In today’s digital society, the relationship between the fan and the athlete has become closer than ever. Social media allows fans to have a more personal relationship with players than ever before. While it’s great to be immersed in the off-the-field lives of our favorite athletes, this increasing connection often does more harm than good.
Take for example my beloved St. Louis Blues, who fell in the first round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs for the third straight year. This pathetic flop by the Cubs of hockey most likely spells the end for the core of this team. Despite their regular season success, it has become evident that this team lacks the ability to perform when it matters. T.J. Oshie will probably be traded. David Backes should lose his captainship and might be sent packing as well. And I’m going to be devastated.
But why am I dreading this moment? After all, this is what’s best for the team. The problem is I’ve grown way too close to the players. I follow @OSH74 on twitter, see pictures of his dog and his baby girl and tweets about his life outside the rink. The same goes for Backes and his undying love for rescue dogs.
While I can’t deny how cool it is to see what goes on in athletes' personal lives, this relationship is devastating when it comes time for a favorite player to move on. I feel as if I’ve grown close to Oshie and Backes. I’ve admired their in-game play and enjoyed the ability to see their everyday lives through the lens of social media. But all too often, this causes us to forget that sports are a business.
Now, as I wait for the Blues general manager to explode the team’s core, I stand between a rock and a hard place. On the one side, I know this is what the team needs if they want to achieve playoff success. On the other hand, I feel as if I’m losing a team I grew up with. For me, these guys ignited a love for hockey and the Blues franchise. Then, because of Twitter, I was able to see Oshie and Backes grow up as men. Oshie had a baby and Backes has one on the way. I don’t want to see these guys in different colored sweaters.
But, such is the harsh reality of sports. The end of every player’s tenure with a club is inevitable, whether that be from retirement or a trade or free agency. Unfortunately, when this end comes, the heartbreak of a favorite player leaving is intensified by an athlete’s social media presence.
But fans are not the only ones who deal with challenges of a more intimate connection. Athletes can develop strained relationships with fans in this digital age. Players attempt to keep profiles on various social networks in order to interact with fans, but everyone and their brother is a critic and athletes are too often subject to brutal criticism.
Brandon Bostick, the infamous Packers tight end, is a perfect example. He made a terrible play in the NFC Championship Game, but does that really warrant fans tweeting death threats at him? And after receiving those threats, how willing is Bostick to continue to engage with fans? Then there’s players like former Giants running back Brandon Jacobs, who received death threats from peeved fantasy football owners. Or Dodgers outfielder Yasiel Puig, who often posts on Instagram, but has to deal with constant hateful comments on his pictures. And who could forget the run-in that former MLB ace Curt Schilling had with fans who thought it was okay to send tweets about raping his daughter?
In other words, athletes on social media carry a double-edged sword. They are stuck between wanting to engage with fans and contending with the psychotic ones. On top of that, they have to exercise extreme caution if they want to interact with the harassers in order to avoid a PR nightmare.
In the end, I still believe that athletes should attempt to engage with fans via social media. But, with all the crazy spectators out there, I would never blame an athlete for choosing to stay off Twitter or Instagram. As for the fans, it’s important for us to remember that this window into a player’s life is a privilege and we shouldn’t use it to belittle the players we admire.
More importantly, we must keep in mind that sports are a cruel business and that just because we know the name of our favorite athlete’s dog, it doesn’t mean he should stay on our team forever. Otherwise, you’ll end up like me, crying into a pillow over T.J. Oshie. Kidding (kinda).
