Flash mobs have now become a thing of the past at the University of Maryland. One of the things that surely will draw attendance from students to the games is basketball. Recently, one of the team’s players, Jared Nickens, began a contemporary dance craze that has spread across the nation. This new phenomenon is none other than the running man. After Nickens, along with his teammate Jaylene Brantley, posted videos of them doing the dance on Instagram, the dance became a nationwide trend that several others have attempted to replicate.
While Nickens and Brantley are the two players who make the star appearances in these videos, a few of their fellow teammates, such as Damonte Dodd and Melo Trimble, have also participated with them in their cameo appearances. One of the videos that these players have posted of the running man on Facebook has acquired over ten million views by people across the nation.
“I’ve been dancing since high school but nothing too serious,” Nickens said in an interview with Maryland Athletics. “We were just having fun. I’ve probably watched a thousand videos from across the country. I’m glad people are enjoying it so much.” Brantley believes that the trend really became a big thing once Villanova challenged the players to a dance-off.
Sophomore Micheal Sanchez describes the phenomenon as the “greatest thing since the whip.” Classmate Adam Harrison also expresses his warm feelings towards the dance movement saying, “I think it’s really catchy and fun. Seeing all the videos is always entertaining.”
This new dance craze has taken over all forms of social media. In fact, a new hashtag called #runningman has sprung across Twitter, Instagram and Facebook to describe posts that have been made in honor of the trend. A Facebook event for the University of Maryland was also created for the dance. It is named “RunningManChallenge @ UMD” and takes place on McKeldin Mall at UMD. It requests participants to do the running man together as spectators videotape and photograph them. In addition to this, it is not unexpected that a countless number of fans, organizations and companies have designed videos that have been created to applaud the dance.
“I love it,” says freshman Hanna Stopack. “I think it’s so fun and it shows that NCAA basketball can put the competition aside to have some fun and I think that it really shows the true character of all the teams participating.” Sophomore Alana Sadur also find the videos very entertaining. “I think it’s hysterical and definitely shows a different, more fun side of our basketball players and their talent as entertainers,” she says.
In his interview with Maryland Athletics, Brantley hinted at other new trends that will begin soon. “We’ve got a few things coming up but we’re not ready to release any details on it yet.” Nickens agreed, saying “There will be a brand new dance coming soon – one that Jaylen, Dion (Wiley), Melo and I created. We’ll keep you hanging for now though.”
Although no one is quite sure of what dance these players may be referring to, we are all excited to see what else the Maryland Basketball team has in store for us.
