The Guardians’ Champagne Troll: Winning the Ohio Cup, Roasting the Reds, and Fooling the Internet
For the 10th year in a row, the Cleveland Guardians have claimed the Ohio Cup — the not-so-coveted trophy awarded to the winner of the annual season series between Cleveland and Cincinnati. While the Guardians don’t exactly parade it down Euclid Avenue, they’ve mastered the art of celebrating it with the perfect blend of sarcasm and social-media swagger.
The Reds, on the other hand? Well… let’s just say their “we don’t really care” routine hasn’t aged well. During the All-Star break, pitcher Hunter Greene was asked whether the Ohio Cup was actually a rivalry. His response? A dismissive shrug. Classic “loser talk,” as Cleveland fans might call it.
Fast-forward to last night: the Guardians clinched yet another Ohio Cup with a 6–1 win over the Reds. And, because Cleveland lives for a good troll, their social team posted photos of a full-blown champagne celebration in the locker room — the third such “celebration” in a single week. (For the record: Celebration 1, clinching a playoff berth. Celebration 2, clinching the ALCS. Celebration 3… beating Cincinnati.)
In the photos, players were seen drenched in bubbly while wearing “Cincinnati Is in Kentucky” T-shirts — a jab at both Ohio geography snobs and the Reds’ southern neighbors. The internet went wild. Thousands of fans and even outlets like Bleacher Report fell for it, assuming the stunt was real.
But here’s the truth: it was pure, beautiful internet trolling. The champagne was fake, the shirts were Photoshopped, and the Guardians pulled off a perfect bait-and-switch on the sports world.
Still, the prank raised two important questions:
- How is it that in 2024, people still can’t spot an obvious joke online?
- And more importantly — can we please get those shirts printed for real?
Because fake or not, a decade of dominance deserves a souvenir.
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