OfficialBigRed0 and Room 309 Girl '80s Rom-Com TikToks

Submission 408

Part of a series on You Ladies Alright? / Omar the Basketball Referee Catching Ball. [View Related Entries]

About

OfficialBigRed0 and Room 309 Girl '80s Rom-Com TikToks refers to an imagined romance between two college students who went viral on TikTok in September 2024. The romance centers on TikToker OfficialBigRed (@officialbigred0) who was part of a fraternity pledge TikTok (PledgeTok) video in which he and other male pledges had to perform the "You ladies alright?" catch after knocking on the doors of random dorm rooms. In the original video, OfficialBigRed0 caught the football in front of a blonde girl in room 309, who smiled at him, didn't say anything and then closed the door. After seeing the video, TikTokers likened the two's vibe to an '80s romantic comedy (rom-com) or '80s sitcom romance. Various fan edits of the two spread online, surfacing on other platforms like Twitter / X. It was later revealed that the blonde Room 309 Girl was named @xylophonic.bonecollector on TikTok. Going into October 2024, the two college students posted more videos together, following the format of their original viral video. Each successive video furthered their fake romance's lore. On one of the videos, actress Jenna Ortega left a comment, sparking reactions en masse.

Origin

On September 24th, 2024, TikToker^[1] @officialbigred0 posted a video of him and other pledges at the University of Michigan knocking on random dorm room doors and performing the "You ladies alright?" catch in front of unsuspecting girls. The stunt was likely a dare for their fraternity's hazing process. Over nine days, the video amassed roughly 26.6 million plays and 3.6 million likes (shown below).

At the video's 22-second mark, OfficialBigRed0 knocks on Room 0309 and a blonde girl emerges. She smiles at his joke, doesn't say anything and then closes the door.

Spread

On September 29th, 2024, TikToker^[2] @iproducebeats posted a video discussing the abovementioned video, saying that the two were "Literally an '80s romcom." Over four days, the video received roughly 5.9 million plays and 779,900 likes (shown below).

Later on September 29th, TikToker^[3] @differentbrandobeanz posted an edit of the two college students, riffing on the idea that they were in an '80s rom-com. Over four days, the video received roughly 23.7 million plays and 3.4 million likes (shown below).

On September 30th, TikToker^[4] @itss.rudy posted a video that attested a similar point, writing, "the way she looks into his eyes & starts blushing before closing the door. that's 80's love right there," gaining over 1.8 million plays and 232,200 likes in three days (shown below).

On October 1st, 2024, TikToker^[5] @officialbigred0 posted a follow-up video to his original, in which he knocked on room 0309 and asked the girl to go to a school dance with him. Over two days, the video gained roughly 54.7 million plays and 9.3 million likes (shown below).

In the following days, TikTokers discovered that the girl in room 309 was TikToker^[6] @xylophonic.bonecollector.