The White Sox went for broke by playing off a viral Internet meme, but the joke apparently didn’t go over well with many of their social media followers. The team said it was just having fun and being relevant by capitalizing on a popular trend.
"Cash me ousside how bow dah," the White Sox tweeted Thursday along with a sunny picture of empty stands at Camelback Ranch, the team’s spring training stadium in Phoenix.
The tweet plays off the words used by a street-tough 13-year-old girl who appeared on "Dr. Phil" in September, when she challenged audience members who were laughing at her to "catch her outside, how about that?" The saying caught fire as a meme.
A Georgia church’s sign paying tribute to the quote — “Cash God inside howbow dah?” — went viral this week, but when the Sox used it, some found it funny while others implied it was inappropriate.
One tweeter mused, "this is why Chris Sale wanted out." Another tweeted featured a fictional bag of "Deletos," implying the Sox should delete their account.
One fan wrote, "I didn’t want to unfollow my favorite baseball team but now I’m obligated." Reactions on Instagram were similar.
Sox spokesman Bob Beghtol emailed a response to Inc.
"Our social media team had some fun with a meme that has been popularized on the internet recently (this is something they often look to do, for example this meme was featured on the Daily Dot yesterday and has been picked up by everything from churches to What-A-Burger) by playing with the outside theme, the cold weather and the approach of spring training, sunshine and baseball.
"People who saw and understood the connection either laughed and liked it (724 likes and 327 re-tweets as of this moment) or they groaned about it, feeling the sensation maybe had played itself out. Either way, it did get noticed on a cold February 2 day."
plthompson@chicagotribune.com
Twitter @_phil_thompson
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