The team finishes off a big win. Or they dominate a rivalry game. Or it could be an underdog that shocks the world. Then it comes…
The SAVAGE social media post.
Some are spur of the moment, while others show impressive planning and creative production. Some will have a bit of pop culture sprinkled in. And almost without exception, the posts will belittle their opponent, letting their victorious fans bask in the loser’s misery.
And it’s hard to shake the thought that something just doesn’t feel right.
Sometime in the last few years, snark gave way to savage, and an arms race began to see who could most creatively stomp on the grave of their fallen foe.
— Washington Football Team (@WashingtonNFL) December 8, 2020
Oh dear pic.twitter.com/KISwt1qzCv
— Arkansas Razorbacks 🐗 (@ArkRazorbacks) October 17, 2020
Did Mizzou just have their largest 4th quarter comeback in school history? pic.twitter.com/jVJu2QzPDB
— Mizzou Football (@MizzouFootball) December 6, 2020
These posts go viral. By just about any measure, they’re objectively successful. The savage posts give fans something to rally around, instill pride, and make the brand of their team feel cool.
But have we become desensitized to it all? Is the obsession of savagery raising a generation of Nelson Muntz’s? (the Simpsons character known for pointing at anyone’s misfortune and exclaiming “Ha-Ha!”)
This could be completely off-base (call me a snowflake). It’s hard to argue when the most successful posts are often the most ruthlessly savage ones after a win. They help reach more fans and potential fans, racking up engagement and impressions. But it also paints the brand as the bully in the schoolyard, more excited about the opponent’s loss than their own win.
Taken to the extreme, imagine Little Leaguers pointing and laughing at the losing team instead of high-fiving their own teammates after a win. It may seem like a stretch, but if the standard practice to celebrate a victory becomes finding a way to savagely poke fun at the loser, such behavior just seems, well, normalized.
It’s not so easy to reverse the trend. Not when social media teams are evaluated on engagement numbers. And not when they all know what the Internet wants and will eat up. There are a lot more examples of savage tweets going viral than ones in which the winning team celebrates their team and with their fans. It doesn’t have to be that way.
The examples below demonstrate that it’s possible to be respectful and to still give fans a reason to rally. A reason to feel like they’re supporting a fun brand and team.
— Cleveland Browns (@Browns) September 21, 2018
Just go out and play and have fun pic.twitter.com/p0GmeEpSiC
— Seattle Sounders FC (@SoundersFC) December 8, 2020
— New York Giants (@Giants) December 7, 2020
9-3. pic.twitter.com/toUCo6pMIy
— Cleveland Browns (@Browns) December 6, 2020
Social media creates culture, magnifies it, and is also a reflection of where it may be headed. At the end of the day, it’s instructive to consider the goals for a team on social. Several have been discussed in this blog. There is the objective to drive numbers, to rank among the leaders in the league for engagement and to show one’s bosses that the team’s social is kicking ass. But there’s a heck of a lot more. There is the goal to drive more awareness and affinity for the team, among both existing and potential fans. The goal to enhance the brand, making the brand of the team one worth supporting and investing in (and sponsoring). And somewhere down way down the line (perhaps too far) is hopefully the goal to use the platform and influence thousands or millions of people to be good, respectful. To develop a brand worthy of one’s affection and emulation.
Some will say social media snark in sports started with this tweet from the LA Kings in the spring of 2012. Then NBA Twitter and many players themselves (not to mention media) saw the immediate benefit of taking snark to the next level — unleashing savage. Playful stoking of the flame lit up social media and continues to today.
I’m willing to concede this all may be way off-base. But as a generation of social media natives comes of age amid a system of savagery, I think this a conversation worth having before it’s too late.
Digital and Social Media Sports 