They Had Us in the First Half

2014Reaction image / image macrosemi-active

Published March 10, 2026 · Updated March 17, 2026

Also known as: "They Had Us In the First Half · Not Gonna Lie" · "Not Gonna Lie"

"They Had Us In the First Half" is a reaction image meme from a 2014 high school football postgame interview where player Apollos Hester delivered an unexpectedly passionate speech after his team's comeback win. The quote became a reaction image paired with text where the first half sounds wholesome or normal but takes a dark or unexpected turn in the second half, making it one of the internet's go-to bait-and-switch formats.

interview memesfootball memesbait and switch memesaccidental fame memesreaction memes

Overview

The meme features a freeze-frame of Apollos Hester, a high school football player from East View High School in Texas, mid-sentence during a postgame interview. His expression is earnest and slightly intense, captured right as he says the now-famous line. The image is typically paired with a block of text above it where the first portion reads as something positive, inspirational, or innocent, but the second half reveals something dark, absurd, or inappropriate. The punchline works because Hester's quote about being "had" in the first half maps perfectly onto the two-part structure of the joke4.

On September 19, 2014, East View High School's Patriots beat Vandegrift 42-41 in Austin, Texas, after trailing badly at halftime1. TWC News Austin reporter Lauren Mickler interviewed wide receiver Apollos Hester after the game, asking how his team managed to come back2. What followed was an impromptu motivational speech that went way beyond typical athlete responses.

Hester's key quote: "Yeah, they had us the first half, I'm not going to lie. We were undefeated, but they had us. But it took guts, it took an attitude. That's all it takes to be successful is an attitude"2. The full interview ran several minutes and covered perseverance, teamwork, and faith, delivered with infectious energy that left reporter Mickler visibly amused2.

TWC News Austin posted the interview on September 21st, 20144. The video went viral quickly, pulling in over 10 million views on YouTube and drawing coverage from Deadspin and the Chicago Tribune12.

Origin & Background

Platform
TWC News Austin (source interview), Twitter (meme format)
Key People
Apollos Hester, Lauren Mickler, @CauseWereGuys
Date
2014

On September 19, 2014, East View High School's Patriots beat Vandegrift 42-41 in Austin, Texas, after trailing badly at halftime1. TWC News Austin reporter Lauren Mickler interviewed wide receiver Apollos Hester after the game, asking how his team managed to come back2. What followed was an impromptu motivational speech that went way beyond typical athlete responses.

Hester's key quote: "Yeah, they had us the first half, I'm not going to lie. We were undefeated, but they had us. But it took guts, it took an attitude. That's all it takes to be successful is an attitude"2. The full interview ran several minutes and covered perseverance, teamwork, and faith, delivered with infectious energy that left reporter Mickler visibly amused2.

TWC News Austin posted the interview on September 21st, 20144. The video went viral quickly, pulling in over 10 million views on YouTube and drawing coverage from Deadspin and the Chicago Tribune12.

How It Spread

The meme format took shape within weeks of the video going viral. On October 8th, 2014, Twitter user @keilo2x posted one of the earliest known reaction image uses, picking up 28 retweets and 14 likes4. Two days later, on October 10th, @CauseWereGuys tweeted what became the more recognizable image macro version, gaining over 2,500 retweets and 3,000 likes4.

From Twitter, the format migrated to Reddit, where it found a natural home on meme-heavy subreddits. Posts on r/memes used it as an anti-meme format, while r/historymemes applied it to historical events with dark punchlines4. The meme's text also started appearing as a standalone Reddit post title, used to flag stories or captions that take a dramatic or disturbing turn toward the end4.

The Chicago Tribune's coverage noted how Hester's speech was "like the Erin Andrews post-gamer with Richard Sherman if Sherman had been on a monthlong Zoloft regimen," comparing his energy to the inspirational tone of sports films like *Remember the Titans*2. Deadspin declared that "no one's ever been as stoked as Apollos Hester" and that his "levels of stoked are off the charts"1.

The format saw renewed attention in January 2024 when San Francisco 49ers tight end George Kittle directly quoted the meme during a postgame interview after his team's NFC Championship comeback against the Detroit Lions3. The 49ers had trailed 24-7 at halftime before storming back to win, and Kittle told interviewer Michael Strahan, "They had us in the first half, not gonna lie," fully aware of the meme's history3. USA Today's For The Win described it as Kittle "perfectly evok[ing] a classic football meme"3.

