‘You like that?!’ Inside a Clemson staffer’s lasting connection to an NFL meme
The first time they watch the clip, nobody recognizes Ross Taylor.
“But when they know me and they see it, then they can’t unsee it,” he said.
Taylor is currently in his eighth season as Clemson football’s director of communications. But the most viral moment of his career doesn’t involve coach Dabo Swinney, or a College Football Playoff run, or anything else related to the program for which he serves as primary media contact.
It involves Kirk Cousins, a historic comeback and three words that still resonate:
You like that?! You like that?!
Yes, that’s him. Not the one delivering the actual line, of course. That’s Cousins, the Washington Redskins’ starting quarterback at the time, fired up after rallying his team from down 24 points to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and pulling off one of the greatest comebacks in NFL history.
But take a second look at that viral video turned meme from Oct. 25, 2015, and you’ll notice a second person: Taylor, Washington’s then-director of communications, trailing Cousins as the QB turns a corner at Northwest Stadium and finds a camera.
You like that?! You like that?!
Saturday marks the 10-year anniversary of the moment, and people are still getting a kick out of it. “You like that?!” videos have generated millions of views online. Other players and teams have used the quote after big wins. Cousins was breaking it down on ESPN’s “ManningCast” as recently as 2022. If the NFL Hall of Fame in Canton, Ohio had a section for memes, “You like that?!” would be in it.
As would Cousins … and Taylor.
“For it to blow up the way it did, I certainly didn’t anticipate that,” Taylor said.
Jokes aside, there are some lessons to be learned.
A blowout loss turned historic comeback
A few hours before Cousins engineered the fifth-largest comeback in NFL regular-season history, Taylor, 36, remembers sitting in the press box at Northwest Stadium outside Washington, D.C., and texting his then-girlfriend, now his wife.
“Hey, we might need to cancel bye week plans,” he wrote.
That’s how bad things felt in the moment for Washington. The Redskins were coming off a 4-12 season under Jay Gruden. They’d started 2-4 in 2015. Playing Tampa Bay at home in Week 7, they’d fallen into a 24-0 hole with 8:19 remaining in the second quarter and were staring a 2-5 record in the face.
“There’s a real possibility everybody’s getting blown out and we’re looking for a new coaching staff,” said Taylor, who worked for Washington’s PR staff from 2011-18.
By the end of the game, Taylor found himself in a far different position: Corralling Cousins for a postgame TV interview with FOX after the struggling quarterback’s best game of his career, rallying Washington from a 24-0 deficit to a 31-30 win.
Taylor recalls Cousins being cool, calm and collected in his TV interview. No surprise there – Cousins had always been mild-mannered, giving off “dad vibes” since his rookie year in Washington. Which made his next move even more unexpected.
Cousins and Taylor walked off the field and into the tunnel at Northwest Stadium and hung a left toward the home locker room. As they emerged from that corner, Cousins locked eyes with a local TV reporter setting up for his postgame show, Tarik El-Bashir of the local NBC affiliate (then known as Comcast SportsNet Mid-Atlantic).
You like that?! You like that?!
For Cousins, it was a moment of relief. He’d yet to truly break through as an NFL quarterback and entered the game having thrown more interceptions (eight) than touchdowns (six). Gruden had described his confidence as “fragile” earlier that week. In a way, this game had been a final chance for Cousins to prove himself.
And he’d delivered.
“You like that?!” was his own “Gladiator” moment: “Are you not entertained?”
It was so quick, so spontaneous, Taylor barely had time to think or react.
One thing on his mind as he trailed Cousins?
Don’t smile.
A moment with a ‘life of its own’
He achieved his goal — partially. The famous clip of Cousins bellowing, “You like that?!” shows Taylor holding strong at first … before breaking into a smirk.
“I was trying to be a dutiful PR guy, trying not to look into the camera,” Taylor said, laughing. “But I also didn’t know if they were capturing anything. I didn’t figure they were live or anything like that, and I don’t think they were — they just captured it and posted it after the fact.”
In very 2015 fashion, the clip originally took off on Vine. Cousins’ quote became a rallying cry for Washington that season as the Redskins finished 9-7 and won the NFC East. Fans started chanting “You like that?!” at home games, and the team printed the slogan on thousands of rally towels for its playoff game vs. Green Bay.
“It took on a life of its own,” Taylor said.
Three years later, when he started as Clemson’s new director of football communications, Taylor was presenting to Swinney and the rest of the team about interacting with the media. One of his tips for players in the room: “Assume that the cameras are always watching, and that you’re gonna go viral.”
“And I popped it up there,” he said.
It was an immediate hit. Taylor’s involvement in the clip is now a running joke of sorts in the football building. Players like Sage Ennis and Jamal Anderson will yell out “You like that?!” when they see him around. Clemson offensive line coach Matt Luke will sometimes approach Taylor, giddy: “I saw it again! I saw it again!”
A viral moment, a last friendship
There’s an interesting Clemson connection, too: Cousins’ game-winning drive against Tampa Bay never would have happened without an effort play from former Clemson cornerback Bashaud Breeland, who sprinted from the opposite side of the field to tackle Bucs running back Doug Martin short of the goal line late in the fourth quarter — and blew out his hamstring in the process.
Martin’s breakaway 49-yard run came with Tampa Bay leading 27-24 with 4:10 remaining. Had he scored, the Bucs would have gone up 10 points and likely won the game. Instead, Breeland tackled Martin at the 4-yard line, and the Bucs had to settle for a short field goal and six-point lead with 2:24 remaining.
Taylor texted the clip to Swinney a few years ago, explaining how Cousins’ winning drive and the “You like that?!” video never would have happened without Breeland “literally exploding his own hamstring to go make that play,” he said.
Sure enough, it’s popped up in a few team meetings since, with Swinney using the video to remind Clemson players they need to play with 110% effort on every snap.
The 2015 “You like that?!” season kicked off a solid run for Cousins, 37, who emerged as a quality starter for Washington and Minnesota and currently sits at No. 21 on the NFL’s all-time passing yards list and No. 4 on its all-time career earnings list.
Taylor describes Cousins — currently Atlanta’s backup quarterback — as a joy to work with from a PR perspective and a “consummate professional in every setting.” After working together for seven seasons in Washington, they remain cordial and catch up annually via text. Cousins once filmed a video for Clemson’s players.
And a reminder of their viral moment is never too far away.
At his home in Clemson, Taylor keeps a signed No. 8 Redskins jersey, a gift from Cousins after he left the team in 2018. And there’s a special message on it:
“Ross, Thanks for all your help! We Like That!”
This story was originally published October 23, 2025 at 9:00 AM.
