Noah Lyles gets hilariously dragged into Yankees-Dodgers World Series by fans after troll question goes viral

The World Series starts this Friday, and it has brought up an age-old question. Why is the championship called the "World Series"? This argument initially started when Olympic gold medalist Noah Lyles questioned why the Denver Nuggets called themselves "World Champions" after their NBA title.

"You know what hurts me the most is that I have to watch the NBA Finals and they have ‘world champion’ on their head," Lyles said in a press conference (Aug. 2023). "World champion of what? The United States? Don’t get me wrong. I love the U.S. — at times — but that ain’t the world. That is not the world. We are the world.

"We have almost every country out here fighting, thriving, putting on their flag to show that they are represented. There ain’t no flags in the NBA. We gotta do more. We gotta be presented to the world.”

With the World Series between the Los Angeles Dodgers and New York Yankees coming up, one fan asked why it's called that when it's between two American franchises.

This sparked some reactions, making fun of or referencing Lyles' comments, with some asking the original poster not to go down this road again.

"Someone asks that every time," another said.

"Cuz we got people from all around the world in the league Noah Lyles DAMN!" one exclaimed.

"A certain sprinter once had the same argument, but he was chastised for it," one acknowledged.

"Bro think she’s Noah Lyles," another chimed in.

This conversation comes around every time the "world champion" claim is made.

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Why it's called the World Series?

The argument that it shouldn't be the World Series or that teams shouldn't be referred to as world champions largely stems from semantics. Technically, the leagues aren't worldwide, so they can't be claiming world status.

The Yankees will play in the World Series (Imagn)

However, players from all over the world participate in most sports leagues. MLB has players from many countries, so it is a world sport of sorts. Japan, the USA, the Dominican Republic, Cuba, Mexico, Venezuela, and so many more are represented.

Furthermore, in the case of the NBA and the NFL, it's not strictly national. The presence of the Toronto Blue Jays and Toronto Raptors in these leagues means it's not strictly US-centric and the "world" title, while still not completely accurate, is a little more appropriate.