The Wisconsin sports world mourns this week, and I think you know why.
Not because the Brewers have been mathematically eliminated in the N.L. Central.
Nor because the Packers lost to a team affectionately known as the Bungles.
Not even because the Badgers, much to the chagrin of their season-ticket holders, actually went through with that game against Wofford. (Really? A Big Ten team is scheduling the mighty, mighty Terriers? What, Elon wasn’t available?)
No, we in the sports world pay our respects today to the untimely death of a burgeoning Wisconsin legend.
And that would be Nick Barnett’s Twitter account.
We got the tragic news early Monday morning. “Hey everyone.. I done somethinking and I have decided to stay off Twitter unroll next offseason..” NickBarnett wrote to his 18,000-plus followers. “I am a emotional person and sometimes”
And having reached his 140-character limit, he left those 18,000 hanging. For at least a minute or two. Then he continued: “With this Twitter thing I forget that everything is public.. Sometimes I feel I am talking to my freinds and just talk.. So I am going”
Yeah, those 140-character chunks make it hard to deliver a Twitter soliloquy. Would that be a Twililoquy? Anyway, back to Nick.
“To pull myself away from that.. Thanks to all the people who supported me thru my rehab and tough times and for the haters well god loves u”
And with that, he was gone. For half an hour, anyway. Then, in an apparent answer to questioning from Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reporter Greg A. Bedard, NickBarnett delivered one final missive: “@Greg_A_Bedard My decision have not talked to anyone at the packers this morning”
And with that, he was really gone. As of late Monday night, Barnett was staying true to his word, despite the pleadings from his faithful followers. “Don’t leave us,” one tweeter begged, as if Barnett was joining the cast of “Survivor: Samoa.” Another tried the peer pressure route: “@RyanGrant25 Hi!!! Can you please bring back @nickbarnett back to Twitter????? Pretty please??!! 🙂”
I can’t blame the fans; I’ll miss Nick’s tweets, too. The sparring with Chad Ochocinco. The charitable efforts. The pictures of his hair. There’s a reason I pushed my fellow Milwaukee Magaziners to christen him “Best Sports Tweeter” in our October issue (though he caught a huge break when former Milwaukee Buck Charlie Villanueva left for Detroit).
But Barnett found out what a lot of celebrities are learning: In Twitter world, there are no secrets. Right, ABC News reporter Terry Moran?
The impetus for Barnett’s Twitter hiatus came in a heated moment after Green Bay’s Sunday loss to Cincinnati. His tweets, condensed and in order:
“Tough game!! Hard to get in The swing of things in a rotation.. Don’t know why we are even in a rottion t this point../ Oh yea for everyone that had something to say after I celebrated for making a takle for lost KISS MY ASS… I was trying to get the defense/ I was trying to get defense fired up… And so what if I missed the takle before am I suppose to stay in a funk about it!?? Get a life/Overall I am dissapointed in that lost.. We have so much work to do if we plan to be the team that want to be.. Back to work Tom morn/ Hey guys sorry for being so harsh to the haters I just let my emotions get the best of me right there.. I should not even pay attetion/ I just worked so hard to be back for the season. I put everything I had into rehab.. There was no off season for me. So when people have/ Negative stuff to say it gets me a lil angry from time to time.But I’ll be smarter about letting it get the best of me.Good night god bless”
Quite a mouthful. I’m betting that if Barnett had been at a press conference instead of a keyboard, he’d have chosen his words more carefully. Now, by shelving the keyboard during the season, he’s guaranteeing that will be the case. My guess is that other celebrities will follow Barnett’s lead.
Look, athletes and other public figures have often wished they could “bypass the filter” of the media and speak directly to their public. And with Twitter, now they’ve got that option.
But be careful what you wish for. It’s easy to be on guard when you’re in front of reporters a few times a week. It’s a lot harder to be guarded during every waking minute. And Twitter is nothing less than a round-the-clock press conference. Just ask Redskins rookie linebacker Robert Henson. Or Larry Fitzgerald’s brother. Both caused Twitter headaches on Sunday that made Barnett’s lapse in judgment pale by comparison. You can bet your Lombardi Trophy there will be similar scandals.
Will such scandals make tweeting athletes a thing of the past? I hope not. You can find some spur-of-the-moment fun on Twitter. Once I watched Bucks teammates Andrew Bogut and Charlie Bell trade barbs about how Bell – a Michigan native – owned a foreign car. “those r my wife cars,” flintstone14 explained to AndrewMBogut (and anyone else who was following along). You could imagine them having the same conversation between laughs at a Bucks shootaround. For fans, it was the next-best thing to being there.
But that’s exactly why athletes and celebrities have to be so careful with Twitter. Because wherever they are, the fans are right there with ’em. Whether they like it or not.
What do you think? Can athletes and celebrities co-exist with Twitter? Let us know with your comments below.
Packers Blog Party
In a never-ending quest to explore all things new media, tonight I’ll join Railbird Central blogger Brian Carriveau and friends as a guest panelist on Packers Transplants, a combination broadcast and blogcast you can find at SportsBubbler.com. I’ll be on the blogcast part of the party from 8 to 9:30 p.m. Should be fun.
No ballgame to watch? No problem. Check out our new TV Guru column to get the lowdown on your remote control options.
Nick Barnett withdrawls? Feel free to follow me on Twitter, where I tweet as howiemag. And tune in every Tuesday morning at 6:25 when I join Doug Russell and Mike Wickett on SportsRadio 1250 AM for Tuesdays with Howie. You can also find the segments in their Audio Vault.
