"At night I think of youuuuuu, I want to be your lady, maybe..."
You've heard of it. You've seen the videos. Your dreams are haunted by the damn song (it's a throwback, by the way). But what is it? Well, I didn't know either, so I'm here to perform my good deed of the year and make a public service announcement that the running man challenge is the latest crazy trend to spread across the Internet (and the sea) as its popularity continues to grow, weeks after the original post. And you need to know about it -- because God forbid your mom finds out before you (like she did with dabbing -- cool, mom).
Originally thought of by two high school boys in New Jersey joking around in finance class (it all makes sense now -- finance class), this dance has since taken off to be featured in videos by college and professional athletes galore, as well as on shows like "Ellen." Its big break came after the self-proclaimed goofballs of the University of Maryland's basketball team, Jared Nickens and Jayley Brantley, found the videos that the high schoolers were posting and thought it would be funny to make videos of the dance themselves. From the locker room to the local convenience store, these two catapulted the dance to infamy and made themselves household names along the way. For a great compilation of Jared and Jayley's dances, as well as many others, check out this video. Alternatively, just Google the words "Running Man Challenge" and prepare to clear your schedule because your date with YouTube is about to become an all-day affair.
Jared and Jayley in action.
The song playing in the background, interestingly enough, has been around for twenty years, and epitomizes the term, "comeback kid." "My Boo" by Ghostown DJs is giving modern songs a run for their money as it's practically shooting up the charts today, all thanks to a bunch of kids who weren't even alive when the song first debuted.
The dance itself is pretty simple -- or so you'd think until you try it yourself (it's fine, I had nothing better to do with my night anyway). You're essentially alternating between your feet with one behind at an angle and one in front but, honestly, I'm not doing it justice -- you have to see it to understand. And with the countless responses to the challenge that are popping up every day (first it was athletes, now it's shifting to police officers in multiple countries, and there's even been a dog rendition), you'll learn what I mean soon enough.
If you would like to laugh, please teach your parents the dance, step back, hit record, and let the magic happen. (As I did here).
And consider this my official challenge for you. Run on, friends.
