Well, we’ve apparently started a trend.
Last week, we engaged in an extended Twitter debate with Bengals receiver Chad Ochocinco, which Richard Deitsch of SI.com called “the most enjoyable media war of the month.”
This week, Ochocinco and ESPN’s Mark Schlereth are battling it out.
[Editor’s note: All Tweets have been edited to make them more readable.]
It all apparently started several hours ago, when Chad was ranting about the indictment of receiver Plaxico Burress. Said Chad: “Twitter family
please pray for my dude Plaxico Burress, indicted on all counts after
injuring himself, huh, grand jury my a$$!!!!“
Chad apparently then got some feedback he didn’t appreciate, prompting this threat to block any of his Twitter followers who didn’t follow Chad’s lead on decrying the indictment: “Every person that
sends a negative comment to my phone about his situation will be
blocked!!! Straight up, he made a f ing mistake!!!!!!!!”
Alas, Chad later realized it was a losing battle: “Damn too many to
block, never mind, y’all [are] harsh as hell, I thought this was a Twitter
family, damn it. We all make mistakes, love y’all anyway!”
As best we can tell, Schlereth decided at that point to pounce: “Way to stand firm for your boy, oh wait never mind!”
Said Chad in response: “Mark, where you been, stop killing me on TV or I’ll be going to jail for assault, oh wait never mind, child please!!!!!!“
Schlereth: “Dude that was funny, you have to admit. Show me the Chad that loves the game more than the fame and I will be effusive in my praise for your skill and effort.”
Chad: “You ain’t gonna find out behind that desk, you don’t know me, you only know what you see on TV just like everyone else. . . . Fame? Fame comes when you winning games, last time I checked we weren’t to damn good, but!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! You don’t even care about me or my team so why even waste my time or here, I will not fail or lose this year!!!!! Straight up.“
Schlereth: “Chad, I hope you’re correct. I hope you win. You are correct I don’t know you and you don’t know me yet you call me a hater.”
At this point, it appears that Schlereth launched into a multi-tweet monologue, which we’ve pieced together below.
“Understand I don’t dislike you, I do however dislike some of your actions,” Schlereth said. “This game is the ultimate team game, it takes unity to win championships something I do know about. If you’re willing to humble yourself for your team you will be exalted.
“In theory it sounds easy, in practice it’s extremely hard. 53 that care more about each other than themselves can’t lose.
“Nothing would be better for me to see you grasp that concept and lead your team to greatness. I would be the captian of your bandwagon! I would lead the charge! The question is are you willing to make that kind of sacrifice?
“Have you ever loved the game and the men you play with so much that your willing to check yourself out of the hospital the morning after surgery and drive yourself to the stadium and line up with your team? See, I have and that’s what give me authority to call out anyone who is putting themself above the team! I wish you health, happiness, and success!”
So, yeah, it’s gonna be a fun year.