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You’ve Been Jimmer’ed!

You’ve Been Jimmer’ed!

By Kelsey Judd, Intern

Maybe you have heard of Jimmer Fredette, the Brigham Young University basketball guard who has received national attention for his scoring ability. BYU fans are crazy about him claiming “It’s hard to remember he’s mortal.  He sure doesn’t play like one.”

Despite Jimmer’s overwhelming support, there is one BYU student who disagrees. The now infamous Michelle Peralta, a Jimmer non-believer, has received national attention from ESPN, Yahoo, CBS Sports, NBC Sports, and many more for writing a letter to the editor of Daily Universe, the BYU student newspaper. This is what she wrote:

I can’t walk across campus without hearing Jimmer Fredette’s name a dozen times. His name comes up everywhere: in class, at work, during lunch … really, people? Cut it out with the Jimmer worship. Last time I checked, idol worship was very much frowned upon in the scriptures.

Don’t you have a life to live? Then quit wasting it in front of the TV or in lines at the Marriott Center…

…As far as I’m concerned, Jimmer is perfectly free to live his dreams. If he reaches his goals and lives his dreams, more power to him. I would like the same courtesy from his fans: let me live my own dreams in peace, even if they don’t include ever sitting in the Marriott Center screaming my brains out.

Peralta used her real name to sign the letter and posted a Facebook status saying “Just wrote another irritated letter to the editor of the BYU newspaper. I hope this doesn’t turn into a habit.” Jimmermanics were determined to bring back Peralta’s misguided soul because within one hour, her Facebook wall was flooded with hundreds of comments.

These are my personal favorites:

Could Peralta have avoided viral attention? According to the Daily Universe, a student must use his or her real name in a letter to the editor. It could have gone unnoticed, but social media quickly pushed it to the surface. Utilizing outlets such as Facebook and Twitter to voice an opinion can benefit an individual. What are you writing online and how does it affect you? In Peraltra’s case, it severely destroyed her reputation. PR wise, I am interested to see how she handles the embarrassing spotlight now hanging over her head.  In the meantime, Jimmer will forgive whom he will forgive.

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