Virginia basketball coach Tony Bennett probably did not anticipate being tied to actor Seth MacFarlane following the Cavaliers’ historic national championship win in the 2019 NCAA Tournament. But because Twitter is a wild platform, that is exactly what happened when people noticed that the head coach and Family Guy creator are actually doppelgangers.
I mean, it is kind of hard to argue the facts.
Been discussing for days how Tim from @TheMidnightLA looks like a perfect combination of Virginia basketball coach Tony Bennett, Seth MacFarlane, and Born in the USA-era Springsteen pic.twitter.com/uPoE6Z3FWa
— Baby Billy (@keithshred) April 9, 2019
As is always the case with anything that goes viral on social media, it is always hard to track down the original source. However, Heavy.com noted that the first instance of a Bennett-MacFarlane comparison appears to have come back in 2016. When you’re the originator, you know you have some social media savvy.
Tony Bennett or Seth MacFarlane? pic.twitter.com/EVdyN6Ud2Q
— Carson Shanks (@CoachShanksUMD) March 28, 2016
Just one month earlier, there was also a doppelganger comparison.
Virginia head coach Tony Bennett and Seth MacFarlane gotta be twins. pic.twitter.com/r7hxP09QSu
— Austin Shoemaker (@AShoe15) February 28, 2016
But, of course, with the Cavaliers playing in the national championship game against the Texas Tech Red Raiders, Bennett was brought back into the spotlight and the comparisons returned.
Is it just me or does #Virginia head coach Tony Bennett look exactly like Seth MacFarlane. I wonder if he could do a Peter impression? pic.twitter.com/QYKzhm0ega
— Matt Helmkamp (@MattHelmkamp) April 9, 2019
https://twitter.com/Sweeny92/status/1109981338071896065
Does anyone else think #Virginia HC Tony Bennett looks like what Seth MacFarlane would look like if he were a basketball coach? pic.twitter.com/th5qgI7X4A
— Ben Heisler (@bennyheis) March 17, 2018
The good news for Bennett — other than becoming an internet sensation because of his celebrity doppelganger, is that his Virginia Cavaliers were able to come away with an overtime victory over Texas Tech to claim the first national championship in program history. The victory was even sweeter because of what happened to the Cavaliers a year ago.
This season marked the third time Virginia had ever reached the Final Four, but they were finally able to get over the hump after a disastrous tournament outing last season. During the 2018 NCAA Tournament, Bennett and the Cavaliers entered as the No. 1 overall seed in the tournament before suffering a stunning upset in the opening round to No. 16 seed UMBC.
As for Texas Tech basketball coach Chris Beard, take some words of comfort about losing to Tony Bennett from his doppelganger (okay, MacFarlane wasn’t talking about that Tony Bennett, but whatever):
If you gotta lose, Tony Bennett's the guy to lose to– congrats on 18th Grammy win!
— Seth MacFarlane (@SethMacFarlane) February 16, 2016
