If this was the Summer Olympics, Zdeno Chara probably wouldn’t (literally) stick out so much. After all, his 6-foot-9 frame would put him in the NBA power forward range.
This is the Winter Olympics, though, so the gargantuan Slovakian ice hockey defenseman’s height has become a meme generator. Specifically, other athletes are having a good time taking photos with the Boston Bruins blueliner and posting the often-cartoonish height disparity under #PicsWithZdeno.
Conveniently named figure skater Kirsten Moore-Towers’ photo from Feb. 7 probably started the craze, and likely remains the champion:
Ran into Zdeno Chara today. Couldn't resist taking a picture :) pic.twitter.com/sYNOIbrWLn
— Kirsten Moore-Towers (@Kirsten_MT) February 7, 2014
She certainly wasn’t the only athlete to hop on the bandwagon, though:
Meeting up with a Bruin in Sochi!! @NHLBruins #bostonstrong pic.twitter.com/pIA1dvelev
— Marissa Castelli (@MarissaCastelli) February 8, 2014
#PicswithZdeno is definitely becoming a thing MT @AlexShibutani: Just met Zdeno Chara!!! pic.twitter.com/VVsJzlLnL7
— NBC Olympics & Paralympics (@NBCOlympics) February 8, 2014
This kid’s going to have a stiff neck after chatting up Zdeno Chara. #Bruins pic.twitter.com/OuKCm0vFXk
— Mark Lazerus (@MarkLazerus) January 18, 2014
It hasn’t been all fun and games (and maybe a few eye-rolls) for the 36-year-old defenseman, though. Sometimes that freakish height can come at a disadvantage, especially when it comes to getting a good night sleep:
Thanks to SME`s website (Slovak newspaper) we get to see what Zdeno Chara`s bed in Sochi looks like. #hilariousstuff pic.twitter.com/H2PHAfsDRw
— Tomas Kmec (@Tomas_Kmec) February 6, 2014
With that in mind, #NapsWithZdeno probably won’t get off the ground ...