WPS tweeting a genius marketing plan

March 23, 7:43 PMChicago Sports ExaminerCharlie Corr

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Nine times out of 10, if I were a head coach, I probably would react the same way former Chicago Bulls coach Scott Skiles reacted.

During a Milwaukee Bucks game last week, forward Charlie Villanueva posted a "tweet" on his Twitter feed from his cell phone during halftime of the Bucks' game against the Boston Celtics. Skiles doesn't want that to happen again.

For you non-tech savvy people, a tweet is simply a mass text message to people who sign up through Twitter and follow your updates. If you don't know what a text message is, then I can't help you. My Twitter alias is CorrSports, in case you are interested.

Contrary to Skiles' reaction, late last week Women's Professional Soccer approved the use of tweets by select players during their games. And for a Chicago Red Stars fan at Toyota Park or on the road, I would get an absolute kick out of seeing a firsthand message on my cell.

Part of the reason I am OK with the use of tweets in soccer is that there are many lulls. The NBA is stop-and-go, 24-second shot clocks, rapid game swings ... it's hard to take the time to tweet without disrupting the flow.

Red Stars CEO Peter Wilt's Twitter alias is "RedStarsCEO," which makes perfect sense. The team alias is simply "ChicagoRedStars." And here are other Red Stars on Twitter: general manager Marcia McDermott (Mmcd21), head coach Emma Hayes (EmmaHayes1), goalkeeper coach Nathan Kipp (NathanKipp), Danesha Adams (DaAdams9), Brittany Klein (BritKlein), Nikki Krzysik (Krz23), Megan Rapinoe (Pinoe), Lindsay Tarpley (LindsayTarpley) and Natalie Spilger has two aliases: Nspilger and GreenLaces (Spilger's movement to spread environmental awareness).

Receiving a message from any one of them would be a nice pick-me-up. A halftime message likely would be more interesting than a TV reporter flagging down Hayes for a generic remark before the second half. Players on the sidelines could tweet something to the effect of "Make some noise!" if they need some background motivation while clinging to a 1-goal lead. They could send a shoutout to their supporters group, which will rile them up even more.

It maintains a pure soccer feel in the park without bombarding us with JumboTron animation and heckling from the public address person. It's kind of the counteractive approach to what goes on in the Arena Football League and indoor soccer games, which include non-stop music and regular pleas from the PA person to "let's go!"

WPS is finding its niche to connect with new fans. Just make sure you don't leave your cell phone in the car.

Send a message: E-mail your comments or thoughts to charliecorr@gmail.com.

Charlie Corr is a freelance sports writer in Chicago. In addition to Examiner.com, he also is the creator of SlideTackles.net.