ORCHARD PARK, N.Y. -- The Kirk Morrisons of the world certainly stick together.
And there will be two of them meeting for the first time and wearing Morrison No. 58 Bills jerseys at Ralph Wilson Stadium on Sunday, when Buffalo (5-2) hosts the New York Jets (4-3) in a midseason AFC East showdown.
"I'm pumped up about it," Kirk Morrison, the Bills' linebacker, said.
"It's always nice to meet another Kirk Morrison," added Kirk Morrison, a 20-year-old marketing major from University of Regina in Canada's prairie province of Saskatchewan.
It's a unique meeting brought on by Twitter.
Before signing with the Bills in late August, Morrison was a free agent and aware he would be switching teams for the third time in seven NFL seasons. And with the change of teams, he also knew he'd likely be switching numbers after wearing 52 during five seasons in Oakland and 55 in Jacksonville last year.
Rather than change his Twitter account name (@kirkmorrison55) for yet another time to include his new number, Morrison attempted to go with something that would last beyond his playing days.
The trouble was, the account @kirkmorrison already was taken.
That's when the linebacker tracked down the person who had that account and sought to make a switch. In exchange, Morrison offered an all-expense-paid trip for two and sideline passes to a home game for whatever team he joined.
"It's exciting. I'm kind of sharing the enjoyment for him, too," the linebacker said. "It's the opportunity of a lifetime just hearing him talk about how much fun it is."
Morrison, the student, has never been to an NFL game, and the NHL game will be just the second one he has attended.
"I really didn't know what to think of it at the time. I was kind of amused, and then excited," the second-year college student said. "My parents joked that they thought the whole thing was kind of silly. I thought I'd get a jersey or something like that out of it. But this deal is working out really good for me. And I hope he's happy with what he got, as well."
Morrison has become an instant Bills fan and will be wearing a Morrison jersey to the game while bringing along his older brother, Kent.
"It's a story I'll have to tell for the rest of my life, which is kind of cool," he said.
At the time of the switch, Morrison had just 83 followers. As of Thursday, he had 154 at his new account @kirkmorrison91, the number reflecting the year he was born.
"My popularity has gone up, I guess," he said with a laugh.
That's no match for the linebacker, who has 365,588 followers.
"It's rewarding because it came down to something over Twitter. We laugh about it. I think 10 years ago, this would be unheard of," the Bills player said. "It's just weird knowing that other people have the exact same name as you. And finally, I get to meet another guy named Kirk Morrison."
It should be an easy introduction.
Copyright 2011 by The Associated Press
