FRISCO, TX – NOVEMBER 29: Matt Hedges #24 of FC Dallas sits on the field after losing to the Portland Timbers during the Western Conference Finals-Leg 2 of the MLS playoffs at Toyota Stadium on November 29, 2015 in Frisco, Texas. (Photo by Ronald Martinez/Getty Images)

FC Dallas fans spammed MLS media Twitter accounts to vote for year end awards

Posted by on Oct 18, 2016 19:22

Campaign season has apparently crossed over from Washington and into MLS as FC Dallas fans have been tweeting at the accounts of the most prominent MLS media members to get them to vote for their players in MLS’ year end awards.

In the year end MLS awards, a mix of MLS media, players and team officials vote on who has been the best in various categories. For FC Dallas, four of their players are nominees for various awards. Mauro Diaz (who is now out for about eight months with a torn Achilles) is up for MVP. Matt Hedges is nominated for Defender of the Year while Chris Seitz is on for Goalkeeper of the Year. And Carlos Gruezo is on for Newcomer of the Year, an award for players coming from different leagues who are not rookies but are new to MLS.

Beneath each player, was an option to tweet at a member of the MLS media to let them know of a certain stat about that player. While all in good fun and not exactly unprecedented in an awards vote, it got a bit out of hand and somewhat crossed the line to spamming.

On Chris Seitz for Goalkeeper of the Year:

https://twitter.com/ChrisThomasFC/status/788469230454710272

https://twitter.com/ShinjiOno/status/788465305471315968

https://twitter.com/lcrossman/status/788441006807060480

https://twitter.com/lcrossman/status/788440996149354497

https://twitter.com/lcrossman/status/788440985151864832

 

On Mauro Diaz for MVP:

https://twitter.com/lcrossman/status/788440953820504069

 

On Matt Hedges for Defender of the Year:

https://twitter.com/ChrisThomasFC/status/788469230454710272

https://twitter.com/ShinjiOno/status/788465305471315968

https://twitter.com/lcrossman/status/788441006807060480

https://twitter.com/lcrossman/status/788440996149354497

https://twitter.com/lcrossman/status/788440985151864832

 

On Carlos Gruezo for Newcomer of the Year:

https://twitter.com/ChrisThomasFC/status/788469028373209088

 

This caused some of those who were targets to wonder what the heck was going on and why FC Dallas fans were tweeting them the exact same thing.

 

When Grant Wahl called out FC Dallas, their social media department responded, saying that was “all meant in good fun” and it was. There was nothing malicious about this and while their fans may be overeager, they are obviously proud of what their team has done (as they should) and want to make sure the experts know that. It’s the equivalent to junk mail and spam emails that we’re receiving every day regarding the Presidential election. It’s a minor inconvenience but it’s not that big of a deal.

It’s just that, I’m pretty sure Grant Wahl and Jonathan Tannenwald are already aware about what FC Dallas has done that they don’t need a bunch of tweets saying “Did you know, FC Dallas has one loss since May in games Carlos Gruezo has started? #NewcomerOfTheYear” to the point where it was getting annoying. That is kind of their job as a professional, who covers MLS, to know that. If they got swayed to vote for Matt Hedges simply because they got a few tweets today instead of seeing him play, I would be a bit worried about their knowledge of MLS. I get the campaign if it was an award that fans voted on but not really if it’s restricted to members of the media.

Also, it wouldn’t be such a big of a deal if this had happened when there wasn’t any Champions League taking place. While this was harmless, it would be a bit disturbing if someone was covering a Champions League game and had to deal with a bunch of tweets about Mauro Diaz for MVP at the same time.

FC Dallas and their fans have a lot to be proud of. After winning the U.S. Open Cup, they can win the Supporters Shield with a win or draw against LA Galaxy and would be an MLS Cup away from being the first team to win the American soccer treble. All the while, FC Dallas has a great youth system and is known for having one of the youngest squads in MLS. So this is a team who can potentially compete for years to come. Just, be sure to prove you’re the best by showing it on the field as you have been doing this year and not worry about what a bunch of people in the media think.

About Phillip Bupp

Producer/editor of the Awful Announcing Podcast and Short and to the Point. News editor for The Comeback and Awful Announcing. Highlight consultant for Major League Soccer as well as a freelance writer for hire. Opinions are my own but feel free to agree with them. Follow me on Twitter and Instagram @phillipbupp

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