Ah, the dreaded Kiss Cam. Anyone who's ever watched sports live or on TV knows that the forced PDA this tradition invokes is either cute or cringe-worthy. Kiss Cams cause couples to fight or they can create warm and fuzzy moments between lovers. As someone who has been going to NBA games since childhood, I have always been irrationally petrified that they would stick the cam on my father and I, somehow thinking we were a couple. This might have been an absurd fear at 16, but given the prevalence of May-December romances these days, now it's not so unlikely.
Come to think of it, the person wielding the camera has a lot of power: their conceptions of gender, sex, and relationships dominate our screens on a daily basis. Why don't more Kiss Cams focus on two men sitting next to each other, or two women? Maybe one day the Kiss Cam will pick two people (maybe three?!) at random, no matter their age or perceived gender, to make them all get to lip locking. Until then, we can at least enjoy the many amusing scenarios that have been caused by that wandering, normative nuisance we call the Kiss Cam.
1. Cellphone sparks fight on Kiss Cam
Last weekend at a Celtics-Bulls game the Kiss Cam focused in on a guy talking on his cellphone. His significant other is reasonably a bit pissed that he doesn't hang up the phone, so an argument ensues. Eventually, a furry mascot rushes over to save the day, and their fight ends in the best way possible.
2. POTUS and FLOTUS on Kiss Cam
When the Kiss Cam zeroed in on the Obamas at a home game in D.C., they showed their love in the cutest way possible. Unlike the couples that only provide a chaste peck on the cheek for the cameras, Barack actually kisses Michelle likes he means it, and then can't resist going in for more. This is ideal Kiss Cam etiquette.
3. Will Ferrell photobombs Kiss Cam
This Kiss Cam scenario seems like business as usual until Will Ferrell photobombs (kissbombs?) the final shot. It's hard to believe it's not a set up, but more bits should be like this. Oh wait, there was that time he made out with John C. Reilly...
4. Former POTUS and FLOTUS on Kiss Cam
George Bush Sr. and Barbara Bush made headlines with this adorable Kiss Cam reaction. At first they seem surprised they they've been targeted but soon move in for a cuddly smack. Oddly enough, today happens to be the former president and first lady's 70th wedding anniversary, so congrats to these two for keeping the kissing alive for so long.
5. Couple breaks up on Kiss Cam
This is a rough one. Kiss Cam zooms in on couple, woman points it out to man, man dismisses her with his hand, she dumps soda on him and stalks off. Definitely one of the more dramatic Kiss Cam fights to date. Not cool, dude. Not cool.
6. Two cheerleaders on Kiss Cam
This was probably some juvenile cameraman's idea of a PG porno. First the camera zooms in on two cheerleaders who look reluctantly at each other, shrug, and then move in for a kiss before the shot cuts to another couple. We'll never know exactly what happened, but kudos to these ladies for being good sports.