Platforms

TwitterRedditTwitter

Timeline

2020-01-01

Meme keeps see steady use

2021-01-01

They Had Us in the First Half reached mainstream popularity and media coverage

View on Google Trends

How to Use This Meme

The format typically follows a two-part text structure placed above the Hester reaction image:

1

Write a sentence or short paragraph that starts off sounding wholesome, normal, or positive

2

Add a second half that reveals something dark, inappropriate, or unexpected

3

Place the "They Had Us In the First Half, Not Gonna Lie" image beneath

Create Your Own

Cultural Impact

The original interview did more than spawn a meme. It turned Apollos Hester into a minor internet celebrity and gave sportswriters a new reference point for athlete interviews. The Chicago Tribune ran a full feature contextualizing the speech within sports media culture, noting how refreshing it was compared to typical "one-word-answer 'athlete speak'"2.

Nearly a decade later, the quote had become so embedded in football culture that professional athletes referenced it unironically. George Kittle's 2024 NFC Championship postgame moment showed how the phrase had crossed from meme to genuine sports shorthand for comeback victories3. The fact that a five-time Pro Bowl tight end delivered the line on national television to Michael Strahan, fully aware of its meme origins, showed how deeply the format had penetrated mainstream sports culture3.

Fun Facts

Apollos Hester's full speech covered faith, teamwork, and perseverance, running several minutes long, but the internet distilled it down to one single sentence2.

The Chicago Tribune compared Hester's energy to a combination of *Remember the Titans* and *Antwone Fisher*, noting that "his name is Apollos Hester. He just leaps off a script for *Friday Night Lights*"2.

The 49ers trailed the Lions 24-7 when Kittle's team staged their comeback in 2024, making his use of the meme doubly appropriate since it was both a meme reference and a literal description of what happened3.

Deadspin's coverage contained zero analysis of football strategy, focusing entirely on Hester's infectious enthusiasm1.

Derivatives & Variations

They Had Us in the First Half Variations

Different takes on the They Had Us in the First Half format with modified content

(2019)

They Had Us in the First Half Mashups

Combinations of They Had Us in the First Half with other popular memes

(2020)

They Had Us in the First Half Remixes

Updated versions with current events and references

(2020)

Frequently Asked Questions

They Had Us in the First Half

2014Reaction image / image macrosemi-active

Published March 10, 2026 · Updated March 17, 2026

Also known as: "They Had Us In the First Half · Not Gonna Lie" · "Not Gonna Lie"

"They Had Us In the First Half" is a reaction image meme from a 2014 high school football postgame interview where player Apollos Hester delivered an unexpectedly passionate speech after his team's comeback win. The quote became a reaction image paired with text where the first half sounds wholesome or normal but takes a dark or unexpected turn in the second half, making it one of the internet's go-to bait-and-switch formats.

interview memes football memes bait and switch memes accidental fame memes reaction memes

Overview

The meme features a freeze-frame of Apollos Hester, a high school football player from East View High School in Texas, mid-sentence during a postgame interview. His expression is earnest and slightly intense, captured right as he says the now-famous line. The image is typically paired with a block of text above it where the first portion reads as something positive, inspirational, or innocent, but the second half reveals something dark, absurd, or inappropriate. The punchline works because Hester's quote about being "had" in the first half maps perfectly onto the two-part structure of the joke4.

On September 19, 2014, East View High School's Patriots beat Vandegrift 42-41 in Austin, Texas, after trailing badly at halftime1. TWC News Austin reporter Lauren Mickler interviewed wide receiver Apollos Hester after the game, asking how his team managed to come back2. What followed was an impromptu motivational speech that went way beyond typical athlete responses.

Hester's key quote: "Yeah, they had us the first half, I'm not going to lie. We were undefeated, but they had us. But it took guts, it took an attitude. That's all it takes to be successful is an attitude"2. The full interview ran several minutes and covered perseverance, teamwork, and faith, delivered with infectious energy that left reporter Mickler visibly amused2.

TWC News Austin posted the interview on September 21st, 20144. The video went viral quickly, pulling in over 10 million views on YouTube and drawing coverage from Deadspin and the Chicago Tribune12.

Origin & Background

Platform
TWC News Austin (source interview), Twitter (meme format)
Key People
Apollos Hester, Lauren Mickler, @CauseWereGuys
Date
2014

On September 19, 2014, East View High School's Patriots beat Vandegrift 42-41 in Austin, Texas, after trailing badly at halftime1. TWC News Austin reporter Lauren Mickler interviewed wide receiver Apollos Hester after the game, asking how his team managed to come back2. What followed was an impromptu motivational speech that went way beyond typical athlete responses.

