This past Sunday morning just before the Dallas Cowboys football game against the Seattle Seahawks, I did my usual pre-game routine.
- I check my Fantasy Football line-up.
- I check my DVR. Make sure the pre-scheduled recording is still correct.
- Get/Make a snack or meal for the game.
- Get on Twitter / Facebook to see what the mood is among Cowboy fans and haters.
During this last step is when I saw this Tweet about the Sunday Dallas Stars game:
Being an avid Cowboys fan, I am pretty defensive of the team. Add to that fact that I can be an idiot myself and can be pretty annoying. Plus heightened my testiness and surliness influenced by the lackluster perforamance of the 'Boys this season. Putting all of that together, I shot this Tweet back.
Pretty idiotic I know. I love the Stars myself. The reason I even found the Tweet was because I am a follower of Ralph Strangis. Strangis is the play-by-play broadcaster of the Stars on radio and tv. Along with Razor Reaugh they are my favorite game announcing duo in the Metroplex.
But, I Tweeted that anyway.
Perhaps I should have not been surprised when I saw this email notifying me of a reply from my Tweet.
His reply was.
@trirol1 don't take a shot at the Stars or I'll take a shot at your dead son. #burytheweak
Shocked? Not really.
More like STUNNED.
I just sat there in my office, frozen. Reading and re-reading that email over and over. I wanted to talk my wife and share this. I even called her, luckily her phone went to voicemail.
Luckily I say, because she would have exploded.
Sure, I was trying to get this guy off-sides with my Tweet, but his best shot back was a threat to "take a shot at your dead son?" And that super offensive hash tag of #burytheweak?
Not a shot towards Garret Top, Romo or any of the Cowboys. No snide remark about the Death Star or Jerry Jones.
Nope not any of them. He went way below the belt.
I should have ignored it. But I could not.
I thought of every possible scenario to get back at this guy. It really bugged me. I was wishing physical harm on him. I was trying to channel my inner Voodoo witch and cast a bad spell on him. Hives. If I was lucky even some kind of venereal disease. At the very least I hoped to ruin his day.
I tried to private message him through Twitter. I could not. You have to be a follower of a Tweeter before you can PM them. Asking to follow this man is not an option. So I did what I can by shooting another Tweet back on Tuesday.
What I wanted to say, "was trying to get you off-sides, but not that FAR - best tweet ever - have a nice life." In my haste and anger i left out the word FAR.
Morbidly I checked his profile page after posting this, and I notice that the #burytheweak Tweet is gone from his Tweets. Which leads me to think he either a) deleted the Tweet because he sickened and embarassed himself (I hope) or b) he wanted no witnesses for his crassness aside from Ralph Strangis and Billy Jaffe.
So why make a fuss about this now and share it here?
I guess I just wanted to share this experience to friends and family.
I wanted to show that people like Mr. Chapman exist.
I wanted to show how people will go after what you hold dear just to one up you.
Plus I want all to be warned.
This blog's URL is on my Twitter profile. That is how the sweet Mr. Chapman found out about my "dead son" as he put it in his brilliantly chosen words. Be warned. Do not expose or share anything that you do not want to be used against you.
I hope the worst loss he experiences in life is never close to what we have experienced.
I hope the worst thing you suffer from is an annoying Tweet directed at your favorite hockey team.
I do hope the next time you get flamed by someone, you do not react in the same way you reacted to my Tweet.
Have a nice life Mr. Chapman.
