Whatever the outcome of Saturday’s game between the Duke Blue Devils and Virginia Cavaliers, the Duke social media team has already taken a big L.
In preparation for the ACC football showdown between the 6-4 Blue Devils and 2-8 Cavs, Duke posted an image on their Facebook page that seems to want to evoke an old-timey southern feel as they travel to Charlottesville for the game. The image is centered around an 1863 map of what is presumably supposed to be Virginia. However, a quick glance reveals that it’s, in fact, West Virginia.
That’s bad enough, but when you look closely at the letter that is also part of the image, you can see that they’ve addressed it to “The University of Virgina.”
No matter what you messed up today, you're probably doing better than Duke's social media team pic.twitter.com/fwXOpfo87O
— Danielle Funk Sollenberger (@thedaniellefunk) November 18, 2023
If the “Virgina” mistake felt familiar, we’ve seen it before a few times. In 2007, West Virginia won the NIT and put on commemorative t-shirts that read “West Virgina: NIT Champions.” So, hey, it happens.
As for mistaking West Virginia for Virginia, well, that’s a tougher one to explain. Even if you got tripped up by the Virginia part, a glance at the shape of the state should have cleared things up. Alas, Duke didn’t catch it and, for better or worse, it’s still live on their Facebook page.
As you might imagine, West Virginians had some fun with the mix-up.
Charlottesville? Oh wow, I have family in West Virginia! https://t.co/VX6H8g3k6M
— West By God Virginia (@WestByGodWV) November 18, 2023
[@thedaniellefunk, Duke University]
About Sean Keeley
Along with writing for Awful Announcing and The Comeback, Sean is the Managing Editor for Comeback Media. Previously, he created the Syracuse blog Troy Nunes Is An Absolute Magician and wrote 'How To Grow An Orange: The Right Way to Brainwash Your Child Into Rooting for Syracuse.' He has also written non-Syracuse-related things for SB Nation, Curbed, and other outlets. He currently lives in Seattle where he is complaining about bagels. Send tips/comments/complaints to sean@thecomeback.com.