Ben Dubose AKA The Cat deleted his Twitter account?

Great question. Doesn't he do the LockedOn Rockets podcast? Hope everything is good.

 

He said he would delete his account if the Astros lost the World Series. The Twitter trolls got to him.

I think he'll be back at some point, just needs a break.

 

Beats me. Some fans be wildin' maybe.

 

lol

 

nice, gotta love it! a man of his word!

 

That's a shame.

@The Cat will be missed.

 

Damn I quit twitter long ago and got no CF threads made about it. The disrespect

 

I'm here! The back story: Being an Astros fan on Twitter is hard, particularly if you have a large account. On multiple occasions over the last few years, I've had fans of teams who lost to the Astros try to go after my employment over things I've said — never successfully, but it's a pain in the ass no matter what. People always say some variation of "mute the conversation or mute/block them," but it's easier to do that if you're using a screen name and/or you have just a few hundred followers. In those instances, people will usually move on. If you're a verified account with an audience, the sore loser types are out for blood, and they stay that way.

The reason I give that context: Ever since the sign-stealing scandal broke in November 2019, I've pretty much disassociated myself with broader MLB Twitter and the national media. The reaction is so comically over the top and devoid of perspective, it's pointless to even debate. It's like talking to a wall, and you run the risk of some angry loser trying to go after your job. So when it comes to baseball, I'm pretty much Houston-only, at this point.

Anyway, flash forward to the last few days — this was not a good World Series for the Astros. In their four losses, they scored a combined 4 runs and were shut-out twice. In one of those games, Atlanta threw a bullpen game and was basically using AAA-level pitchers. For the season as a whole, this was one of the best offenses of all-time. So to see them all of a sudden lay an egg like that, on the biggest stage, against a team that they were better than on paper... yeah, it sucked. I called it embarrassing and shameful on Saturday night, among other things. I immediately had swarms of angry Houston fans in my mentions throwing out all sorts of personal insults. No idea why they couldn't just ignore, unfollow, mute, or block, but that's modern social media for you.

For me, it ain't worth all that. Life is too short. I already couldn't stand the "national" fans, and when the only people I actually do care to associate with (Houston fans) started trying to make my life hell, too... what's the point of being on there? At that point, it's just arguing to argue, a waste of time, and bad for everyone's mental health. I'm sure I'll come back at some point, but I wanted (and still want) a break from it until all of the World Series emotions start to die down some.

 

Glad to hear you're still alive and kickin'.

 

You were missed man.

 

I respect you and don’t like Twitter haters… but a promise is a promise

 

When people find out I am an Astros fan they always bring it up and ask me to explain how I rationalize still supporting them. My answer is always that you dont' stop being someone's friend because they got caught speeding.

And they did underperform and it was pathetic how their offense supported against good but not great pitching. But I wonder with all respect, if you have no idea why they couldn't just ignore you, I also wonder why can't you ignore them? I mean famous people get all this trash all the time - imagine how much hate someone like Harden gets.

I think you contribute so much on social media representing a unique perspective that is honest and knowledgeable. It's a loss to everyone who seeks that if you let the morons dictate your actions.

 

People are nasty man. Man social media is nice to keep up with old friends and family that you otherwise wouldn't know about, but man, it's brought out the true nastiness in people.

 

@The Cat enjoyed following you on Twitter. I won’t be mad if it means you post more in clutchfans though!

 

By the way, a follow-up: I've had a couple people suggesting that it's bad for business, i.e. why would a content producer like myself not want to be on a platform for breaking news. The honest truth is that there really isn't much of an impact. Even the story links that do go viral, which is a very small percentage in the grand scheme, have much lower click-through rates than you might think. That's because, spoiler alert: Many people on Twitter aren't actually there to learn or read things. They're mostly there to yell and ratio and let out their real-life frustrations via a virtual punching bag. I actually get more referrals from places like CF and Reddit, because message board users like y'all tend to be a bit more intellectually curious. Certainly not all of them, of course, but some. Twitter, on the other hand, is mostly folks with short attention spans who are looking for a place to vent.

That doesn't mean I won't go back, I've made some absolutely incredible friendships and connections during my 12+ years on Rockets Twitter. It was killing me not to watch the end of Rockets/Lakers last night with you guys. At some point, I'll cave and go back, probably when the WS emotions fade and the bad doesn't outweigh the good. But in times where **** goes really bad, there's no reason that I (or anyone) has to have a Twitter.

 

LOL

 

#Respeck

 

Long-term, I generally agree with this. But I do think there can be short-term exceptions to where it's just easier to step away entirely during a super high-stress period, i.e. the WS and its immediate aftermath.