Wikipedia may be the world's largest, free online reference source - with nearly 500 million monthly visitors and 4.5 million articles. Of late, it has also become the world's best place to poke fun at celebrities and sports figures.
Back in July, after Tim Howard's epic performance in goal against Belgium (with a 50-year record of 16 saves in a single game), some clever fan edited the Everton goalkeeper's Wikipedia entry to read, "Secretary Of Defense Of The United States Of America":
Someone changed the US Secretary of Defence on Wikipedia to Tim Howard. Fantastic. pic.twitter.com/haPrHWPLjx
— Cam (@_camwba) July 1, 2014
Well played, whomever you are. Well played.
This certainly wasn't the first instance of a vocal fan (or detractor) using Wikipedia to make a public statement about a celebrity. In fact, over the past several years, it has become an almost accepted, integral function of Wikipedia to reflect public sentiment. (OK, maybe not accepted by the founders of the online resource, but accepted - and, in many instances, pplauded - by the rest of us.)
After Manchester United's disappointing season opener Saturday against Swansea, which many expected to be the welcome back party for the "old" Man U, it didn't take fans long to take a swipe at the club's newly appointed manager Louis van Gaal. Only minutes after the Red Devils' 2-1 defeat at the hands of Swansea, van Gaal's Wikipedia page had been changed by some prankster:
Now, it's doubtful that Manchester United fans are truly at risk of another Moyes-like performance from the new manager this season. After all, the club has looked much sharper in pre-season matchups. However, this Wikipedia prank is like a warning shot across the bow for van Gaal. And only Man U's performance in their next match can likely calm the nerves of anxious fans.
