To Tweet or Not to Tweet

By: Chris Hull

In the state of Oklahoma and especially in the Tulsa area, football reigns supreme.
Union and Jenks, high schools known for perennial state championship football teams,
span their heated rivalry across all sports. Tonight, the home of our Union Redskins was
not a football field but a basketball court.
Nineteen days ago, though, Union and Jenks had their first meeting this basketball
season in hostile Jenks territory. That night was our chance to redeem our state
championship football loss to Jenks. The game started like any other: the players met at
center court, the pudgy official tossed the ball in the air, and our Union Redskins won the
tip. Yet, the focus of this game changed abruptly in the second half. The Tulsa World, the
local newspaper, described the events that unfolded as some heated wordsexchanged
between student sections, leading to multiples fans being ejected. Talk about an
understatement. Every fan in that gym was either holding his or her breath or holding
someone back. I did not hear what was said, but I remember the sweat on my brow
beginning to boil and my fists at the ready. If it werent for our principal, who clocks in at
300lbs on a good day, hauling his massive self towards the scene, there would have been
a brawl.
After the dust settled and order was restored, the Jenks student section began to
chant, WE WON FOOTBALL! WE WON FOOTBALL! Our student section
responded by chanting THEYRE PLAYING BASKETBALL! WE LOVE THAT
BASKETBALL! Obviously, we won that battle, and our Union Redskins won the game,
51-38. However, the fans still had to exit the arena down the same stairwell. I felt more
comfortable during my 6th grade movie date with my Dad in the seat behind me than I did
walking down those steps.

I was still taken aback by what the Jenks student section said. I had never seen
players be disrespected by their own student section. So, I took to Twitter after the game.
I tweeted, I cant believe that Jenks chanted Who won football? while their
BASKETBALL team was still playing... My phone lit up. Im not a Twitter celebrity, so
nineteen retweets and twenty-two favorites were a big deal. Suddenly, a reply to my tweet
in all-caps read, UNBELIEVABLE and another reply was sent asking, and who did?
Within a matter of moments, two Jenks students had confronted me, and I was on the
verge of engaging in my first Twitter fight. I wanted to retaliate, but I couldnt find the
right response to either of their replies. The clock was ticking. I found myself wrestling
with the implications of my actions. Is this the right thing to do? 10 minutes passed. Is
this how I want to present myself on social media? 20 minutes passed. Do I join in with
the girl that responded back to my adversaries? 30 minutes passed. Time was up, and I
didnt say a single dang thing.
At school the next day, nothing said about my tweet. I was no celebrity followed
by paparazzi. I was not elevated onto a 10-foot throne and escorted down the halls. I was
not satisfied. I sat down in biology, and I reflected. As I tuned out my teacher, I wondered
if Twitter gave me a sense of empowerment. As I checked the clock again and again, I
wondered if I wanted @ChrisHull11 to have the same voice as Chris Hull. As I piddled
around with my pencils, I wondered why I chose to speak after the game and not during
the game. I didnt say a single dang thing, or did I?
Tonight, Union and Jenks had their second meeting this basketball season at our
house, but it was quiet. So quiet that every ball carried more sound with every bounce. It
was tense. It was so tense that our 300-pound principal was stretching out in case of

another potential brawl. Before either student section had the chance to provoke the other,
the pudgy official blew his whistle. The melody from that whistle snagged the tension
right out of the air and relaxed everyone with a familiar sound. It was time to play ball.
Alley-oops, crowd silencing threes, and no-look passes were like songs set on repeat.
Student sections cheered passionately and respectfully for their basketball teams. Tonight,
Union won, 65-63. However, this time around, my Twitter remained in timeout.

Works Cited
Tranchina, John. "Union Boys, Girls Sweep Jenks on Road." Tulsa World. N.p., 16 Jan.
2014. Web. 29 Jan. 2015. http://www.tulsaworld.com/sportsextra/union-boys-girlssweep-jenks-on-road/article_229359f4-7f33-11e3-9fed-0019bb30f31a.html.