On Monday, the giant Yahoo! Sports juggernaut went after a hapless local blogger, browbeating him and shaming him into the lowest form of combat on earth, the blog war.
It started last week when a local Caps blogger with the pseudonym of "Ted" complained about the number of opposing fans in the stands for the Caps' big game with the Cup-toting Red Wings. Although this Ted person estimated that there were fewer than 2,000 fans in "his" building -- as if he owned the place -- he seems to want a crowd that, while 100 percent Red, also happens to be 100 percent Wingless (except, perhaps, for Slapshot.)
It was a mild-mannered, slightly un-serious post that Yahoo! Sports -- a subsidiary of the company best known for their $7 billion in revenues, free fantasy football, personal ads, and spam-filled chat rooms -- picked up on its "Puck Daddy" blog.
There, the site's blogger mercilessly picked apart that unassuming post from this nondescript Caps fan, throwing the weight of this giant multinational search engine/ad seller to bear on this seemingly overwhelmed DC hockey blogger. Aren't games more fun, this Puck Daddy argued, when the stands are full of the enemy? And 'round the world, the first shot was heard.
Oh, but this was no ordinary Caps blogger. He has the heart of a champion. When faced with an opening salvo fired with the might of a $19 million CEO fourteen levels of supervision behind it, this Caps blogger fought back, a true David against the heartless Bay-Area Goliath.
This poor, undersized, underarmed Ted guy -- he even has an outdated AOL page kicking around, as if anyone still uses that! -- dialed up his 56K modem and fired back, launching barrage after barrage, blasting holes in Mr. Daddy's weakened argument, repelling the enemy.
When the smoke clears, the great Ted/Yahoo! battle of ought-nine will be ruled a draw. But in the eyes of the undersized, the voiceless and all the little guys, it's a clear win for this Ted person. Whoever he is.
Chris Needham used to blog at Capitol Punishment before the battle of '08 with Nats 320.
