The "photobomb" is the perfect example of how social media can rebrand something that's been a well-established, often ignored nuisance for decades and turn it into something awesome.
People and animals have ruined photos since camera technology moved beyond long film exposure. For decades, our photos were sabotaged by interlopers—intentional or not—and left out of our albums and scrapbooks...unless there was something nostalgic or particularly hilarious about it.
But, they weren't photobombs, because they were buried in boxes, binders and anything else that can store old photos. Before social media, photobombs were like that proverbial tree falling in a forest when no one was around to hear it.
There's a reason you never saw Michael Jordan getting bombed by Dennis Rodman in the '90s. Even if it happened, it wasn't likely to show up in USA Today or Sports Illustrated or anywhere else for that matter. Space was limited in print publications and they had to stick to the story.
Now superstar athletes are constantly surrounded by cameras and any picture of them, good or bad, can make it around the world before they make it home from the game. Anyone can capture a great photobomb, and if it goes viral, it can be seen by millions of people within hours.
Which is great! Because photobombs are pretty great. They're like this hidden treasure that has not only been rediscovered since Facebook and Twitter took over our lives, but also embraced by some of the biggest names in sports.Things almost never work out that well in life!
These are the 25 best photobombs of 2013 (so far).