The Big 12 as Annoying Facebook Friends

Most of you reading this have a Facebook account. Many of you reading this also probably loathe having a Facebook account... Because despite the good parts of the social networking giant, there’s plenty of factors that also make you want to bang your head against your desk.

One of those factors, of course, is your own friends! The things they post, comment, share, etc. all seem to get annoying at a certain point, and everyone seems to have types of friends that fall into a particular annoyance category.

We haven’t written many “Big 12 as” articles here at WRNL lately because they’ve been done quite a bit in the past, but I felt that comparing every Big 12 school to a breed of annoying Facebook friend just felt right. Consider this the definitive list.

In alphabetical order...

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Brett Rojo-USA TODAY Sports

Baylor

The person who posts Bible verses to make up for all the sinning they do.

Explanation isn’t really necessary here. Baylor’s a Baptist university, but they’re mired in a crap load of allegations involving their football program. Obviously their equivalent on Facebook is the person who wants to put up a front as an uber-religious person, but away from the keyboard, everyone knows the same person goes out and does things that aren’t exactly viewed as saintly.

Actions speak louder than words, Baylor.

Steven Branscombe-USA TODAY Sports

Iowa State

The person who shares EVERY SINGLE post from a particular brand or page.

Cyclone fans have become known for their intense loyalty even when their teams are some of the worst in the conference *cough FOOTBALL cough*. However, from the outside, people probably wonder what the fuss is all about. Why not move on from a perennial loser?

I imagine ISU like the person who is so blindly loyal that they share everything a brand/page posts. They want people to know how much they care for this brand/page and they want people to join them and feel the same way. Unfortunately for Iowa State, many times this comes off as crazy and obsessive, especially if the brand is particularly bad or weird.

The Cyclones are admirable in their dedication, but does it ever really amount to anything? Not yet, anyway.

Denny Medley-USA TODAY Sports

Kansas

The person who uses Facebook like Twitter.

“Eating a tuna salad sandwich.”

“Can’t wait to go to the Nickelback concert later today!”

“Just got back from the gym! #GymLife #Gainz #Swole”

These are all common Facebook statuses you might see from someone who uses Facebook like Twitter, AKA the Kansas Jayhawks. The text Facebook status was relevant once upon a time, but nowadays the ability to post videos and images with the push of a button have made the text status a thing of the past.

Twitter is different from Facebook the same way that basketball is different from football. Sure, both might be a social media platform (sport), but there’s plenty of differences as well, and just because you’re good at one doesn’t mean you’re good at the other.

Stick to Twitter (basketball), Kansas.

Denny Medley-USA TODAY Sports

Kansas State

The (old) relative who comments on everything you post.

It’s hard to think of Kansas State without considering Bill Snyder — the long-time football coach even has a stadium named after him, for heaven’s sake. And when you think of Bill Snyder, you’re bound to remember how often he writes letters to people.

When you mix the old age of Bill Snyder with his propensity to use a paper and pen, it’s easily comparable to a relative that comments on EVERY. SINGLE. THING. that you post.

Pictures from a vacation? Probably followed by a “Looks nice there, sonny.”

Selfie with your significant other? Probably gets a “You’re so handsome.”

Change your relationship status? Probably worthy of a three-paragraph story about the dos and don’ts of dating.

Are these comments harmless? Yes. Do you secretly appreciate your grandpa/grandma taking an interest in the things you do? Maybe. But sometimes you just want to go online and share something without the additional commentary.

Bob Donnan-USA TODAY Sports

Oklahoma

The person who complains about everything, despite having a pretty good life.

It seems like Oklahoma and David Boren are always stirring the pot on expansion and spouting off on why the Sooners would be better off to leave the Big 12. This, of course, is despite the fact that they’re making quite a bit of money by being in the Big 12 while also serving as the most dominant football team in the conference as of late.

I equate this to someone who constantly posts everything bad that happens to them on Facebook while conveniently ignoring all of the good things going on in their life. The grass may look green elsewhere, but it’s pretty dang green here in the Big 12 too.

Rob Ferguson-USA TODAY Sports

Oklahoma State

The person who’s always subposting about a certain person.

Oklahoma State has been one of the best schools in the conference athletically for awhile now, but it’s always going to be tough for them to get out of the shadow of Oklahoma. The Cowboys do their best to talk down the Sooners as much as they can, but until they can string together a few conference titles and consistently best OU on the gridiron, the crimson and cream will reign supreme in the Sooner state.

Ray Carlin-USA TODAY Sports

TCU

The person who just had a baby.

When someone is blessed with a child, oftentimes they take their joy to Facebook to share it with the rest of the world. This is fine and dandy for awhile, but many times, people get addicted to all of the attention they get and continue to post pictures and statuses of their child for much too long.

To me, TCU “had their baby” when they got brought into the Big 12 in 2011. Once they finally were accepted into a Power 5 conference, it bought them the attention they’d been craving for so long. Don’t abuse this great thing, Frogs.

Michael C. Johnson-USA TODAY Sports

Texas

The person who aggressively shares Timehop posts.

Remember when Texas was good at sports? Texas fans sure do.

It seems like it’s been ages since the Longhorns were at the top of the roost in football. With little to no success as of late by Texas standards, their fans are easily the type to post Timehop memories involving Vince Young et al as often as they can.

Perhaps Tom Herman will make it so they don’t have to rely on the past to fill their feeds with good news, but that has yet to be seen.

Michael C. Johnson-USA TODAY Sports

Texas Tech

The person who tries to bait people into an argument in the comments.

Texas Tech’s football team is all about offense. They’re great at putting points on the board, but equally as atrocious on defense.

Sounds to me like the classic internet commenter who is great at getting people to argue with them online, but lacks substance once they’ve been engaged. Gotta beef up your defense, Red Raiders.

Ben Queen-USA TODAY Sports

West Virginia

The person who parties relentlessly and tags their friends in drunken photos.

It’s well-known that West Virginians hold their liquor with the best of ‘em. They’re also always on high-alert for couch burning, especially when the Mountaineers do something particularly good or bad on the football field.

Because of this, they’re the person who loves to post photos of their antics, then tag their friends in the (embarrassing) photos. These snapshots are a beacon of pride for WVU, who has partying down to a science. For their friends, though, this can be a pain in the butt if they’re trying to maintain a clean image on the internet.

We admire your fire, West Virginia. We just don’t want to get fired from our jobs due to the pictures you post of us.

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