# Sickos

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For the film, see [Sickos (film)](/source/Sickos_(film)).

Comics character

Sickos The character's most well-known appearance, from the 2015 comic Painful Procedural Publication information First appearance October 13, 2006[1] Created by Ward Sutton

**Sickos** is a term associated with a character colloquially referred to as the **Sickos Guy**, originating from a running gag in comic strips created by [Ward Sutton](/source/Ward_Sutton) for *[The Onion](/source/The_Onion)*, created under the pseudonym Stan Kelly. The character is shown as a disheveled man wearing a black shirt labeled "Sickos", grinning through a window and saying, "Yes… Ha ha ha… Yes!"

The character has been adopted as an [Internet meme](/source/Internet_meme), typically used to depict amusement or approval at situations perceived as negative, unfortunate, or otherwise undesirable such as [schadenfreude](/source/Schadenfreude). It has also been used in sports contexts, particularly among fans expressing enjoyment when teams perform poorly.

## Origin

Stan Kelly is a fictional persona created by Ward Sutton, depicted as a middle-aged [editorial cartoonist](/source/Editorial_cartoonist) with strongly [conservative](/source/Conservatism_in_the_United_States) views. Through the character, Sutton satirizes fears of societal decline in the United States, which Kelly attributes to "sickos" who he believes endanger [traditional values](/source/Traditionalist_conservatism). Targets of Kelly’s criticism have included teenagers [loitering](/source/Loitering) and listening to [rap](/source/Hip-hop) bands, [store managers](/source/Store_manager) who refuse [coupons](/source/Coupon), and [Michelle Obama](/source/Michelle_Obama)'s [Let's Move!](/source/Let's_Move!) public health campaign.[2] Kelly's comics often contradict themselves, adding to the satire. Various characters throughout Kelly's comics have also been labeled in similar ways, like the [Grim Reaper](/source/Grim_Reaper), which is often labeled "Socialism" and "Communism", along with variants like "Sicko Cult Practices".[3]

The character was first introduced in a September 13, 2006 comic, where he was portrayed as a [school shooter](/source/School_shooting) looking at a school's armed self-defense class (which Kelly sees as a viable solution to school shootings). However, the most well-known appearance of the character was in the February 16, 2015 comic *Painful Procedural*. In the comic, the caption "If Drugs Are Legalized" accompanies a scene in which a stereotypical American family (another recurring element in Kelly's cartoons) watches a [police procedural](/source/Police_procedural) on television that ends due to a lack of crime. The family, labeled "honest viewers" and "innocent kids", reacts with distress alongside an anthropomorphized [Statue of Liberty](/source/Statue_of_Liberty), while a newspaper headline reads "All crime dramas canceled". Outside the window, a man in a black shirt (as Kelly often uses black clothing as a signifier for people believed to endanger traditional values) labeled "Sickos" grins and says, "Yes… Ha ha ha… *Yes*!"[4] This figure, later known as the "Sickos Guy", became a recurring element in Kelly's comics, representing individuals who take satisfaction in perceived moral or societal decline, after the success of this comic.

Sutton explained in 2020 that the character’s black clothing and unkempt appearance were intended to signify villainy from Kelly’s perspective. Although the Sickos Guy is often portrayed as a stand-in for liberal and left-wing figures, Sutton clarified that the character was meant to reflect Kelly’s view of the general modern American rather than a specific political alignment.[5]

## Popularity

The Sickos character became a popular image on [social media](/source/Social_media), often used by users to express amusement at news or events perceived as unfortunate for the subject involved.[6] In 2020, Nitish Pahwa of *[Slate](/source/Slate_(magazine))* noted political examples of its use, including mockery of efforts by [Donald Trump](/source/Donald_Trump) supporters to [overturn the 2020 United States presidential election](/source/Attempts_to_overturn_the_2020_United_States_presidential_election) and reactions to the [Republican Party](/source/Republican_Party_(United_States))’s threats to boycott the [2020–21 United States Senate election in Georgia](/source/2020%E2%80%9321_United_States_Senate_election_in_Georgia).[5]

Ward Sutton, who was frequently tagged when the image circulated, stated that he was uncertain how it became a meme, describing its spread as "a complicated and weird thing".[5][7] He characterized the phenomenon as "mind-blowing" and expressed appreciation that the image generally appeared to be used humorously rather than maliciously.[6] While Sutton welcomed the character’s popularity, he criticized unauthorized commercial use of the image.[5][6] Official merchandise featuring the Sickos Guy is produced by *The Onion*.[5]

Its popularity gave rise to variants as well. Notably, in the wake of the 2026 announcement that the Paris prosecutor's office searched through the French offices of [X](/source/X_Corp.) over the Grok chatbot's image generation feature (*further information: [Sexual deepfake and illegal content generation on X](/source/Grok_(chatbot)#Sexual_deepfake_and_illegal_content_generation_on_X)*), a variant spread on rival social media platform [Bluesky](/source/Bluesky) depicting the character as a stereotypical French aristocrat with a shirt saying "Pervers," still grinning through a window saying "Oui... hon hon hon... oui!" This variant was typically used with a news outlet's article on the office raid as a quote-post.[*[citation needed](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Citation_needed)*]

## Sports

"We're the Sickos because we watch everything. It's not the teams who are Sickos. We're the ones who are sick. We're the ones at the window looking in, going, 'Ha Ha Ha … Yes!' at all these great games."

