I Caught Up With Crying Piccolo Girl

What it's like going viral during March Madness.

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March Madness isn’t March Madness without the camera panning to the crowd after a devastating loss and spotting a sad college student sobbing in the stands.

Maybe their team lost with one second left on the clock. Maybe they lost in overtime. Or maybe it really was just a blowout.

Whatever the type of loss may be, the second the final buzzer sounds, there will be a shot of a sad college student broadcast on national television.

One of the most iconic Sad Student Shots (as I’m calling them) was from the 2015 tournament after Villanova was upset by North Carolina State.

This was pre-TikTok but peak Twitter. At the time, I remember seeing dozens of tweets and memes responding to what was, at the end of the day, just a really sad college student trying her best to play the piccolo despite her team not advancing.

I can imagine that for the person going viral on such a national stage, it must’ve felt strange, to say the least.

I tracked down the face behind the viral meme, Roxanne Chalifoux, to get her perspective on what it was actually like going viral and whether it still comes up in her life today.

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Enjoy the interview!

What It’s Like Going Viral During March Madness

This interview has been edited and condensed for clarity.

How did you feel in that moment while you were playing the piccolo after that loss?
I’m honestly happy to report that after 10 years passing, I don’t really remember that feeling like I know I experienced at the time. At 22, I was heartbroken that my team didn’t make it deeper into the tournament my senior year of college and last year being a student at Villanova. It’s crazy to think how that moment back then felt like such a big deal to me, but life really did march on.

How did you first react when you found out you went viral?
It’s all a blur, really. Back in 2015, I think going viral was really different than it is now—I think everything unfolded on Twitter.

I think I was surprised that people connected with that moment—whether they were feeling sad with me or laughing at me or whatever response they had.

To this day, I don’t really understand it, but they still show sad people at sports games so there must be something to it!

What was the weirdest or funniest response you got after the clip went viral?
Probably Bubba Watson wanting to take a picture with me. He was the nicest guy and I never would have expected he would know who I was when we met.

You ended up going on Jimmy Fallon. What was that experience like?
It was incredible. It all happened really fast and I clearly wasn’t expecting it, but Jimmy and The Roots were class acts.

I felt so comfortable and really enjoyed my time at Rockefeller Center.

How often does this viral moment come up in your life now?
Thankfully, not too often. It’s a fun memory to relive, especially with my friends from college who experienced it with me, but life went on and I prefer to keep moving forward.

I guess the way I could put it is this may be my most famous moment, but I have way more favorite moments that have occurred since 2015.

Do you still play the piccolo?
Not well!

Villanova won the championship the following year. Did that make up for the heartbreak you felt in that moment?
Absolutely. Being at both championships in 2016 and 2018 healed any heartbreak from 2015 a hundred times over.

For anyone who may go viral during this March Madness, what advice would you give them?
The moment will pass, but the memories are lifelong. Enjoy the present because it won’t last forever, but the best is yet to come.

Even though Villanova isn't in the tournament this year, will you be watching any of the games?
Here and there. I hate to admit it, but I really only watch for Villanova.

I must ask: Are you a Knicks fan, given the Nova Knicks?
I’m not a huge professional sports fan oddly enough, but I’ll still root for them out of collegial spirit!

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