Today is Sept. 2, which means it’s the anniversary of arguably one of Tampa’s most useless, but still significant, moments in local lore: the day the “You know I had to do it to em” meme was born.
On this day in 2014, Instagram user LuckyLucianoOG posted a photo of himself in a Tampa neighborhood sporting an all pink outfit, a pair of deck shoes and an incredible ankle tan, along with the caption “Real men wear pink.” He then reposted the same photo to Twitter at precisely 5:24 p.m., under the handle LuckyLuciano17k, but with the caption “You know I had to do it to em.”
Since that moment, the meme gained an insane amount of traction after being replicated and rehashed across most social media platforms, reaching its peak in 2017, according to knowyourmeme.com.
There’s no real answer on why exactly the meme took off, and sure, Tampa actually has quite a few pointless moments worth remembering, but none of them have spawned as many jokes and recreations as “You know I had to do it to em.”
In fact, the Tampa street where Lucky “did it to em,” has become a sort of pilgrimage site for clout seekers looking to recreate his power stance. It’s actually gotten so bad that residents who live on the street recently convinced Google Maps to remove the destination listing because so many people were showing up to stand in the exact spot and, you know, also do it to em.
Unfortunately, Lucky was arrested on alleged drug possession charges in 2018.
Support local journalism in these crazy days. Our small but mighty team is working tirelessly to bring you up to the minute news on how Coronavirus is affecting Tampa and surrounding areas. Please consider making a one time or monthly donation to help support our staff. Every little bit helps.
Follow @cl_tampabay on Twitter to get the most up-to-date news + views. Subscribe to our newsletter, too.
