Still from ‘The Original: Bollywood made a rugby movie and it's INCREDIBLE.’ by USA Rugby Sevens via YouTube
This week in viral videos, we have been watching Bollywood’s take on rugby, Arsenal’s Dizzy Goals and Foo Fighters’ unique approach to Westboro Baptist Church protestors, creepy and crazy animals, and some cheeky twins.
Rugby fever has gripped the viral video charts this week as nations prepare for the upcoming Rugby World Cup, and so we have two rugby-themed offerings in our selection.
But if the 10 shout-outs below aren’t enough to whet your video appetite, you could also check out the MythBusters take on the Breaking Bad season finale (spoiler alert if you haven’t already seen it, naturally), this Aussie guy tormenting his girlfriend with Ikea puns, and a tour of Dublin’s St Patrick’s Cathedral by drone.
Bollywood rugby
It’s rugby like you’ve never seen it before in the first of this week’s viral videos. This footage from the 2004 Bollywood film Sye has been doing the rounds among rugby fans this week, being shared by the USA Sevens Rugby Facebook page and in the Rugby Union subreddit.
The plot of Sye centres on a college rugby team who are pitted against a violent gang of thugs who unquestionably belong in the sin bin. While we could do without this violence on the pitch, the addition of sound effects to rugby coverage would be thoroughly enjoyed by all.
Video via Rugby Dog/YouTube, uploaded 26 August 2015
Jonah Lomu Machine in Harry Byrne’s pub
Our next video features more realistic rugby players but retains an element of fantasy.
To shout about its sponsorship of the 2015 Rugby World Cup, Heineken installed a special prize machine in popular Clontarf drinking hole Harry Byrne’s. The modified arcade machine somehow hid the bulk of Jonah Lomu, and surprised winners as it started doling out signed rugby balls with personalised comments making the punters suspicious.
Eventually, the secret is revealed when an unexpected visitor comes to relieve Lomu from his shift. It all seems a bit too well played-out and, according to one Silicon Republic team member and Harry Byrne’s regular, it looks like a well-practised set piece.
Video via HeinekenIRE/YouTube, uploaded on 26 August 2015
Arsenal takes on the Dizzy Goals Challenge
Keeping with the sporting theme, we turn our attention now to the Dizzy Goals Challenge, an online trend that kicked off to spread awareness of The Global Goals – a series of ambitious targets to end extreme poverty, fight inequality and tackle climate change to be agreed by 193 world leaders at the UN on 25 September.
The rules are simple, spin around one football 13 times then take a penalty with a second ball placed 6m away. Sounds easy, but even top-flight footballers are falling on their faces, just like poor Theo Walcott in the video below.
Arsenal’s Mikel Arteta and even the club mascot Gunnersaurus had a go, with a bit of help from long-time manager Arsene Wenger.
Video via Arsenal/YouTube, uploaded on 26 August 2015
Grizzly bear rolling down a hill
From footballers falling over to a grizzly bear rolling down a hill, this week’s selection is full of dizzy rascals.
The bear captured in this video was having a grand aul’ time in Denali National Park in Alaska, and you can hear (presumably) a tour guide say, “You guys are seeing something I’ve never seen before,” as cameras snap away at his roly-poly antics.
Video via David Pangborn/YouTube, uploaded on 23 August 2015
Kangaroo horde terrorises bike rider
Animals can be pleasant to observe from afar, but stumble into their territory and you can be made to feel extremely unwelcome. At least, that’s how YouTuber Ben Vezina felt as he was cycling through Hawkstowe Park, Australia, and came across a horde of kangaroos.
He tells the camera, “I’m a little terrified, yo,” as he meanders through what he feels is an experience akin to a zombie apocalypse. We can forgive Vezina for the one NSFW expletive he blurts out in this video, and it seems he made it through alright.
According to the video description, which definitely wasn’t written by kangaroos, “Kangaroos are nice animals who don’t gather like hordes and attack people, they coexist with people and never attack them. This video is proof. More cyclists and pedestrians should come ALONE to Hawkstowe Park.”
Not suspicious. Not suspicious at all.
Video via Ben Vezina/YouTube, uploaded on 23 August 2015
Mario Kart: Street-skater edition
Okay, to help you get over the creepy kangaroos, here’s 60fps blend of real-life and Mario Kart with a skateboarding twist.
Internet-video creators Corridor Digital are known for their sci-fi and video-game-inspired YouTube videos and this one has earned them almost 2m views at the time of writing.
The video features Luigi skating on an electric longboard through the city streets, remade through VFX to include some familiar Mario Kart graphics and challenges. Watch out for those shells!
Video via CorridorDigital/YouTube, uploaded on 24 August 2015
Dad Mikki Willis’ reaction to son’s mermaid doll
Still worrying about a kangaroo takeover? How about an uplifting video of a dad reacting to his son’s decision to get a Little Mermaid doll?
Filmmaker Mikki Willis’ four-year-old son Azai got two identical presents for his birthday, so his dad decided to take him to the store to find a replacement for one. Azai picked a dazzling Ariel doll, to the delight of his dad who posted this video with the title ‘How Would You Feel If Your Son Chose This??’
Willis explains that his son has always been fascinated by princesses and robots and, for this dad, “This behavior rings more authentic than playing one note all the time.”
Video via Mikki Willis/YouTube, uploaded on 23 August 2015
Foo Fighters Rick Roll Westboro Baptist Church
I wonder if Mikki Willis is a Foo Fighters fan? Either way, I bet he’s a fan of this video from the band taunting the Westboro Baptist Church protesters outside their gig in Kansas City.
YouTube user adamisntdumb captured this footage of the band gliding past the pickets in a pick-up truck, blasting the internet’s trolling tune of choice. Frontman Dave Grohl and his bandmates are accompanied by a beefy tattooed guy in some amazing speedos with a sign saying ‘Keep it Clean’, while drummer Taylor Hawkins brandishes ‘You Got Rick Roll’d’.
It’s not long before the party really kicks off and the car is mobbed by fans and cameras.
Video via adamisntdumb/YouTube, uploaded on 22 August 2015
Swedish model says she has been declared ‘too big for the industry’
Agnes Hedengård says she has worked as a model for about five years but, lately, has been taken aback by a number of big agencies and clients who she says are interested to work with her until they get her measurements and say she’s too big.
At 5ft11in, Hedengård has a body mass index (BMI) of 17.5, which is considered underweight. In this video – which she has recreated in English in order to share her message even further – Hedengård stands in full view in her underwear, questioning how her slim frame can ever be considered ‘too big’.
“They think my butt is too big and they think my hips are too wide. According to the model industry, you can’t look like this. You need to be thinner,” she says.
“It’s absurd and I hate it. And I just want other people to see this.”
Video via Agnes Hedengård/YouTube, uploaded on 24 August 2015
Twins caught on the baby monitor
Judy Travis, a parenting and beauty vlogger, posted this video of her babbling twins caught out in the act on Facebook originally and, because it was getting so much attention, added it to her YouTube channel, itsMommysLife.
The new mother to twin baby girls Miya and Keira heard the two screaming and playing past their bedtime so decided to say hello through the baby monitor. The girls’ reaction is priceless, showing you’re never to young to know how to play your parents.
Video via itsMommysLife/YouTube, uploaded 27 August 2015
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