A talk with #thefakemovement

The days when sports fans discussed the best shooter in town, the greatest plan by the coach and the up-and-coming freshman in the barber shop are long gone.

The mornings spent sipping coffee and hashing sports facts have started to disappear.
Forget the sheers. Throw out the cold decaf.

Those days have been replaced with message boards, anonymous comments and, most recently, fake Twitter accounts.

Here in Bloomington, the craze began somewhere between @FakeFredGlass and @FakeCoachWilson and has progressed to #TheFakeMovement — including @FogiYerrell, @PannerHerea, @HeremyJollowell and more. It’s a craze Assistant Athletic Director for Media Relations J.D. Campbell said can be seen as harmless but can also be extremely personal.

Campbell said while some people think they are being funny, they might not realize someone on the team might actually be offended by those 140 characters.

“But, they (athletes) just have to understand that that’s part of being an athlete at this level,” Campbell said.

As of right now, Campbell and IU Coach Tom Crean aren’t planning on doing anything with the new Twitter accounts.

“The big thing is if there’s something that is inappropriate, then we would have a concern if it came to our attention,” Campbell said. “There is a difference, though, between parody and being mean-spirited. I don’t like the part of society that we’re in right now that allows that kind of dialogue to take place when it crosses that line.”

But when 2012 IU commit Yogi Ferrell learned he had a fake Twitter account, he tweeted, “hahaha theres a fake twitter account of me…..@fogiyerell.”

So the IDS contacted @FogiYerrell and @HeremyJollowell to find out their take on fake accounts and what it’s like to be a fake IU recruit.

@FOGIYERRELL
INDIANA DAILY STUDENT How long has @FogiYerrell been a Twitter account? Why?
@FogiYerrell: It began two nights ago when one of us, inspired by @FakeCoachWilson, decided to make a fake account of Gary Harris expressing his regret for choosing Michigan State rather than IU. To provide a contrast, we created @FogiYerrell to brag of making the right choice — IU. It caught on, and it spread to the creation of parody accounts for the rest of the players of #themovement. One of our followers has dubbed us #thefakemovement.

IDS Are you also in charge of @JeterPurkin and @PonRatterson and those?
@FY We control a few, but not all of the parody accounts.

IDS Do you know the real Yogi Ferrell?
@FY We have met him but don’t know him personally.

IDS What do you feel is the key to being a good fake account?
@FY Doing your research. Gary Harris tweeted “lmao I swear, dude did his research”. Know the player’s team and schedule.

IDS What does The Movement mean to you?
@FY The chance to win that sixth banner. That’s what we all want.

IDS Why make a fake account? Why not just tweet your opinion from your own account?
@FY We regularly tweet about the program from our personal accounts, but this allows us to reach out to #hoosiernation from a satirical point of view.

IDS People believe that fake accounts can be hysterical but also degrading. Why tweet bogus thoughts of a high schooler?
@FY We realize there is possible controversy surrounding our work, but the feedback from #hoosiernation, as well as from the players, has been positive. We don’t mean to offend anyone. It’s all for the sake of the IU basketball Twitter community.

IDS What’s the best part of being fake Yogi Ferrell?
@FY The chicks.

@HeremyJollowell
IDS How did this all start?
@HeremyJollowell My account started after I saw Fogi’s and decided it would be cool to add on and see if we couldn’t get the whole class represented.
 
IDS Do you know the real Jeremy Hollowell?
@HJ No, I have never met him. I’m just another IU fan who followed his recruitment.
 
IDS Are you running any other fake account?
@HJ No, Heremy is my only fake account.
 
IDS Why make a fake Twitter account? Why not tweet your opinion from your own account?
@HJ It’s mostly just to have fun, make people laugh and bring some attention to the 2012 class.
 
IDS What are the pros and cons of fake Twitter accounts?
@HJ It’s fun being able to interact with some people and bring laughs to Hoosier nation. One con is I feel like I could be disrespecting people at times, which I try my best to not do.

IDS What do you think about The Movement?
@HJ I’m extremely excited for them to get to campus. This class means a lot to the future of IU basketball and getting back to where we have been in the past. I have been a die-hard fan since I was a little kid and haven’t wavered in my status through the trouble of the last few years. I think it is nice to have positive buzz coming out of the basketball program again — get a little more national attention, stuff like that.
 
IDS What is your favorite fake account that isn’t you?
@HJ It would have to be @FakeCoachWilson or @TheBigHandsome.
 
IDS Why did @HeremyJollowell pick IU?
@HJ Heremy picked IU because it is the best place in the U.S., and the fans are top-notch.
 
IDS What’s the best thing about being @HeremyJollowell?
@HJ Heremy is just a laid-back, honest guy that loves IU basketball.

IDS Future plans for @HeremyJollowell?
@HJ Hopefully continue to gain popularity on Twitter and get some more followers and, hopefully, provide laughs to Hoosier fans.
 
IDS The IU basketball program isn’t a huge fan of fake Twitter accounts. Will that make you stop tweeting?
@HJ I don’t intend to anger them or bring a bad light to the program. As soon as someone comes to me about stopping the account, I will immediately. It’s just all in fun.