— Jordan Edmonson, Sickos Committee member[6]

The Sickos Guy has been adopted as an informal [mascot](/source/Mascot) by sports fans who take enjoyment in games involving struggling teams or unusual circumstances.

In 2020, [college football](/source/College_football) fans created the **Sickos Committee** [Twitter](/source/Twitter) account from a [Discord](/source/Discord) server for sportswriters. The account focuses on highlighting games where both teams perform poorly, as well as other unconventional or humorous moments in college football, [Canadian football](/source/Canadian_football), and various niche sports.[8] For example, its top game for Week 9 of the 2022 season featured [Iowa](/source/Iowa_Hawkeyes_football), which had the lowest-ranked offense in the country, against [Northwestern](/source/Northwestern_Wildcats_football), which had not won a game in the United States for over a year.[6] At the end of the season, Iowa was named the Committee's "national champion" for finishing 130th out of 131 teams in total offense, an honor marked by a fundraiser for a [food bank](/source/Food_bank) in [Iowa City](/source/Iowa_City%2C_Iowa).[9]

During the [2023 Quick Lane Bowl](/source/2023_Quick_Lane_Bowl), play-by-play announcer Connor Onion referenced the meme after a low-scoring 10–9 first half, remarking that the "Sickos Committee is out there saying, 'Ha ha ha... Yes!'".[10]

The Committee frequently promotes [MACtion](/source/MACtion) (midweek Mid-American Conference games) and "Pac-12 After Dark" (late-night [Pac-12 Conference](/source/Pac-12_Conference) games), both known for unpredictable and entertaining outcomes with low viewership.[11] George Smith, who refers to himself as the Committee's commissioner, stated in 2022 that the group genuinely enjoy the sport for its unusual events and does not intend to mock teams or players.[6] Ward Sutton expressed support for the Committee's use of his character, provided it was not monetized.[6]

The meme also gained popularity among fans of the [Ottawa Senators](/source/Ottawa_Senators) during the [2020–21 NHL season](/source/2020%E2%80%9321_NHL_season), when the team was performing poorly. Supporters used the Sickos Guy as a symbol of ironic optimism, cheering for losses to improve the team's [NHL entry draft](/source/NHL_entry_draft) lottery odds.[12] A Twitter user named Chris, credited with starting the **Sens Sicko** movement, described it as "a backwards way of cheering for the Sens" that made defeats enjoyable.[13] The Senators organization embraced the meme by selling Sickos-themed cardboard cutouts for games held [without spectators](/source/Behind_closed_doors_(sport)) due to [COVID-19 restrictions](/source/Impact_of_the_COVID-19_pandemic_on_ice_hockey) and by playing a parody of the song "[Say I Yi Yi](/source/Say_I_Yi_Yi)" with Sickos-themed lyrics at home games.[13][14] Following a March 14, 2021 victory over the [Toronto Maple Leafs](/source/Toronto_Maple_Leafs), head coach [D. J. Smith](/source/D._J._Smith_(ice_hockey)) referenced the trend, saying, "I love the passion of the fans, and I gotta say to them: 'YES... HA HA HA... YES!'"[7]

Fans of American professional wrestling promotion [All Elite Wrestling](/source/All_Elite_Wrestling) are regularly referred to as ‘Sickos’, which started in direct reference to this meme; with AEW owner and head booker [Tony Khan](/source/Tony_Khan)’s head in place of the ‘Sickos guy’.

## References

1. **[^](#cite_ref-1)** Kelly, Stan (2006-10-13). ["Editorial Cartoon - October 13, 2006"](https://theonion.com/editorial-cartoon-october-13-2006-1819588328/). *The Onion*. Retrieved 2026-05-29.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-2)** Heller, Steven (November 6, 2016). ["The Alt-Cartoonist: Kelly"](https://www.printmag.com/daily-heller/alt-cartoonist-stan-kelly/). *[Print](/source/Print_(magazine))*. Retrieved October 26, 2025.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-3)** Larson, Sarah (October 16, 2016). ["Brilliantly Wrong: The Political Cartoons of the Onion's Stan Kelly"](https://www.newyorker.com/culture/sarah-larson/brilliantly-terrible-the-political-cartoons-of-the-onions-stan-kelly). *[The New Yorker](/source/The_New_Yorker)*. Retrieved October 26, 2025.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-4)** Kelly, Stan (February 16, 2015). ["Painful Procedural"](https://theonion.com/painful-procedural-1819592076/). *[The Onion](/source/The_Onion)*. Retrieved October 26, 2025.

