Ticats’ Dyakowski touts fake study, conducts fake radio interview

Hamilton Tiger-Cats offensive lineman Peter Dyakowski pulled an amazing troll job on Roughrider fans – and duped an unsuspecting Saskatchewan radio host in the process.

It starts with this Tweet from Dyakowski.

#FridayFact: @Ticats fans are the best in the @CFL! A good friend, one of Canada’s top statisticians, did a study. pic.twitter.com/fEwdn8pE3H

— Peter Dyakowski (@PeterDyakowski) May 20, 2016

Predictably, this Tweet got Rider fans – who view themselves as the league’s pre-eminent fan base and are more than willing to shout down anyone with audacity to suggest otherwise – all up in arms. There were dozen of Tweets like these…

@PeterDyakowski @Ticats @CFL This is absolutely laughable. Just laughable. #Ridernation

— Kelly Remple (@SilverFoxTalks) May 20, 2016

@ZCollaros7 @sskroughriders @PeterDyakowski @Ticats @CFL dumbest thing I’ve heard all day. The riders are the only team heard of outside 🇨🇦

— Kellen (@kellenchubak) May 21, 2016

Every discernible, tangible fact proves Rider fans are #1 in Canada. Nice try though Pete 🍉/=S=/ https://t.co/yeQj0ilOsz

— Rod Pedersen (@rodpedersen) May 20, 2016

Dyakowski played along, Tweeting out a few other “facts” about the study but things really took a turn when Jamie Nye, a Regina radio host, asked him to provide the “professor” who authored the “study.”

@PeterDyakowski @Ticats @CFL Who did this study and do they do interviews… where is the data???… cuz… c’mon.

— Jamie Nye (@jamienye) May 20, 2016

So Dyakowski sent him a response…

.@jamienye @Ticats @CFL Prof. John Miller, McMaster Department of Mathematics & Statistics. DM a phone #, I’ll have him call in to your show

— Peter Dyakowski (@PeterDyakowski) May 20, 2016

For those of you following the U.S. presidential race, “John Miller” is the name Donald Trump used back in the 1990s when he acted as his own fake spokesperson. But Nye dutifully interviewed “Professor Miller” on his show yesterday… and it’s remarkable how much Miller sounds like one Peter Dyakowski.

You should really listen to the entire interview but Dyakowski plays it completely straight, making up all kind of “facts” and sounding like, well, a boring math professor defending his study. Their chat goes on for nearly eight minutes and Nye never appears to clue in, inviting him back when the “full study” is released at the start of CFL regular season.

Dyakowski finally confessed to the hoax on Twitter….

Getting a lot of feedback on our @CFL study. Being told that simply “making things up” is not sound statistical methodology. @Ticats #Riders

— Peter Dyakowski (@PeterDyakowski) May 20, 2016

Well done, Peter. Well, done.