone was talking about the U.S. Open. I was on the blue carpet for the event (my KAT interview here), and you could feel it as it was happening. This was the event of the year. And it wasn’t just one night, the way something like the Met Gala (no shade) was. It was non-stop. The WAGS, the vlogs, the think pieces, the outfits, the Honey Deuces. We were all talking about every part of it.  

Here are the moments that stuck out to my OffBall colleagues: 

Brady Crotwell, Editor

‘​F1’ was released in June and by the end of this year, it is the highest-grossing sports movie of all-time. It created new camera tech with Apple, featured Lewis Hamilton as producer, and turned filming into a test run for the sport’s next team.

Terence Scott, Editor 

Anthony Edwards’ ‘Believe That’ awards. The award show was a very creative idea from one of basketball's biggest stars. He continues to show he knows how to be a part of culture in the most authentic way. We keep wondering who's the next Face of the League, and he keeps delivering.

Rory McIlroy winning the Masters. It was something fans have all watched over the years for Rory to try to achieve, and when he did it felt like a movie, which lifts it from a mere sports moment to a culture moment. The raw emotion could be felt from the TV and Jim Nantz's call was perfect. 10/10 No Notes.

Editor’s note: Terence cheated because he chose two, but I’ll allow it.

Daniel-Yaw Miller, Creative Lead, Special Projects 

Lando Norris winning the F1 championship. Honestly, just because of how wholesome it was. The love he got from everyone — fans, fans of other sports, legendary athletes from other sports, from his competitors at other teams — it just was one of those moments where a sporting success crosses over into mainstream culture because of how beloved a particular athlete is. And I love to see it. 

Bella Santos, Senior Manager, Content 

Evan Turner picking Ashtyn Butuso as his No. 1 creator to follow at OffBall25 easily takes the cake for my top moment of the year. He was saying what we were all already thinking. Dude knows ball.

Editor’s note: Bella is crazy (positive)

Shanon Kelly, Head of Partnerships

Knicks Playoff Run! Bing Bong.

Editor’s note: That’s all she said, but I think we get the picture.

Mason Burgin, VP, Content Strategy

Kendrick’s Super Bowl. It might feel like ages ago, but mine is still Kendrick’s Super Bowl halftime show. To quote Bill Hader’s Stefon, “This place has everything” — Samuel L. Jackson in a top hat, Serena Williams Crip Walking, layered symbolism, SZA (Queen), the Superdome screaming “A MINOR,” Kendrick’s sassy little pair of jeans… all at the center of the most-watched sporting event on the planet. Absolute cinema.

Chris Stone, Editor-in-Chief

I was inclined to say the appropriation of 6-7 by everyone over the age of 9 (have you seen a Jumbotron recently?), but that likely would’ve prompted Ashtyn to resign in protest.* I’m going with the wire-to-wire zeitgeist dominance of Timothée Chalamet, a largely sports-adjacent figure who somehow never stopped feeling like the center of the sports conversation, often by merely showing up. But let’s not forget — and his press tour will not allow us to — the man put in the work. Also: this collab.

Editor’s note: I am still resigning in protest.