Photo: Pawngo placed over 900 pounds of Butterfingers in Copley for a little "humor"

When the red, white and blue confetti poured onto the field of Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis, it was officially over. The Patriots had lost their second Super Bowl in four seasons to the New York Giants, once again. As I sat there with my head down (again), I couldn’t bear to watch Eli and company celebrate what my beloved Patriots had just come so close to accomplishing.

Brady, to Welker. Brady, to Welker. Again and again, I replayed the vision of that second down play. Brady was driving the Patriots toward becoming immortal, with four minutes left in the game. The Giants were down to their last limbs and fans could feel the celebration building up in their blood.

Brady back to pass, fires, and…Welker dropped the ball.

Besides the obvious heartbreak Patriots fans are feeling this week, one with common sense would think the players – who work countless hours everyday working toward one goal of winning the Super Bowl – are suffering much, much worse than the fans. Yes, they’re paid millions of dollars and are treated like celebrities, but it doesn’t mean they don’t care about what they do. Wes Welker, of all people, knows what it is like to be kicked when down.

Welker is undersized, had been released early in his career, and has heard the critics doubt his ability to play in the league his whole life. When the Patriots reached the playoffs two seasons ago, Welker didn’t get to participate. He suffered a potentially career ending knee injury – the same as Brady’s – one week prior to team’s playoff game. Without him, they didn’t stand a chance, and ultimately lost.

How does one company view the Patriots loss and, more importantly, Welker’s regretful drop on the big stage this past Sunday? Pawngo.com, an online pawn shop in the United States, decided it would be funny and appropriate to drop 900 pounds of butterfingers in Copley yesterday. Having “butterfingers” symbolizes that Welker’s hands were slippery like butter and prevented him from holding onto the ball.

Talk about a public relations blunder.

Businesses should always be looking to improve their image. There is good, fun humor – and then there is stupidity. Surely, Giants fans find this to be amusing, but having hundreds of thousands of angry New Englanders surely isn’t good for business. It isn’t good for anybody.

Backlash was so harsh yesterday that Pawngo CEO-Founder Todd Hills issued an apology on their company blog today. It reads:

As a die-hard sports fan, I would like to sincerely apologize for a misguided and misdirected stunt that we did yesterday in Boston. In delivering a pile of Butterfinger bars to Copley Square in Boston, and a sign referencing Wes Welker, we were making a lighthearted gesture following Sunday’s hard fought game. We thought that Boston fans would get a laugh out of it. But, for many great Boston sports fans, it was taken offensively. Please accept my most sincere apologies. We got caught up in the moment, reacting to a suggestion that we thought would be funny, but we were wrong, and on behalf of everyone involved with Pawngo, I apologize.

Ha – ha.

The American people certainly love apologies – it’s excellent public relations crisis practice. For Pawngo to do right here, this was the first step. The next should be something proper for the hurting Boston fans. Who knows what that is? I’m sure a hurting, saddened Wes Welker isn’t losing sleep over a company’s silly blunder, but this act was certainly a classless and mean joke to play on the most passionate, depressed sports fans in the nation this week.

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Technorati Tags: Butterfingers, Giants, Patriots, Pawngo, Super Bowl, Tom Brady, Welker

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