Ben Simmons may have inadvertently triggered the latest social media craze in sports: Philadelphia 76ers fans that hoist cats in a victory celebration.
Yup, #RaiseTheCat.
Australian No.1 NBA draft pick Simmons, who has not played this season as he recovers from a broken foot, had posted photos of himself with his cat named Bagheera on Snapchat and other social media outlets.
At least one fan thought a perfect way to honour Simmons and the surging Sixers was to raise his cat over his head if the team won.
Dennis Grove, a Sixers fan with an (at)gippergrove Twitter handle, was first and tweeted, "The (at)Sixers WIN! #RaiseTheCat," after a January 13 victory over the Charlotte Hornets.
Simmons tweeted on Saturday: "Someone tell me how raise the cat started."
About an hour later, Simmons posted a black-and-white photo of himself holding two cats raised to the sky with #RaiseTheCat and earned more than 3500 likes on Twitter.
Grove's Twitter bio reads, "founder of #RaiseTheCat," and includes a link to a shirt for sale with that motto and says all profits will go to PhillyPAWS.
The Philadelphia-based Morris Animal Refuge has used the hashtag in photos to promote cats available for adoption .
