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10 tweets,
2 min read
Read on Twitter
This is awfully high-handed. I don’t know if I’m in the category of the subtweeted, but being irritated at the “local boy done good” angle from the newspaper’s social and the league is not abuse of the local boy.
As you know I love and respect Tony’s work, and he’s delivered it at what must not have been a fun place to work for the last couple of years. While I find this tweet to be unfortunate, I am inclined toward forgiveness here. But I think it’s appropriate to write in our defense.
Maverick “superfans” are a different breed. We’ve chosen a harder sports fan life than UNL or Creighton fans. But there’s community in it, and there’s honor. Anybody can love Alabama or Kansas or Michigan. You, friends, are heartier souls.
Does that make us a bit tribal? Sure. And being tribal, do we want the ink and film, which have always been less generously available for our teams, to go to our players? Absolutely.
I will not apologize for making fun of the newspaper’s social media account for using UNO’s social media tag to promote a kid who doesn’t play here. I respect the paper’s right to take the “local kid” angle, but I’m a seven-day subscriber. I don’t have to say I like it.
I also don’t have to like Western Michigan, whose decades old, unapologetic promotion of the abusive vulgarity of the so-called Lunatics degrades the sport and deserves SO much more moral condemnation than we do.
Neither this account nor any one I associate with tagged the kid or directed abuse in his direction. I hope he has a healthy life. If I interview him for a job, I’d give him the consideration I give every D1 athlete. (We employ a DU WBB alumna, and she’s great).
But right now, he’s not my guy. So I don’t know what Tony meant by “true colors,” but I’m a partisan for every kid who has OMAHA on his shirt and not just his driver’s license. Doesn’t mean I wish the kid ill. It means I don’t wish the kid hockey success in Omaha...
Or with the Omaha media, when so many wonderful stories of terrific young people have not yet been, and may never be, told.
If these are my “true colors,” I wear them proudly. (end)
