Two NBA fans took it upon themselves to help out their favorite team on Twitter last week, only to receive a legally threatening email from the Philadelphia 76ers. By the end of the ordeal, though, the fans ended up with box seats to the Philadelphia 76ers’ home opener, season tickets … and a job with the team for one. How in the world did that happen? The 76ers launched a fan voting contest last week to choose a new team mascot between three finalists. But the team failed to get the nominees on social media. Helpfully, Jerry Rizzo, 23, and friend Hunter Coleman, 22, went ahead and registered Twitter accounts for two finalists, @PhilEMoose and @BFranklinDogg. They began tweeting from the accounts trying to help promote the contest. On Friday, however, they received an official email requesting that they hand over the accounts, “pleasantly without the use of lawyers or anything like that.” Rizzo, a communications graduate and self-described “social media sponge,” gave up the accounts in exchange for box seats and tickets … but it gets better. Saturday, 76ers CEO Adam Aron left Rizzo a voicemail asking Rizzo to call him back. He set up an interview that ultimately led to him being offered a job. In the end, he was rewarded for his entrepreneurial sprit with a full-time social media position with the team – “about as close as it gets” to the perfect gig. Continue reading the whole story about this lucky 76ers fan and his Tweets …
