Adam Sandler Reacts To Academy Award Snub With Solid ‘Waterboy’ Reference

Adam Sandler is taking his Monday morning disappointment in stride.

The longtime funnyman gained plenty of Oscar buzz for his role in “Uncut Gems,” but when the Academy released its 2020 nominees Monday morning, Sandler’s name was nowhere to be found.

Sandler, however, took the high road with his response. Shortly after the announcement, Sandler used a tweet to express his relative disappointment. In doing so, though, he also congratulated former co-star Kathy Bates for her nomination.

Bates, of course, played Sandler’s “Mama” in the 1998 movie “The Waterboy” about, well, a waterboy who became one of the greatest college football players of all time. Bates, meanwhile, was nominated for her role in “Richard Jewell,” a Clint Eastwood-directed film about the 1996 Olympic bombing. Sports!

It actually has been a big couple of days for “The Waterboy” nostalgia. On Sunday, former NFL head coaches Bill Cowher and Jimmy Johnson were named 2020 Pro Football Hall of Fame inductees. That allowed Cowher to celebrate and congratulate Johnson by posting a couple of photos from their cameos in, you guessed it, “The Waterboy.”

Sandler wasn’t the only “Uncut Gems” snub. Former Boston Celtics star Kevin Garnett made his big-screen debut in the movie (and was actually pretty good), but he too came up (unsurprisingly) short when the nominees were announced. That led to a predictable field day from Twitter users.