CHICAGO — As a television reporter, Chris Conte is used to receiving attention.
But not the kind he got after a classic case of mistaken Twitter identification following the Bears' 33-28 loss to the Packers on Sunday at Soldier Field.
Conte shares the same name as the Chicago safety blamed for Green Bay's late 48-yard touchdown that sent the Packers to the NFL playoffs and sent the Bears home for the season.
"... Whenever [Conte] would have a bad game, my Twitter feed would get blown up with angry tweets, but never like this," Conte told DNAinfo Chicago. "Sure it's funny at first, but when you read some of these things and how mean some of these people are, it makes you realize the kind of fake courage some people get by sitting behind a keyboard, never thinking the people these words were intended for would read them."
Twitter was buzzing with anti-Conte activity, including many Tweets containing vulgarity, at @chrisconte, which is the Nashville, Tenn., TV reporter's account, not the Chicago defender's.
"Sure, I can handle this kind of stuff because I have thick skin, but think about the teenagers out there who are constantly ridiculed with this kind of thing and you start to understand why cyber bullying has become such a problem," Conte said.
Conte, a reporter for Nashville's WTVF station, has nearly 1,100 Twitter followers, including "100-plus" since the "Chris Conte Bears debacle", he wrote on Twitter.
"My parents think it's funny, adding that I should somehow capitalize on the situation," Conte said.
Conte said the best Tweet he received was: "Chris, have u watched football before? If so, please come to Chicago and replace OUR version of Chris Conte."
