--- --- # The Internet Can't Decide What This Guy's Mind-Boggling Promposal Sign Is Saying  by [Raisa Bruner](https://time.com/author/raisa-bruner/)  ## Raisa Bruner Apr 14, 2017 4:06 PM UTC  by [Raisa Bruner](https://time.com/author/raisa-bruner/)  ## Raisa Bruner Apr 14, 2017 4:06 PM UTC Viral promposals are all the rage this season. Usually, they’re pretty self-explanatory to wider audiences—like this [extensive _La La Land_ reenactment](http://time.com/4727690/emma-stone-prom-la-la-land/), or a Disney-perfect [_Beauty and the Beast_ approach](http://time.com/4713839/beauty-and-the-beast-prom-proposal-2/). But one simple-seeming prom proposal, as shared by Twitter user and [Texas high schooler](http://cw33.com/2017/04/13/a-texan-teen-promposes-with-a-poster-thats-hard-to-understand-but-still-gets-a-yes/) Marlen Williams earlier this week, has taken on a life of its own. That’s because of a certain level of confusion surrounding just exactly what Williams was trying to say to his date, spelled out in colorful letters on his signboard. Turns out, his creation wasn’t quite a slam dunk in the eyes of Twitter. > [](https://twitter.com/%5Flord%5Fdarkskin%5F/status/851278451709419520) > [](https://twitter.com/Mmarissaluna/status/851307448421949440) It’s telling that the request for explanation comes with more than 3,000 likes—half as many as the sweet original post itself. Luckily, others are stepping in to help untangle the sign’s verbiage and come up with a satisfactory translation. The important point to know is that it appears both Williams and his date play basketball, and the sign is a reference to positions on court. > [](https://twitter.com/worl%5Ftim/status/851829653643948033) > [](https://twitter.com/OneLeggedFade41/status/852318956077580288) > [](https://twitter.com/Riley%5FMartin3/status/851847051721805827) > [](https://twitter.com/Bougieafrican/status/851688992085078016) > [](https://twitter.com/macdaddy906/status/851669703122669568) > [](https://twitter.com/chiami%5Fann/status/851692992410857473) > [](https://twitter.com/Thatonetruukidd/status/851783847561789440) Although many were befuddled by the unusual alignment of his sentences on the sign, it looks like Williams got the girl—which is really the only person he needed to understand it, anyway. Besides, when it comes to finding it difficult to fit everything onto one poster, he’s certainly not alone. > [](https://twitter.com/Iuvisrage2/status/851817068332711939) This Basketball-Themed Promposal Has the Internet Confused ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/4740135/basketball-promposal-twitter/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/4740135/basketball-promposal-twitter/"},"headline":"The Internet Can't Decide What This Guy's Mind-Boggling Promposal Sign Is Saying","datePublished":"2017-04-14T16:06:42.000Z","dateModified":"2026-04-13T07:42:50.408Z","description":"The teen's creative sign has the internet scratching its head.","url":"https://time.com/4740135/basketball-promposal-twitter/","keywords":["Newsfeed","viral","Bizarre"],"thumbnailUrl":"","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Raisa Bruner","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/raisa-bruner/"}],"articleSection":"","image":[],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/tag/time-section-newsfeed/","name":"Newsfeed"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/4740135/basketball-promposal-twitter/","name":"The Internet Can't Decide What This Guy's Mind-Boggling Promposal Sign Is Saying"}}]}] ```