1. ^ [***a***](#cite_ref-Interview_With_the_Cartoonist_5-0) [***b***](#cite_ref-Interview_With_the_Cartoonist_5-1) [***c***](#cite_ref-Interview_With_the_Cartoonist_5-2) [***d***](#cite_ref-Interview_With_the_Cartoonist_5-3) [***e***](#cite_ref-Interview_With_the_Cartoonist_5-4) Pahwa, Nitish (December 16, 2020). ["An Interview With the Cartoonist Behind the Only Meme Worthy of Our Current Train Wreck"](https://slate.com/culture/2020/12/sickos-meme-ward-sutton-kartoonist-kelly.html). *[Slate](/source/Slate_(magazine))*. Retrieved October 26, 2025.

1. ^ [***a***](#cite_ref-Sickos_Committee_NY_Times_6-0) [***b***](#cite_ref-Sickos_Committee_NY_Times_6-1) [***c***](#cite_ref-Sickos_Committee_NY_Times_6-2) [***d***](#cite_ref-Sickos_Committee_NY_Times_6-3) [***e***](#cite_ref-Sickos_Committee_NY_Times_6-4) [***f***](#cite_ref-Sickos_Committee_NY_Times_6-5) [***g***](#cite_ref-Sickos_Committee_NY_Times_6-6) Auerbach, Nicole (October 28, 2022). ["How Sickos Committee became the internet's ultimate champion of ugly college football"](https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/3736273/2022/10/28/sickos-committee-college-football-twitter/). *[The New York Times](/source/The_New_York_Times)*. Retrieved October 26, 2025.

1. ^ [***a***](#cite_ref-Sickos_have_invaded_7-0) [***b***](#cite_ref-Sickos_have_invaded_7-1) Wyshynski, Greg (March 17, 2021). ["Why 'Sickos' have invaded Ottawa Senators games"](https://www.espn.com/nhl/story/_/id/31078206/why-sickos-invaded-ottawa-senators-games). *[ESPN.com](/source/ESPN.com)*. [ESPN](/source/ESPN). Retrieved October 26, 2025.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-8)** "[@SickosCommittee](https://twitter.com/SickosCommittee)" on [Twitter](/source/Twitter)

1. **[^](#cite_ref-9)** Howell, Michael (December 26, 2022). ["'Sickos Committee' raises money for Iowa City food bank"](https://cbs2iowa.com/news/local/sickos-committee-raises-money-for-iowa-city-food-bank). [KGAN](/source/KGAN). Retrieved October 26, 2025.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-10)** Bucholtz, Andrew (December 26, 2023). ["ESPN's Connor Onion shouts out Sickos Committee on Quick Lane Bowl call"](https://awfulannouncing.com/college-football/espn-connor-onion-sickos-committee-quick-lane-bowl.html). [Awful Announcing](/source/Awful_Announcing). Retrieved October 26, 2025.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-11)** Marcello, Brandon (November 11, 2021). ["Meet the 'Sickos,' college football's loving, inclusive (and perverse) subculture"](https://247sports.com/article/college-football-sickos-committee-175054533/). [247Sports](/source/247Sports). Retrieved October 26, 2025.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-12)** Gold-Smith, Josh (March 24, 2021). ["Senators fans further embrace meme with 'Sickos' cutouts"](https://www.thescore.com/nhl/news/2133343). [Score Media and Gaming](/source/Score_Media_and_Gaming). Retrieved October 26, 2025.

1. ^ [***a***](#cite_ref-Sens_Sicko_13-0) [***b***](#cite_ref-Sens_Sicko_13-1) ["The Sens Sicko movement? Here's everything you need to know"](https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/2415623/2021/03/02/the-sens-sicko-movement-heres-everything-you-need-to-know/). *[The New York Times](/source/The_New_York_Times)*. [The Athletic](/source/The_Athletic). March 2, 2021. Retrieved October 26, 2025.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-14)** Pickens, Pat (March 13, 2021). ["Senators show off 'Sens Sickos' fan cutouts for home games"](https://www.nhl.com/news/senators-show-off-sens-sickos-fan-cutouts-322495728). [National Hockey League](/source/National_Hockey_League). Retrieved October 26, 2025.

## External links

- [Sickos Haha Yes](https://knowyourmeme.com/memes/sickos-haha-yes) entry at [Know Your Meme](/source/Know_Your_Meme)

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Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Sickos](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sickos) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sickos?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.