The Good, The Bad & The Ugly
Twitter is one of the fastest growing social networks out there right now and is gaining popularity due to its effectiveness in being able to quickly send a brief message or thought out to your friends, family, fans etc with a few clicks from your smart phone. Even further, virtually everyone seems to be on it these days. And while Twitter can be great in a lot of ways...in others...not so much. This post has been an idea in the making dating back to the 2011 football season when former Clemson QB Tajh Boyd allegedly sent out a tweet saying South Carolina's defense was "average". Whether his account was compromised or he actually sent the tweet himself is somewhat irrelevant in my opinion because either way, it goes to show just how quick a tweet can go viral can be seen by a lot of people in a very, very, short amount of time. That saga went on to a battle of words that has gone on between both players and coaches including Spurrier and Swinney every since. No matter if its a golf tournament in June or the week of the big game in November, both coaches have been seen taking shots at the other with Spurrier clearly winning the battle the past five years....on the football field....where it matters most. But this twitter and football connection (and sports in general for that matter) goes far beyond this Palmetto State Rivalry.
One thing that I've noticed in the past few years is that social media doesn't care...and as some people say, "has no chill". Nothing is off limits anymore and when you play poorly, run your mouth (and can't back it up), do something crazy off the field, get arrested, "come out" etc...social media can and WILL hear about it and you can almost guarantee that they will weigh in. From Tim Tebow's religious views, the Jonathan Martin/Richie Incognito saga, Lance Stephenson's on-court shenanigans, and Jameis Winston stealing crab legs from a Publix grocery store, to the first openly gay NBA and NFL players in Jason Collins and Michael Sam to Richard Sherman's post game rant after winning the NFC Championship, social media can bring out the best...and worst of people. One of the great things about Twitter has been the ability to interact not only with friends, family and other sports fans across the world but to interact with and follow our famous athletes as well. Now while I'm not interested in knowing what Jameis Winston had for breakfast...seeing other celebrities weigh in on sports news and ongoing games while they happen and just simply interacting with their fans is kinda cool. Of course some people are more active on twitter than others and some should probably not have an account all together....but one thing is for certain....it makes it all more fun and entertaining. 
When I think of some of the most interesting people to follow in the sports world one individual jumps into my mind every time and if you know of him or follow him yourself...you will understand why. First up on my list is none other than Metta World Peace. The thing about the former Ron Artest is that everyone knows he's a little...um, "off his rocker" so nobody every really takes ANYTHING he says serious, but he is quite an interesting tweeter. I remember I used to follow him when I first really got into Twitter and learning who to follow. But after a while enough was enough for me. He's definitely the class clown on twitter and sometimes you aren't quite sure if he is serious or not...and that is the part that kind of worries me. For example, the screenshot of a tweet I have here. As you can see he's wishing everyone a happy labor day. Great...nice gesture...except if you look closely at the date...its May 28th. Labor day is in September. Oops? And then there is Mike Tyson. (Another shocker, I know) They say its good when you can laugh/poke fun at your self sometimes and although I'm not sure if this exactly falls into that category, it surely is worth sharing. This one comes to us from 2012 and...well just check it out yourself. I've always wondered what exactly when through his head before he decided to take a chunk out of another man's ear.....HIS EAR!!!! Another celebrity that should probably never, and I mean NEVER, EVER, tweet again goes back to your boy Jonathan Martin. We all by now know about the story between him and Incognito. Well of all people to attack Lebron about his cramping in Game 1 of the NBA finals, Martin jumped on twitter to give his two cents and basically called Lebron out for being soft and that he needed to "get back on the court." TIME OUT. Flag on the play. Personal Foul. HOLD. UP!!! I know good and well the same 300lb grown man and NFL linemen who quit on his team and cried to the media about being bullied by a teammate is not telling ANYONE, let alone the greatest basketball player in the league right now, to "toughen up". Please don't ever tweet anything ever again. Trust me, it is for your benefit, Martin. As a matter of fact...just delete twitter all together. You're welcome.
The rise of the hashtag has been unreal. Hashtags allow you to wrap up your tweet or show people what you are talking about be it the NBA Finals, American Idol, Orange Is The New Black..whatever. Hashtags have taken social media and the world by storm here lately. Even my alma mater, Presbyterian College, went as far as to have #GoHose (We're the Blue Hose) painted on our field this past football season. It appears my generation will be the last to recognize it as the pound sign on the telephone. Kids growing up these days will be like..."ohh you mean, a hashtag?" We can blame Twitter for that one, I guess. As I said, the social media world and sports fans can be very, very cruel. The first time I realized this was during the Tim Tebow era at Florida and his brief time in the NFL. Tebow was very open about his devout religious beliefs and didn't hold back from praying publicly and letting everyone know he was a follower of Christ. His signature move of kneeling and praying on the sidelines, after TDs, etc turned into a world-wide mockery called Tebowing. Tebowing spread like wild fire and people began imitating the 2-time BCS National Champion and 2007 Heisman winner. People near and far took part...(and I'll admit I may have participated as well...see picture below) And while Tebow was under fire and criticized for his actions and beliefs I do feel that Tebwowing was light-hearted fun and definitely not as aggressive or cruel as other popular poses that have went viral.
