San Francisco Giants fans rally on Twitter

SAN FRANCISCO – The world headquarters of Twitter are barely two miles from the home of the San Francisco Giants. Little wonder, then, that Giants fans have flocked to the social media outlet to show their suppport for the home team.

Fans of the St. Louis Cardinals are clicking in as well. They thought they had spotted the digital equivalent of bulletin board fodder Monday morning, in a tweet from Giants reliever George Kontos.

“I woke up and I’m wired already,” Kontos tweeted. “Can’t wait to hear the roar of 43,000 tonight! WS here come the GIANTS!!!”

Cardinals fans ripped Kontos for counting his proverbial chickens before they hatch. Giants fans cheered him for his confidence.

Kontos was amused by the brief hubbub, bemused that his 140 characters had drawn enemy fire.

“You’ve just got to accept that,” Kontos said after reporting to AT&T; Park. “With all the good people following you and trying to pump you up, there are always going to be others that are not as fond of the Giants.”

Kontos said he was not the only Giants player loose going into Game 7, as the team faces its sixth elimination game of this postseason.

“We’re all laid back and having fun,” he said. “That’s how you have to be when your back is against the wall.”

After the Cardinals took a three games to one lead in the series, the Giants and their supporters rallied behind Game 5 starter Barry Zito, urging fans to use a picture of Zito as their avatar and use the tag #RallyZito. The tag trended across the world.

Zito said he appreciated the support but said he no longer uses Twitter.

“I tried Twitter a couple of years ago and it was a pretty devastating experience for me,” he said. “I learned to not check the inbox.”

For Game 6, the Giants played off the chicken enchiladas that pitcher Ryan Vogelsong eats before each start. The #RallyEnchiladas tag prevailed, and fans tweeted pictures of enchiladas to Vogelsong’s wife, Nicole.

“Unreal the amount of enchiladas being tweeted to me right now!” she tweeted.

Ryan Vogelsong said he does not use Twitter. He said his wife did not even try to discuss the flood of enchilada pictures with him before the game.

“She knew better than to try to distract me with that information today,” he said after the game. “She’s been around me long enough to know that this afternoon probably wasn’t the best time to show me what was on Twitter.”

And, by that time, with Game 6 already won and Matt Cain preparing to start Game 7, the Giants and their fans already had turned their attention to #RallyCain.

Twitter: @BillShaikin

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