Howard savoring burst of celebrity after amazing saves versus Belgium

United States' goalkeeper Tim Howard was heroic in defeat against Belgium making 16 stops and sparking a Twitter meme campaign.

(Felipe Dana)

CLEVELAND, Ohio -- The United States soccer team was eliminated from the World Cup on Tuesday with a 2-1 loss to Belgium, but among the big winners were American goalkeeper Tim Howard.

Often elastic and frequently fantastic, Howard made a World Cup-record 16 saves, earning him universal praise and capturing the imagination of Twitter. Howard memes became the rage almost immediately -- depicting him saving such things as the dinosaurs, the Titanic, Janet Jackson's wardrobe malfunction and Humpty Dumpty's fall. The Twitter hashtag #ThingsTimHowardCouldSave was trending soon enough.

It got us thinking what else could the Everton keeper save -- you know like Cleveland fans from infamous sports moments. So I sent out this Tweet:

Within two hours we had a response. Michael Jordan's fabled shot rejected.

Fans made sure Howard kept coming to the rescue. Sorry, John Elway, your legend must begin elsewhere.

That devastating Game 7 loss in the 1997 World Series never happened thanks to Timmy.

No South Beach for you, LeBron.

And finally, rest easy Earnest Byner because Tim Howard has you covered.