Fans hold signs for Olivia Dunne of LSU during a PAC-12 meet against Utah at Jon M. Huntsman Center on January 06, 2023 in Salt Lake City, Utah. (Photo by Alex Goodlett/Getty Images)
I'm gonna make a strange comparison here and say that Livvy Dunne is to college gymnastics as Happy Gilmore was to golf. Now yes, Happy Gilmore was a movie and what's going on at LSU is real. But here's what I see. Livvy is bringing a LOT of new attention to women's gymnastics. In the same way Adam Sandler's character brought more people to golf. And just like in that movie there's some people that are not ok with it.
As reported by Outkick, Livvy has 6.6 million followers on TikTok, 2.7 million followers on Instagram and an estimated NIL valuation of more than $2.5 million.
Livvy Dunne was not in the lineup for LSU's seasoning opening match against Utah. She's dealing with an injured labrum.
That didn't seem to matter to several of her fans in attendance.
They chanted “we want Livvy” while other athletes were competing. I saw a tweet that said security moved the group hoping to keep them quiet. They continued throughout. After the meet, Livvy did take some time for pics with the fans.
That all seems harmless enough.
But that adoration continued as reported by Utah Sports beat writer Josh Furlong.
That's the kind of draw that Olivia Dunne has.
She's a superstar and people will come just to see her. LSU's next appearance is at Kentucky Friday January 13th. Televised on ESPN2. Expect more of the same. And just to be clear. I don't blame anyone here. Livvy is a superstar, there's no denying that. I also don't blame the fans. They love her. They want to see her. The idea of capturing Livvy on your BeReal was a huge deal.
Finally, for the rest, this is just how it is right now. Go back and re-watch Happy Gilmore.
