Credit: @Brett_Hanfling/X
People Say Plane Passenger ‘Should Be Jailed’ After Photo Of In-Flight Screen Goes Viral
People are saying a plane passenger ‘should be jailed’ for what was on his in-flight screen.
An image taken inside a dimly lit airplane cabin has gone viral on social media as everyone points out the same thing.
The viral moment that sparked debate
The scene was simple enough: a dimly lit airplane cabin, passengers settled into their seats, screens glowing in the darkness.
But one particular screen caught the attention of fellow traveler Brett Hanfling, who couldn’t believe what he was seeing. Instead of tuning into the Super Bowl like seemingly everyone else on board, this passenger had chosen to watch something entirely different.
The photo quickly made its rounds across social media platforms, with thousands of users weighing in on what they witnessed.
Now, people are taking to the comments and sharing their amusement – and some outrage – over the photo.
The internet’s harsh verdict
The reactions came pouring in fast and furious. Barstool Sports, never one to shy away from hot takes, went in hard on the passenger.
They dubbed him the ‘Biggest try-hard on the planet’ and suggested his choice was less about movie preference and more about making a statement.
Their commentary got even more pointed, theorizing that this wasn’t just someone who happened to want to watch something else that particular evening.
“This guy wanted to send a message,” they argued. “He wants everyone on that plane to know he views himself as a superior being because he would never possibly engage in activity as lowly as watching the Super Bowl.”
But Barstool Sports wasn’t done there. They took aim at another aspect of the situation, questioning why someone trying to project such intellectual superiority was flying what appeared to be JetBlue. “
Surely this higher caliber of human should be flying first class,” they wrote, calling it “maybe the best self-own I’ve ever seen.”
Not everyone’s outraged
Despite the pile-on from critics, the passenger found some unlikely defenders in the depths of Reddit‘s comment sections. Some users raised practical points that the outraged masses seemed to overlook.
“To be fair, all he has to do is look to the screen beside him and he can watch both at the same time,” one reasonable commenter noted. It’s a fair observation, modern air travel often means you’re close enough to your neighbor’s screen to catch glimpses whether you want to or not.
Others questioned the entire premise of the outrage. “Perhaps they aren’t into sports,” another user wrote. “I love sports and thought the Super Bowl was a good game, but who am I to judge someone who doesn’t watch it on his screen, especially when he can glance over at his neighbor’s screen and see the score if he wanted?”
A third defender cut straight to the heart of the matter with a simple question: “How dare anyone not like your favorite hobby.”
A romantic comedy over the big game?
While everyone else sat and watched the Super Bowl, this passenger enjoyed the 2005 film Hitch, starring Will Smith and Kevin James.
So here’s the real question at the center of this viral moment: does choosing Hitch over the Super Bowl really warrant calls for imprisonment, even in jest?
While the hyperbole is clearly meant as humor, the intense reaction reveals something interesting about our cultural expectations around major sporting events.
In a country where Super Bowl Sunday has become practically a national holiday, choosing to opt out, especially in such a visible, public way, feels almost rebellious.
And maybe that’s exactly what this passenger wanted. Or perhaps they genuinely just don’t care about football and had been meaning to rewatch Hitch for a while.
Either way, the internet has spoken, and the consensus among sports fans is clear: this crime against football fandom deserves the harshest punishment social media can dish out – endless mockery and the label of ‘menace to society.’ Whether that’s fair or not, well, that’s for you to decide.
The 1 dude watching Hitch on this plane should be jailed. A menace to society pic.twitter.com/Cut701G68h
— Brett Hanfling (@Brett_Hanfling) February 13, 2023
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