It was supposed to be Diego Pavia’s night. The Vanderbilt quarterback had just delivered perhaps the greatest performance in school history, obliterating Kentucky 45-17 and rewriting the record books while casually sauntering out of the game as if he just led his team to practice instead of delivering SEC-level devastation. And then college football had other plans. While Pavia was laying it to the Wildcats, the internet had just laid it to Pavia’s mother, Antoinette Padilla.
And honestly? It was spectacular.
The Record That Should Have Been the Headline… But Wasn’t
Now let’s focus on some actual football.
Pavia had 33 out of 39 pass attempts for 484 yards and scored five touchdowns; to have some fun, he rushed for 48 additional yards and one score. All this despite not finishing the last series of plays.
His 484 yards broke a Vanderbilt single-game passing record from 44 years ago, which had been set by Whit Taylor in 1981. In all ways, he delivered a game fit for the Heisman Trophy.
However, every time he dropped the dime to the field, ESPN brought their camera right back to his mom.
Enter: Antoinette Padilla, Internet Icon
Antoinette Padilla, amid all the Vanderbilt fans wearing jerseys and sporting black boots, resembled a reality television game-day debbie. She was living life to its full bluster as a football-loving mom, to be dancing and cheering and just being there in general, and just that act alone had social media go completely bonkers.
ESPN just couldn’t resist. Every big play?
Cut to Mom.
Another touchdown?
Cut to Mom.
Commercial break?
MOM TIME.
They had noticed. And they had thoughts. Loud ones.
Social Media Reaction: The Memes Got ‘Merciless’
Some folks were thrilled. Some were shocked. Some were merely pretending to be shocked. Everyone had their entertainment. Some of these responses to God’s love:
- “Get this family out of college football immediately.”
- “Do yall think Diego is embarrassed about his mom’s dress and behavior? To be fair to his mom, she rocks it well, but just think about it if it
- were your mom out there.”
- “If I ever caught my mom acting like a hussy in the stands….”
- ‘‘Insane behavior from your own mom”
- “this b*tch is like temu Stiflers mom. 3 out of 10 at best. Vols by 100”
- “QB1’s mom is a groupie yeah I’m out on vandy”
- “I see why his mom is single. Never had ‘those party years’ and now he’s doing something like this.”
- “I am a strong believer in ‘you do you,’ as long as it ain’t bothering me. If this were MY momma… boy I would be mad lol”
Are they harsh? Of course they’re harsh! Did that discourage the internet? Nope.
Padilla quickly became the beloved figure of the game, a viral personality in this never-ending SEC drama.
In other news, Theo Von was… Escorting Her onto the Field?
To add some additional chaos to this tale, comedian Theo Von became part of it.
And it looks like Von was seen accompanying Padilla onto the field after the game. The internet quickly brought up how last October, he crashed a podcasting appearance Pavia was making just to get his arm around Pavia’s mom.
According to The Sporting News, Von confirmed to ESPN’s Cole Cubelic that he had placed a bet with the quarterback of his team:
If Vanderbilt had won an important game, Diego would fix him up on a date with his mother.
And it just gets even better.
Next came Pavia’s tweet:
“‘What @TheoVon forgot is, I said it was a deal if and only if he told @tatemcrae to lemme take her on A1 date in Nashville. Twitter, make it happen.’”
The man is negotiating like an SEC quarterback who knows what he’s worth.
While whether it actually occurred is unclear, one thing Von did make clear to AL.com is that:
“My goal is, I would like to marry a nurse one day. I don’t even know if I’d do it. I like being his friend. I don’t want to end up being like his stepdad or something.”
Padilla is a nurse. The plot thickens.
The Human Side: The Reason Diego Loves His Mom So Passionately
A sweet piece of context surfaced after all the memes had died down. In The Athletic’s interview with Pavia, it wasn’t his mother’s boots or screen time that were praised, but her strength.
“My mom, she’s hard hat, lunch pail. She grew up with 13 brothers and sisters in a single home.”
The article also mentioned that it never dawned on Diego as a kid that whenever his mother claimed she wasn’t hungry and only had a little food from their dinner, it was actually a time she allowed her kids to eat instead.
It’s just this kind of history that makes a college campaign a Hollywood movie. Padilla isn’t just the viral video mom. She’s a survivor. A provider. A mother who fought tirelessly for her son to be allowed to stand out there.
And if she decides to dance in black boots on national television? She’s earned it.
