2008 Woodie Awards
Football fans poke, perturb opposing players
Virginia Kiddy
Issue date: 11/19/07 Section: News
- Page 1 of 3 next >
UCF students are using a Facebook group to antagonize opposing teams' players, poking them by the thousands before each game.
The group "Poke the Opposing Team's QB!" organizes and encourages students to poke whoever the "target is for that week."
Last month, the group got extra attention when the University of South Florida quarterback, Matt Grothe, publicly commented on how obnoxious the group was because of "6 million UCF fans" poking him.
Similar groups exist at other schools, and fans of opposing teams poked UCF quarterback Kyle Israel both this year and last.
"I think if our students are trying to annoy the other team's quarterback, and that is the goal of that group, then I think it's a good thing," Israel said through comments provided by the Athletics Media Relations Office. "It is getting its job done because I definitely experience that."
Israel said he does not pay attention to the pokes he receives, but he writes to Facebook officials, and they are able to delete them all.
"It is definitely something that when you get on the Internet, you notice it," Israel said. "You don't look at what people write or the type of messages they send you, but it is annoying to have to go through the process of having them deleted."
Dan McKee, a junior physical education and kinesiology major at the University of Arizona, started the original Facebook group last year.
McKee, who is also a cheerleader, said in a phone interview from Tucson, Ariz., that he and his roommate came up with the idea while celebrating a big win.
They didn't take it seriously until hundreds of people suddenly started joining.
"At the time, we were in the midst of having the best football season we'd had in a while," McKee said. "Everyone was real into football; everyone was real pumped up for it. At the time we put it out, everyone was just super stoked on it, and it took off pretty rapidly."
Since then, copycat groups formed at the University of Tennessee, Penn State and others, including UCF. Similar groups aimed at basketball players were also started.
The group "Poke the Opposing Team's QB!" organizes and encourages students to poke whoever the "target is for that week."
Last month, the group got extra attention when the University of South Florida quarterback, Matt Grothe, publicly commented on how obnoxious the group was because of "6 million UCF fans" poking him.
Similar groups exist at other schools, and fans of opposing teams poked UCF quarterback Kyle Israel both this year and last.
"I think if our students are trying to annoy the other team's quarterback, and that is the goal of that group, then I think it's a good thing," Israel said through comments provided by the Athletics Media Relations Office. "It is getting its job done because I definitely experience that."
Israel said he does not pay attention to the pokes he receives, but he writes to Facebook officials, and they are able to delete them all.
"It is definitely something that when you get on the Internet, you notice it," Israel said. "You don't look at what people write or the type of messages they send you, but it is annoying to have to go through the process of having them deleted."
Dan McKee, a junior physical education and kinesiology major at the University of Arizona, started the original Facebook group last year.
McKee, who is also a cheerleader, said in a phone interview from Tucson, Ariz., that he and his roommate came up with the idea while celebrating a big win.
They didn't take it seriously until hundreds of people suddenly started joining.
"At the time, we were in the midst of having the best football season we'd had in a while," McKee said. "Everyone was real into football; everyone was real pumped up for it. At the time we put it out, everyone was just super stoked on it, and it took off pretty rapidly."
Since then, copycat groups formed at the University of Tennessee, Penn State and others, including UCF. Similar groups aimed at basketball players were also started.