The St. Louis Cardinals have a Rally Squirrel. Now the Texas Rangers may want to adopt Twitter’s Fail Whale.
Rangers’ fans should consider putting all electronic communications on the fritz for tonight’s World Series finale after several people put out premature messages that Texas had won Game 6.
“The Texas Rangers have won the World Series,” KDFW, the Fox news station in Dallas, sent in a breaking news alert. “Watch coverage on Fox 4 News and myFOXdfw.com.”
Four minutes later: “Oops. We got too excited. They haven’t won just yet. SORRY!”
The Fox faux pas was befuddling for some. One man tweeted a screen grab of his phone showing the news alert and his mother’s confused response.
The untimely message didn’t sit well with strung out and sleepy Rangers fans who’d been sitting on the edge of their seats for hours.
@dlbrooks2: Ummmm ... Anyone just get an alert from Fox 4 that the Rangers have won the series? Did they forget there are NINE innings? #fox4fail
@GregRajan: Dewey defeats Truman, Rangers win World Series. Way to go, Dallas Fox affiliate.
@kamccaleb: I really don't like going to sleep mad. So I forgive you #texasrangers and TOTALLY BLAME #fox4dfw you never say it b4 it actually happens
@gordonkeith: Of course if the rangers go on to win, I predict we'll hear "you heard it here first on Fox 4!"
The former mayor of Dallas, now running for U.S. Senate, also jumped the gun with a ninth-inning tweet.
@TomLeppert: Get the ginger ale ready! #worldserieschamps #Rangers
@jbatsell: Unforgivable tweet. Game still in doubt. RT @TomLeppert: Get the ginger ale ready! #worldserieschamps #Rangers
@mikeorren: Tomorrow's the day @TomLeppert fires whatever intern runs his twitter feed. Maybe he can get a new job at Fox4.
Sportswriters weren’t immune. Yahoo’s own baseball columnist, Jeff Passan, made me queasy with his seventh-inning call.
@JeffPassan: Fine. I'll say it. Nine outs and the Texas Rangers are World Series champions for the first time.
Yes, the Rangers had just put three runs on the board, but I fired off a text to Passan.
“Geez, don’t jinx my team with those tweets!”
His reply: “Muahahahahhahahahhaha”
Will the Rangers laugh last? Find out tonight on Fox 4 News -- after the game.
Jason Sickles is the Yahoo! Dallas Editor
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