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December 28, 2010
More lessons in social media
Buffalo, NY, originally uploaded by stratushead.
Dear old Buffalo is currently at the center of the hockey universe, where the annual World Junior Championship is happening. The best hockey players under 20 are in town, and some really good hockey is being played. Of course, many of the players have never set foot in Buffalo before, and are somewhat immune to its charms. Emerson Etem, a native of a sterling citadel himself - Long Beach - was not best pleased about it. He ranted thusly on his Twitter page:
much needed day off, buffalo is a ghost town!! the worst city ever, it makes medicine hat look like paradise, never thought ide say that
Now, Buffalonians are a proud lot, and do not react too kindly to outsiders criticizing the Queen City. Some fans (I don't how many, exactly) are outraged, and, I would think, rightfully so.
Etem, on the other hand, got a good talking-to from some PR folks, and did the ol' I didn't mean it dance:
Etem stood tall during a barrage of questions about Buffalo and his comments.
"I think it’s a great host city, and I’m definitely happy to be here," Etem said after the morning skate. "I think it was interpreted in many different ways. My point to get across was not to put down a great host city like this. I know a lot of people put in time and effort to make this thing possible. For me, it’s the middle of winter. People aren’t out. It’s really cold outside. Like I said, the point for me was not to put down Buffalo.
"It’s a poorly written Tweet by me. I meant bad conditions. I came from Medicine Hat, from a Midwestern city, it was warm out, then I come here and not a lot of people are out, like I said. It’s expected. It’s the middle of winter. I was here three, four years ago. I won a national championship here, and that was in springtime. That was an energetic city. I know what it’s like to be here when everyone is out and about. That was the point.
"It’s a great, historic town for sports, and I realize that. Like I said, it’s a poorly written Tweet by me, and I’m sorry for the confusion. I just kind of want to move on."
Now, I don't necessarily believe this apology - he meant what he said, although he obviously didn't think anyone would notice. That, of course, was a mistake.
However, the guy is only 18 - I said some pretty dumb things when I was 18 - and, I suspect, Buffalo is not the sort of place a typical 18 year old would want to go on vacation. Hopefully this will be a lesson to him - to watch what he says online, and to give Buffalo a chance. If you look around, dear Emerson, you'll find lots of great places to go.
entry no. 1536
Posted at December 28, 2010 06:15 PM