How Did They Become a Strong Team

The "How did they become a strong team" meme originates from the 2013 KIA Tigers baseball season. During the season, when the KIA Tigers were performing exceptionally well early on, a column titled "How did the Tigers become a strong team again" was published. However, as the team's performance declined dramatically later, the headline came to be seen as premature boasting. Consequently, "How did they become a strong team" became an ironic expression implying that a strong team would eventually fail.

This meme is particularly popular among esports fans, especially in the League of Legends (LCK) community. It is often used to sarcastically label a team as strong while secretly hoping for their downfall. For example, during the 2023 League of Legends World Championship, T1 fans used the phrase "How did Weibo become a strong team" to anticipate and jinx the Chinese team Weibo's potential defeat.

The meme, originally known as "Taeogeang" ("How did the Tigers become a strong team"), has since expanded beyond esports to various sports events. It is frequently used when a strong team suddenly experiences a slump or falls short of expectations, serving as a humorous way to mock premature optimism.