its just one of the commonly overused threadless elements. for instance, it could be birds, deer, swirly photoshop brushes, skulls, or disney characters.
youve scored enough subs to know exactly what im talking about.
ive just seen the randomly placed deer in a submission on the rise, mebbe to get the "OMG! i love deerZ!!!!" popular vote?
I agree, there were a ton of deer subs even before the Big Buck competition started. Now there's even more! But by the time the comp is over, everyone will be tired of the subject and move on.