Major League Baseball has made major strides in embracing social media and incorporating it into the game experience. It is a wonderfully progressive trend for an otherwise very conservative league. But sometimes these efforts to intertwine the online experience with the ballpark experience can go tragically wrong. Or in the case of the Diamondbacks and their #GoDbacks campaign, hysterically wrong.
Yesterday, before their game against the Phillies, the Diamondbacks decided to display tweets with the #GoDBacks hashtag on the scoreboard. As one might suspect, some Phillies fans and bloggers got wind of this and decided to bend the hashtag to their own purposes.
I’m only 19 will someone buy me a beer? Meet me at the beer stand in section 104. #GoDbacks
— Mike Meech (@meechone) April 25, 2012
The rest of the baseball loving internet took it from there. There were those that chose to troll the Diamondbacks:
Kirk Gibson as Dodger > Kirk Gibson as Diamondback #GoDbacks
— Jay Jaffe (@jay_jaffe) April 25, 2012
Those who simply tried to create mischief, and possibly sexual assualt:
It’s “Hug Justin Upton” Day at the ballpark. Keep hugging, even if he resists. #GoDBacks
— Cee (@CeeAngi) April 25, 2012
Those that decided to have fun with variations on capitalization:
As a youth, Zeus had acne everywhere, which resulted in being angry and vengeful. #GodBacks
— Grant Brisbee (@mccoveychron) April 25, 2012
Those that got nostalgic for the past:
I remember when Arizona was a Territory. #GoDbacks
— Old Hoss Radbourn (@OldHossRadbourn) April 25, 2012
Those that elected to push their own personal agenda:
Cake > Pie #GoDbacks
— The Common Man (@commnman) April 25, 2012
And, inevitably, those who voiced their opinion on Arizona’s controversial immigration law:
Attn fan in section 132 row 5 seat 18: You look kind of Mexican. Prepare to show your papers. #GoDbacks
— FanSince09 (@FanSince09) April 25, 2012
It is unclear how many, if any, of those tweets actually got displayed on the scoreboard, but considering that there are still people tweeting to #GoDbacks as I write this, we can be certain that some poor marketing intern for the D’Backs had a very busy and stressful day at the ballpark yesterday.
Remember, MLB teams, social media is fun, but it can also be used for evil. Awesomely hilarious evil.
