Christian Pulisic the LeBron James of soccer? Explaining the 'Pawn Stars' reference that lit up Twitter

Simon Borg

•
Christian Pulisic the LeBron James of soccer? Explaining the 'Pawn Stars' reference that lit up Twitter image

It seems that anything Christian Pulisic does elicits over-the-top reactions from Chelsea and U.S. national team fans around the world.

But when he scored the equalizer against Liverpool to cap an incredible first-half comeback for Chelsea, the Blues' official USA Twitter account took it a bit too far.

"The Lebron James of Soccer" is how the post read immediately following the Pulisic goal that tied the match 2-2, a result that would hold as the final.

But if you took a moment to process it, the tweet was actually well done. That is, if you knew the reference that the admin was making: the video segment from the show "Pawn Stars" that centered around a framed signed Pulisic jersey for which a fan was looking for $1,500 from one of the show's protagonists, Richard Corey Harrison.

MORE: Top 10 January transfer window targets

You can watch it below to see if he actually came away with the money he was looking for:

The segment became an inside joke for American soccer Twitter a few weeks ago, but for those who weren't in the know the Chelsea tweet was an easy target for some choice replies — over 400 of them to go along with 1,000-plus quote tweets. This was just one of a long list of similar replies:

The reaction it generated was significant enough that the Chelsea admin delivered a half-hearted apology:

Pulisic scores, misses big chance vs. Liverpool

Pulisic was a big reason Chelsea was able to come back from a two-goal deficit. Playing on a three-man front line, his well-taken goal just before halftime pulled Chelsea level at 2-2.

It was the American's third Premier League goal of the season in his 11th league appearance. More importantly, it made up for a big missed chance in the seventh minute, which he should have put away in a one-on-one against the goalkeeper. You could feel his relief come through in his postgame comments.

"I was happy. I needed to redeem myself for missing a chance early on," Pulisic said. "I was happy I took a really good first touch and put it away.

MORE: Premier League top scorer rankings

"It was strange to be down 2-0. Obviously, I had the chance early on I should've taken and could've changed the game," he added. "[Liverpool] score two, but it felt like we were still in the game, playing well and we kept with it, scored two . . . Exciting game for sure, but it's one we wanted to win.

"Especially after we brought it back 2-2, you always want to get that winner. So it was a bit frustrating not to find it, but probably a fair result in the end."

Pulisic played most of the match in a left wing position alongside Kai Havertz and Mason Mount at the top of the Chelsea attack. He would later move into a right wingback position to end the match as Chelsea brought on fresh legs in attack. 

But outside of Pulisic's early chance, which came after a Liverpool defender was dispossessed in the box, Chelsea struggled to create much in the run of play.

MORE: Why Lukaku was left out vs. Liverpool

The Blues could have used star center forward Romelu Lukaku, but he was benched after comments he made to an Italian broadcaster that were critical of head coach Thomas Tuchel's tactics. Tuchel dropped him for the match and Chelsea needed an out-of-the-blue Mateo Kovacic volley and Pulisic's heroics to get on the board.

Pulisic's first goal for Chelsea since Nov. 20 had American soccer in a good mood Sunday, especially with three clutch FIFA World Cup qualifiers coming up at the end of the month.

Simon Borg

Simon Borg Photo

Simon Borg is a senior editor at The Sporting News who has covered football/soccer for over a decade. A supporter of Italian club Parma Calcio from his years growing up in Europe, he was previously a long-time member of Major League Soccer's digital media team, as a multimedia content producer, on-air personality, and Editor-in-Chief. Based in New York City, Borg is multilingual and has covered the domestic and global scene for TSN since 2021.