The Atlanta Falcons beat the Arizona Cardinals by a score of 20-19 on Sunday afternoon thanks to a game-winning 21-yard field goal from kicker Younghoe Koo. The moment was certainly a cause for celebration, just like any game-winning field goal, but the way the Falcons’ social media team chose to celebrate was definitely in poor taste.
Immediately after the game, the Falcons’ official Twitter account posted a tweet not only celebrating Koo’s game-winning kick but making fun of Ohio State Buckeyes kicker Noah Ruggles, who missed a game-deciding 50-yard field goal in the College Football Playoff semifinal which was also held in the Atlanta Falcons stadium the previous night.
“This is how you make a game-winning field goal at @MBStadium,” the team said in a Tweet, in obvious reference to Ruggles’ miss the night before.
The tweet generated quite a bit of backlash for obvious reasons. Ruggles is a college student while Koo is a professional kicker, Koo’s 21-yard field goal was also much shorter than Ruggles’ attempt from 50 yards out, and Ohio State’s kick was in a highly-competitive College Football Playoff win while the Falcons have been terrible this season and only notched their sixth victory of the year on Sunday.
The Falcons eventually deleted the tweet, but the damage was done.
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