Hester's key quote: "Yeah, they had us the first half, I'm not going to lie. We were undefeated, but they had us. But it took guts, it took an attitude. That's all it takes to be successful is an attitude"2. The full interview ran several minutes and covered perseverance, teamwork, and faith, delivered with infectious energy that left reporter Mickler visibly amused2.

TWC News Austin posted the interview on September 21st, 20144. The video went viral quickly, pulling in over 10 million views on YouTube and drawing coverage from Deadspin and the Chicago Tribune12.

How It Spread

The meme format took shape within weeks of the video going viral. On October 8th, 2014, Twitter user @keilo2x posted one of the earliest known reaction image uses, picking up 28 retweets and 14 likes4. Two days later, on October 10th, @CauseWereGuys tweeted what became the more recognizable image macro version, gaining over 2,500 retweets and 3,000 likes4.

From Twitter, the format migrated to Reddit, where it found a natural home on meme-heavy subreddits. Posts on r/memes used it as an anti-meme format, while r/historymemes applied it to historical events with dark punchlines4. The meme's text also started appearing as a standalone Reddit post title, used to flag stories or captions that take a dramatic or disturbing turn toward the end4.

The Chicago Tribune's coverage noted how Hester's speech was "like the Erin Andrews post-gamer with Richard Sherman if Sherman had been on a monthlong Zoloft regimen," comparing his energy to the inspirational tone of sports films like *Remember the Titans*2. Deadspin declared that "no one's ever been as stoked as Apollos Hester" and that his "levels of stoked are off the charts"1.

The format saw renewed attention in January 2024 when San Francisco 49ers tight end George Kittle directly quoted the meme during a postgame interview after his team's NFC Championship comeback against the Detroit Lions3. The 49ers had trailed 24-7 at halftime before storming back to win, and Kittle told interviewer Michael Strahan, "They had us in the first half, not gonna lie," fully aware of the meme's history3. USA Today's For The Win described it as Kittle "perfectly evok[ing] a classic football meme"3.

Platforms

TwitterRedditTwitter

Timeline

2020-01-01

Meme keeps see steady use

2021-01-01

They Had Us in the First Half reached mainstream popularity and media coverage

View on Google Trends

How to Use This Meme

The format typically follows a two-part text structure placed above the Hester reaction image:

1

Write a sentence or short paragraph that starts off sounding wholesome, normal, or positive

2

Add a second half that reveals something dark, inappropriate, or unexpected

3

Place the "They Had Us In the First Half, Not Gonna Lie" image beneath

Create Your Own

Cultural Impact

The original interview did more than spawn a meme. It turned Apollos Hester into a minor internet celebrity and gave sportswriters a new reference point for athlete interviews. The Chicago Tribune ran a full feature contextualizing the speech within sports media culture, noting how refreshing it was compared to typical "one-word-answer 'athlete speak'"2.

Nearly a decade later, the quote had become so embedded in football culture that professional athletes referenced it unironically. George Kittle's 2024 NFC Championship postgame moment showed how the phrase had crossed from meme to genuine sports shorthand for comeback victories3. The fact that a five-time Pro Bowl tight end delivered the line on national television to Michael Strahan, fully aware of its meme origins, showed how deeply the format had penetrated mainstream sports culture3.

Fun Facts

Apollos Hester's full speech covered faith, teamwork, and perseverance, running several minutes long, but the internet distilled it down to one single sentence2.

The Chicago Tribune compared Hester's energy to a combination of *Remember the Titans* and *Antwone Fisher*, noting that "his name is Apollos Hester. He just leaps off a script for *Friday Night Lights*"2.

The 49ers trailed the Lions 24-7 when Kittle's team staged their comeback in 2024, making his use of the meme doubly appropriate since it was both a meme reference and a literal description of what happened3.

Deadspin's coverage contained zero analysis of football strategy, focusing entirely on Hester's infectious enthusiasm1.

Derivatives & Variations

They Had Us in the First Half Variations

Different takes on the They Had Us in the First Half format with modified content

(2019)

They Had Us in the First Half Mashups

Combinations of They Had Us in the First Half with other popular memes

(2020)

They Had Us in the First Half Remixes

Updated versions with current events and references

(2020)

Frequently Asked Questions