In case you missed it, there’s an entire conspiracy theory surrounding Green Bay Packers Jordan Love and his success being tied to Toyota’s annual sales event known as Toyotathon. (Our very own Sam dug deeper into this theory here). When looking at the last 2 seasons without context, the evidence is there. This made it a fun little meme allowing the internet to debate whether or not Love is a “Toyotathon merchant”.
The theory was initially presented on TikTok by an account known as Kicks that makes random analysis on various sports topics. It’s grown exponentially, being mentioned by ESPN’s Mina Kimes on her podcast “The Mina Kimes Show featuring Lenny”. Packers head coach Matt LaFleur was even asked about the theory by The Athletic’s Matt Schneidman. The coach claims he wasn’t aware of it and responded by saying, “I’m more of a GM guy”.
Well based on a new social media post, we know the QB himself is at least aware of it, and leaning into the fun with Toyota. Jordan Love uploaded a photo of himself to Instagram rocking a “Merry Toyotathon” ugly sweater in front of a Toyota SUV of some kind (not a car person, sorry). The post was captioned “Toyotathon is on, Cheeseheads” and included hashtags #ToyotaPartner and #CarspiracyTheory.
Honestly, kudos to Toyota for a smart sponsorship since the Jordan Love Toyotathon conspiracy benefits them too, believe it or not. I did a bit of research using Google Trends and tracked the terms “Jordan Love Toyotathon” (blue) and “Toyotathon” (red) since November 15th (the start of Toyotathon). In doing so, I noticed similar spikes in those terms on days on or after Packers games where Jordan Love had a passer rating over 100, showing the QB (and Kicks) may have boosted their brand.
Comparison of Toyotathon vs Jordan Love Toyotathon search teams via Google Trends
Here’s a look at how the blue spikes lined up with events surrounding Jordan Love and Toyotathon:
Nov 29: The day after the Packers defeated the Miami Dolphins 30-17 on Thanksgiving. Love went 21/28 for 274 yards, 2 TDs, 0 INTs and a passer rating of 129.2.
Dec 5: The day the Packers lost to the Detroit Lions 34-31. Love went 12/20 for 206 yards, 1 TD, 0 INT and a passer rating of 111.7.
Dec 16: The day after the Packers defeated the Seattle Seahawks 30-13. Love went 20/27 for 229 yards, 2 TDs, 0 INTs, and a passer rating of 123.8. And as you can see, the searches have continued on a similar trend throughout the week.
Dec 23: Today and the day Jordan Love’s “Toyotathon” Instagram post happened. There appears to be a trend in progress as a result of the post.
Clearly, Jordan Love is increasing the internet’s search of “Toyotathon,” making it a brilliant marketing move to bring the guy in on a sponsorship opportunity for giving them some free press and giving Packers fans a fun moment to enjoy.
Some on social media are concerned that addressing it is bad luck for QB1 ahead of the team’s playoff push, but most are enjoying the quarterback hyping up the light-hearted theory. Others, including his own fiancé, Ronika Stone, who commented “Toyotathon Merchant” on the post, are convinced Jordan Love will only see success during the sales event. Haters are gonna hate, I guess.
