With a two-run lead in the bottom of the ninth and the Cardinals down to their very last strike in Game 6, it sure looked like the Texas Rangers were going to win the World Series. So imminent did their victory -- which would have been the first World Series triumph by a team from Texas -- appear that news outlets were already far along in prepping their coverage.
Unfortunately, one Dallas FOX affiliate made the major step from prep to publish before the Rangers had sealed the deal. And, as we all know by now, the deal would remain unsealed. The champagne corks would not be popped. But even after it was deleted, the TV station's erroneous victory tweet isn't going away.
Just before the bottom of the ninth inning in Game 6 on Thursday night, myFOXdfw.com sent out a tweet congratulating the Rangers on winning the World Series:
"The Texas Rangers have won the World Series. Watch coverage on FOX 4 News and follow myFOXdfw.com," the tweet said, which was deleted shortly after being sent.
Apparently, none of the Rangers had TweetDeck open in the dugout. Texas' closer gave up a two-out triple to David Freese that drove in two runs to tie the game at seven. After Josh Hamilton staked the Rangers to another lead in the 10th, the Cardinals would go on to tie it again and ultimately force Game 7 with a walk-off homer in the bottom of the 11th.
The Twitterverse exploded, ripping the Dallas affiliate and comparing them to the Chicago-Tribune's headline gaffe "Dewey Defeats Truman" in 1948. Some also compared it to the Shea Stadium scoreboard operator flashing a mesage congratulating the Boston Red Sox on winning the 1986 World Series in Game 6 before the game was over.
If this tweet come to be viewed as a jinx that signalled the beginning of the end of the Rangers' championship then, interestingly enough, it wouldn't be the first such media statement during the rush for the World Series. During the Red Sox-Orioles game on the last day of the regular season, Boston Globe writer Dan Shaughnessy stated that the Red Sox season would not end that night.
We all know what happened after that..