The Nationals' social media team is never afraid to stir the pot just a little bit, whether it's poking fun at other players and teams or displaying their franchise's #Natitude with different highlights. But sometimes, it backfires.
Take, for instance, their tweet from about nine months ago that took a jab at the division rival Philadelphia Phillies, boasting about the career head-to-head numbers between the two organizations. It came right before the two teams began a two-game series, and it was a fun attempt to rile up both fan bases and promote the upcoming divisional clash.
Two games later, the Nationals were swept and were no longer the winning team in the all-time series history. Oh well. Fast forward a week and a half after that, and the Phillies completed another sweep of the Nationals, this time across four games. Oh well. And though the Nationals were able to pick up a series win at the end of the 2020 season, the tweet, as a whole, really hasn't aged well.
There are even some in-game moments that immediately age poorly. Just look at what the Nationals decided to send out when the game was knotted at one run apiece.
The two players involved in the above collision? Odubel Herrera, who blasted a game-tying home run in the ninth inning just a little while later, and former National Bryce Harper, who ripped a single to start a tenth inning rally that ultimately gave the Phillies the 5-2 victory.
Twitter really does seem to have this effect on teams. I'm not a superstitious person, but there's got to be something to social media jinxes. Take Jeff Passan's seemingly harmless tweet about the Kansas City Royals, for instance.
Wish you hadn't spoken — or written — that thought into existence, Jeff! Because those same Royals are now 16-19 with a grand total of zero wins in their last ten games. Whether it's some trash-talking that backfires, as was the case with the Nationals' tweet, or it's an innocuous observation from an insider about a certain team, we must always be wary of the potential Twitter jinx.
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