It’s easy to criticize college coaches for monitoring athletes’ use of Facebook, or for asking them to stay away from social-networking sites altogether. But it’s also easy to understand why the coaches do it. After all, the Web has revolutionized the art of heckling.
An Orlando Sentinel article sheds some light on the kind of trash-talking that college football stars now routinely face online. The University of Central Florida’s starting quarterback, for example, once received so many “pokes” on his Facebook page, all from fans of a forthcoming opponent, that he complained to the site’s administrators.
Then there are instances when digital heckling seems to backfire. When a fan of Central Florida insulted the wife of a University of South Florida linebacker on a message board, South Florida treated the comment as bulletin-board motivation for its players. A few days later, they trounced Central Florida, 64-12.—Brock Read
