Luongo’s Twitter gold
Roberto Luongo has apparently had a secret, anonymous Twitter account — and it’s hilarious, says Legion of Blog writer Wyatt Arndt
Mystery surrounds Canucks nation today as word broke that Roberto Luongo might have a secret Twitter account.
It all started when Ryan Kesler innocently tweeted yesterday “If your (sic) looking for some laughs follow @strombone1 guy is a beauty”.
Instantly, Canucks nation was intrigued: Ryan Kesler is not known for having the most interesting tweets, nor does he often reveal much about himself. Suddenly Ryan Kesler was telling his 134,000 followers to follow someone on twitter? This was not familiar. This was like opening Pandora’s Box for Canucks fans, they had to know more.
Immediately people began trying to figure out who @strombone1 could be. The first clue they jumped on was the fact it had the No. 1 in the username.
This pointed the eyes firmly on the Canucks starting goalie, Roberto Luongo. Initially this seemed too easy, on par with the Spaceballs combination of “12345.” But digging further, the pieces seemed to slowly fall into place and the case that it could be Roberto Luongo’s twitter account seemed stronger and stronger. Consider the following:
Sept. 23 @strombone1 tweeted: “U know it’s been a long online poker shift when ur listening to Michael Jackson on your itune playlist!!!” Roberto Luongo is a noted online poker fanatic and has even appeared in BC Lotto ads for poker.
An online website called www.pocketfives. com has a forum where one member claims “strombone1” is Roberto Luongo’s online poker handle.
Nov. 1 @strombone1 tweeted: “The other day I told my 3 year old daughter to stop acting fresh. She told me: daddy I’m fresh and ur not cuz ur stale!!! Quite impressive!!” This is in line with Luongo as he also has a young daughter Gabriella who was born March 27, 2008. That would put his daughter at the age of 3 at the time of this tweet.
On Nov. 1 @strombone1 also tweeted: “I’ve taken longer bathroom breaks than Kim K’s wedding…. No seriously, ask anyone!!!!!”
As any Canuck fan can tell you, there is one player on the Canucks who is famous for having a long bathroom break.
Roberto Luongo was stuck in an extended washroom break during Game 5 of the 2nd round of the 2007 Stanley Cup Playoffs against the Anaheim Ducks. Just about as long as Kim Kardashian’s marriage.
@strombone1 tweets Nov. 8: “Staszko just informed the dealer that he has a hair appointment at super cuts in 20 mins! #Wsopfunfacts”. Yet another poker reference that points to the fact this could be the account of the card loving Luongo.
Gerry Dee recently interviewed Roberto Luongo and asked him if he followed him on twitter, and Luongo admitted to having a twitter account. @strombone1 only follows 64 people. Gerry Dee is one of them. Basically 20 per cent of the accounts followed are former Canucks or people Luongo has known in real life at some point in time.
Add it all up, and it certainly appears as though it legitimately is Roberto Luongo’s twitter account.
If this is indeed the case, it brings up a very interesting fact; Roberto Luongo is a pretty funny guy. What has the public witnessed from Roberto during his tenure with the team?
We have seen a man who has been distant, uptight, and nervous up until the last couple of years when he finally became more relaxed and at ease with his media obligations. Not once would you say to yourself: “I bet that guy is hilarious when the cameras turn off”.
If you look through the 172 tweets @strombone1 has tweeted, you will see a person with wit, humour, and a person who is not afraid to reveal intimate details about himself.
Case in point, on October 17th, @ strombone1 tweeted: “Damn you Stefano Demera…how could u? Sorry for the rant… Gut wrenching episode of days of our lives today!!! : - )”
Roberto Luongo a fan of soap operas? Could it be? His viewing habits don’t just stop with soaps, however, as there are several tweets about the infamous Jersey Shore show on MTV.
@strombone1 is apparently a big fan of the Jersey Shore and enjoys poking fun at cast member Snooki. At one point @strombone1 tweets: “Trying to figure out who Snooki’s baby daddy is and I’ve narrowed TO……EVERYONE!!!!!” Roberto Luongo taking shots at a Jersey Shore cast member? Where was this during the Boston series? Imagine Luongo tweeting: “I’ve finally discovered why the refs aren’t giving us any calls. Gregory Campbell told on us to his dad!!!!!” The reaction alone from the East would have been worth the price of admission.
Aside from the TV viewing habits of @strombone1, we also find someone who enjoys cracking jokes left and right.
At one point @strombone1 tweets: “I sometimes wish they would make those brushes by the toilet a little softer on the skin!” and then another time says “my left armpit smells like fish….does that mean anything???”
If this turns out to be Roberto Luongo’s twitter account it only leaves us with one question: Does he have the guts to keep it going? Tweeting anonymously is one thing. But a twitter account that is publicly known as his account, though? That is a different situation.
One hopes, however, that Luongo embraces this account, if it is his. He should continue to tweet and showcase his personality.
In today’s NHL where bland answers and cliché responses are par for the course, it would be refreshing to see more of the players’ true personalities leak into the game.
I know it’s a tall order to ask that of Luongo in this market, but for a player who can be such a lightning rod for criticism, showing people that he is just a regular guy like everyone else would be a good thing. As @strombone1 himself says: “I just sh*t my pants!” Wait, OK, so maybe that wasn’t as inspiring as we hoped…
Wyatt Arndt is a member of The Province’s Legion of Blog. For more on Luongo’s tweeting and more from the L.O.B., head to theprovince.com/legionofblog or follow Arndt on Twitter @thestanchion.