FINLEYVILLE — Independent meme farmer Butch Muller, 36, anticipates he will have to cease operations after his crucial Phil Kessel crop was ruined by the winger’s trade to Arizona.
“The dream is over — we’re done for,” said Muller, who has reportedly posted what Kessel memes he has left for significantly reduced likes and shares. “I’m hemorrhaging followers left and right; I don’t even know if I’ll make it to the start of the next NHL season. I’ve begged the community to let me make up the difference with the Jack Johnson stuff I’ve been sowing, but they say there’s just too much risk involved with a lesser product like that.”
The family-run meme account has provided fresh, homegrown memes to the region via a variety of platforms for nearly two decades. Muller considered how the farm had changed over the years.
“I remember when my dad started putting up our family-harvested memes on message boards and AOL chat rooms,” he recalled. “We had a more diversified selection then: Cowher chin memes, Tom Murphy memes, Kevin McClatchy memes — all sorts of stuff. Things moved slower, so you could make extra sure you had something good to give followers.”
He continued to explain that an evolving market forced him to invest so heavily in the high-yielding Kessel batch.
“The big meme farms started taking over, though. They could make more memes faster and accepted fewer engagements for them, so we had to lean hard on the Kessel stuff just to keep up. Way of the meme world, I guess, but we’re still proud of what we’ve accomplished without ever selling out to some hotshot aggregator.”
Despite the unfortunate outlook, Muller believes he still has enough money saved to retire from meme farming and focus more on his passion for leisurely Steelers shitposting.