Some random guy tweeted at the sports drink company after Game 1 about how one of its major clients was cramping up in crunch time in the NBA finals. Gatorade fired back and not only corrected the ill-informed fan but trolled on Lebron in the process. (Can you say SHOTS FIRED?!!) And that was two birds with one stone. Taking a shot not only at Lebron, but Powerade as well. Of course the guys at Powerade had a reponse following Miami's Game 2 victory...Coming from someone who has no dog in the fight I have absolutely loved the social media war going on between Spurs and Heat fans. Unfortunately, there is always a few bad apples that go too far and don't know when to stop. All in all though, it usually is all in good fun. I can say that I've gotten into sports debates with both friends and strangers both in person and on twitter but at the end of the day we can shake hands, hug it out and agree to disagree and that we both understand its all in fun and "friendly" trash talk and not to take anything personal. After all..its just a game. (Seriously!)
Along with the rise of the hashtag, social media has been ambushed by memes. These can be the most hilarious/clever/ruthless jokes in pictures that you'll find anywhere online. And just like #pakering or #lebroning, takes only a matter of minutes before it takes over social media, becomes a "trending topic" and flat out goes viral online. Memes are one of the better parts of sports on twitter these days because they they usually bring something from outside the sports world but that is everyone is familiar with and incorporate a real time event. Sometimes, when the right and creative minded person creates it, you end up with pure gold. From Lance Stephenson blowing into Lebron's ear to Winston's trip to Publix for some crab legs, social media works fast and literally sometimes before a game is even over, pictures and memes surface that make you think some people have entirely way too much time on their hands. Nevertheless, its hilarious...so please don't stop. Below are some of my favorites from the past few years.
Then there's times when the sports world does good and serious work and rallies around a community or person in their hour of need on Twitter. From the tornado disasters in Oklahoma to the untimely and tragic passing of Vikings RB Adrian Peterson's son to watching South Carolina RB Marcus Lattimore go down for a second time at home against against Tennessee that ultimately ended his college career, twitter can rally together in unison for support. And when it happens....its a beautiful thing. Simple things like seeing these athletes show support to each other and to those around the world, not only reminds us that they are people too and feel pain but that in the end, we're all in this together. We may play for different teams, wear certain colors or Saturday or Sunday but when the time comes we can set all that aside for the greater good and focus on things that matter. And that is another great thing about sports in general. We may not all like each other all the time but we can all agree we love the sport(s) and what they provide us as fans but there are more bigger and important things in life.
So whats my take on all of this? You can probably already guess that I'm in support of it. Social media is so big right now and doesn't appear to be going away anytime soon. It is hard to watch just about anything on TV without hearing..."join us this conversation on twitter with the hashtag _____, like us on Facebook," etc. Its growing larger by the day. I don't think it takes away from sports and in fact think it makes more fun. We are now entering the dead zone of sports where there isn't going to be much to talk about/watch until fall camp opens up. With all do respect to the World Cup and MLB, a good deal of people are uninterested in sports this time of year. Now the World Cup is different and effects..well, the entire world with teams from everywhere participating. So this year we are lucky and get a little some extra to look forward to. (U-S-A....U-S-A!!!) My gripe with baseball is that, similar to the NBA, there are so many games that its almost like.... who really cares all that much what's happening right now? Baseball games are long and typically have little "exciting action". Its a long season and although I love me a good baseball game as much as the next guy...its June....talk to me around Labor Day. (For Metta World Peace or anyone who might have it confused with Memorial Day...that's the Monday holiday in September) Lastly, Twitter often helps set the stage for big games for fans and build up the hype. I remember last season how heated and entertaining it got the weeks and days leading up to the Clemson-Georgia game in Death Valley. From Aaron Murray and Tajh Boyd having some friendly trash talking to the fans going back and forth, twitter gives us something else to occupy our minds in the off season and during game week before we reach the weekend. There has been many times when I've been tailgating and away from a TV or actually in the game and hopped on twitter to CollegeGameDay's feed to find a score or kick-off time. Its quick and convenient...well, that is..if you have a service signal at the time. Overall I think social media and twitter specifically has added to the sports watching experience. What do you think?
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