"Gotta milk that SEO" "Click bait": Fans troll media house over seemingly misleading Archie Manning eulogy headline
The world of headline writing is seemingly a lost art and the Clarion Ledger in Tennessee messed up on this front with a story about Archie Manning.
Awful Announcing took a screenshot of a headline to celebrate Manning's 75th birthday on Tuesday but which fans claimed read like an obituary.
Social media was not too pleased with the headline making them believe that the legendary Ole Miss Rebels quarterback passed away.
The Clarion Ledger is a daily newspaper located in the state of Mississippi and circulates throughout the state. It is one of the oldest around as its first issue was published back in 1837. Below are some of the reactions to what the Clarion Ledger posted as a headline on social media.
"A rollicking journey to a no-bituary I guess. Who else thought he'd be dead at the end of the sentence?" One person posted.
"May he rest in peace. He's not dead, just taking a nap, but still." Another commenter replied humorously.
It seems as if no one on social media understood why the headline looked anything like it did.
"I read this a few times wondering why you didn't like it before I realized he wasn't dead." One Twitter user posted.
"Archie Manning is dead. Dead tired of people not recognizing his birthday today," one user replied.
It is important to note that Manning is fine and well.
What did Archie Manning do at Ole Miss?
Archie Manning was one of the top quarterbacks in the nation while being part of the Ole Miss Rebels from 1968-70. He finished 402-of-761 (52.8%) for 4,753 yards with 31 touchdown passes to 40 interceptions. Manning also had 314 rushing attempts for 823 yards (2.6 yards per carry) with 25 rushing touchdowns.
While his passing numbers do not scream anything outside of mediocrity, it is important to remember the era that Manning was playing in. In those days, the quarterbacks were not asked to do too much.
While those numbers would likely get a quarterback benched in today's game, he finished fourth in the 1969 Heisman voting and third in the 1970 polling for the same award. He also won the 1969 SEC Player of the Year Award.
Manning was the second pick in the 1971 NFL Draft by the New Orleans Saints and never lived up to the hype he had in college.