Who is James Droz from TikTok? Bartlesville grad goes viral for NFL commentary

James Droz, a special needs TikToker from Bartlesville, went viral for his “what happeneduhh?” reaction videos about basketball and football games. He has gained around 700,000 followers on TikTok, most of whom love his catchphrase.

Droz makes these videos after high-profile NFL games where he asks the losing team and uses his catchphrase, “What happened?”

James first went viral in January 2022 when he uploaded a video asking “what happened?” to the Minnesota Vikings. Over the next ten months, the video was viewed about 652,100 times and has garnered 65,000 likes. In his next video, he asked the same question to the Pittsburgh Steelers, and the video got over 1.7 million views and 170,300 likes.

James’ has been watching sports from an early age. His mother, Susan Hainzinger said Droz used to memorize the score of whatever football game he watched. Growing up, James Droz played all sorts of sports.

Droz himself has been involved with the Bartlesville football team, but due to his special needs, he could not always play on the field. However, he helped their coach with the team.

He even scored a touchdown last year against Choctaw, and the crowd cheered for him the loudest and everybody appreciated James.

His mother had a rather emotional response where she said that they were getting to experience something that the parent of every special needs child has prayed for. Stating that it was like living a dream, she noted that they were a part of something that doesn't just happen to regular kids, and said that it was an honor.

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James Droz's NFL commentary draws attention, wins him an invite to watch the games in-person

Droz spends his weekends watching NFL games, and his reaction videos have people amused.

In mid-2022, James Droz shifted his focus from the NFL to the NBA and made similar reaction videos to those games. Even here, he asked the losing teams, “What happened?”

He made this commentary regarding the Phoenix Suns losing and the video gained around 2.3 million views and 312,700 likes in just six months.

Then again, in June 2022, when the Golden State Warriors defeated the Boston Celtics in the 2022 NBA Finals, James Droz uploaded a video. At the time, he hilariously roasted the Boston Celtics, gaining over 2.4 million views and 315,600 likes.

James Droz was invited to watch a game against Oklahoma State in November 2022. It came as a surprise to him when his mother broke the news to him that he was going to watch the match in person.

James Droz’s mother talked about his enthusiasm during the games. He doesn’t stop cheering from his seat and even calls out the referees when they make any wrong calls. Hainzinger is grateful to James’ followers and everyone else who made it possible for them to attend such a prominent sporting event as Bedlam.

She shared that all of this will leave a lasting impression on him and what he will do going forward. She continued:

“You never know what your kids are going to do. … It’ll definitely be a memorable event for me and my family and all of our loved ones. I mean, how many people get invited to Bedlam because they’re TikTok famous? It’s crazy. This is a once-in-a-lifetime thing for him.”

A 2020 OU graduate Anthony Rayburn, who follows James Droz on TikTok and has become one of his dedicated fans, proposed for James to visit Norman to watch the game. Rayburn said that he uses TikTok a lot and since he loves sports, he is one of James' biggest fans.

He added that when he found out that James was from Bartlesville, he decided to invite the TikToker to Normal since he also likes OU and OSU.

He further added that James' TikTok reaction videos are something he looks forward to every weekend. James' cheerful commentary is not aimed at mocking or ridiculing any team. It's all playful banter and his catchphrase is even being used by people from other fan bases.

Ray shared that James Droz is his favorite TikToker.