I left on all the watermarks in the hope that you'd believe I didn't make this.

What’s better than reading about soccer on the Internet? Reading what happens when a soccer player signs up for Twitter expecting a circle jerk and gets nothing but vulgar insults in return. That’s what happened to Manchester United midfielder Darron Gibson, who started networking socially @dgibbo28 and deleted his account in a Miley Cyrus style personal nightmare no more than two hours later.

Some of the choice Tweets include:

Darron Gibson @dgibbo28 is on Twitter, a traitor to his country and a s**** footballer.

@dgibbo28 You are a abysmal excuse for a footballer. You’re a one trick pony – a s*** one at that. What Fergie sees in you I do not know…

@dgibbo28 hasn’t tweeted yet. Seems somewhat fitting after the countless anonymous performances we’ve seen the “footballer”.

@dgibbo28 your performance on saturday was one of the worst I’ve ever seen of any utd player. scared of the ball much?

@dgibbo28 team do all hard work keeping possession then u hit row Z every f**** time!!

@dgibbo28 the biggest compliment i can give you is that you are better than Carrick

The final straw was a Tweet that read “nothing would make me happier than if we sold you this summer.” Not even a Team Bring It-style “show him some love” from teammate Rio Ferdinand could turn the tide, and now Gibson’s big memory of soccer fans on the Internet is that they’re extremely angry and passionate about soccer, to the point of hate and mania. You know, like soccer fans in real life.

I’m a little disappointed that Gibson didn’t leave his account active, but post “I’m leaving forever, goodbye!” so he could keep refreshing and see who begged him to stay.

As a casual fan of NASCAR, I’ll be the first to admit that watching cars turn left can be incredibly intense at times, so that’s why I was a little upset when I read a story about Sports Illustrated recently firing NASCAR writer Tom Bowles for cheering in the press box after 20-year old rookie Trevor Bayne took the checkered flag at the Daytona 500 on Feb. 20. Bowles’ reaction to the overwhelming underdog victory drew criticism and anger from his peers, which I like to picture as them spittin’ chaw on his ma’s new carpet.

Of course Bowles defended himself, saying that he’s a fan at heart and the heat of the moment got the best of him. He also pointed out that Bayne was greeted with an ovation in the media center for his post-race interview. But that don’t darn well matter on the big boy circuit, so they handled this showdown like real men… on Twitter.

On Twitter, Bowles went at it with several of the top NASCAR reporters in the sport about the issue of applauding in the media center. Twitter is read by tons of NASCAR folks, including the high-ranking management. Bowles did not back down and things got pretty personal between himself and several reporters. (Via The Daly Planet)

If this story really tugs at your heartland strings, then you can read Bowles’ reaction to the negative response and his firing on his site, Front Stretch, which I believe is a double entendre for a racing term and a beer gut. But I was shocked to learn that Twitter was such a haven for NASCAR fans, yet it makes perfect sense – they can’t spell or count higher than 140. Settle down *removes front teeth, holds up three fingers* I’m a NASCAR fan, too. In fact, I just found out that Twitter will sponsor a car next season…

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