It’s amazing the difference an underscore makes.
In the case of the name Dee Ford and Twitter, one underscore could mean the difference between tweeting the former defensive lineman from Auburn or a female surveyor from Kent, England.
The latter has felt the effects of the underscore, especially recently. As reported by the War Eagle Reader, surveyor Dee Ford, whose Twitter name is @dee_ford, has gained several Twitter followers because of mistaken identity. Many Auburn fans are trying to find defensive lineman Dee Ford, whose Twitter handle is @dee_ford_, but forget that extra underscore after the name when trying to tweet him.
“It went really mad this weekend,” Ford told the War Eagle Reader, who gained 100 new followers Sunday after defensive lineman Dee Ford’s stellar performance in the Senior Bowl on Saturday. “But it had gone a bit crazy a couple of weeks back when Dee himself tweeted his [Twitter] address wrong.”
Defensive lineman Dee Ford did send out a correction and an apology, but it hasn’t stopped the followers from coming. Surveyor Dee Ford even had to add the disclaimer: “NOTE! I am not the Auburn footballer, who is dee_ford_ I’m a boring surveyor from Kent” to her Twitter profile.
Surveyor Dee Ford told the War eagle Reader she didn’t know anything about American football and was perplexed the first time her Twitter timeline was bombarded with hashtags of #WarEagle and #WDE (War Dame Eagle). It wasn’t until she did an Internet search that she realized she had a Twitter twin with a similar handle.
Things hit a whole other level of ridiculousness for surveyor Dee Ford when Auburn athletic director Jay Jacobs accidentally tweeted her congratulating her on being named Senior Bowl MVP.
Of course, he meant the tweet for his school’s former linemen and not only apologized to the lady from England, but also offered to send her Auburn gear and welcome her to the Auburn family.
Despite the harassment, surveyor Dee Ford has warmed up to her accidental fans and has now taken an interest in Auburn football. She even sent War Eagle Reader a picture showing her appreciation (see above).
“How could I not be an Auburn fan now?” surveyor Dee Ford told the website. “The supporters on Twitter are amazing. They love their team and they didn’t mind a Brit with a silly sense of humour screaming at them to stop tweeting nonsense she doesn’t understand!”
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Graham Watson is the editor of Dr. Saturday on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email her at dr.saturday@ymail.com or follow her on Twitter!Follow @YahooDrSaturday