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Steve Austin Responds To Stephen F. Austin’s Game Invite On Twitter: ‘Best Of Luck’

By Ernie Howell
Published on: 12:12 PST, Mar 19, 2016

WWE legend Steve Austin knows a thing or two about stunning victories.

After No. 14 seed Stephen F. Austin Lumberjacks stunned the college basketball world with a 70-56 victory over No. 3 seed West Virginia Friday in the first round of the 2016 NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament, the team took to Twitter to invite the “Stone Cold” Steve Austin to attend their second-round contest against the sixth-seeded Notre Dame Fighting Irish Sunday, CBS Sports reported.

The Stephen F. Austin official basketball Twitter account posed the simple question to the six-time wrestling champion, saying they would “save a seat” for Steve Austin to join them at the Barclays Arena Sunday.

Steve Austin responded to the Lumberjacks’ request. Noting that he was more than 2,000 miles away from the second-round NCAA tournament contest, Steve declined the invitation.

Fans took to Twitter to keep the jokes flowing after the Lumberjacks’ stunning victory. Stephen F. Austin responded in kind, interacting with a fan base that has already purchased the team’s allotment to the game Sunday.

The wrestling legend has been busy working on the TV series Redneck Island as the show’s host. The reality show, which is currently airing its fifth season on CMT, showcases individuals who identify as “rednecks” in competition for food and immunity in elimination series.

Steve Austin could also have been a little busy recovering, as the wrestler — known for his witty play on Biblical verse John 3:16 — was celebrating an unofficial holiday. Playing off “Austin 3:16,” wrestling fans posted a number of images and GIFs to their social media in appreciation of the WWE legend.

While Steve Austin is away from the ring now, the former world champion still watches the profession that made him famous. Austin recently praised some of the up-and-coming NXT stars, including Dean Ambrose, in a recent edition of his podcast, Wrestling, Inc. reported this week. Despite the loss, Steve believed that Ambrose made a mark for himself in a recent main event with Triple H.

“I think he shined so much as a wrestler, as a performer, that this match got him over more in my eyes than he was before this match and I liked Dean Ambrose to begin with… Dude, someone who books can argue that point with me, but I stand by the fact that someone had to get beat and the right guy got beat and he got beat in the right way and it’s going to make him stronger and that kid’s got a great future. He did before this match [and] he really does now. He went out there on a big stage with a top guy and threw down.’

This isn’t the first time that someone has taken to social media to invite a famous individual to an event. Sports Illustrated swimsuit model and former MMA champion Ronda Rousey was invited to the Marine Corps Ball by Marine Lance Cpl. Jarrod Haschert, People reported in December. Not only did Rousey accept the invitation, but Ronda also attended the event with the military man.

Stephen F. Austin University, a small public school in Nacogdoches, Texas, is named after one of the state’s founding fathers. Nicknamed the Lumberjacks, the school was founded in 1921 and has an enrollment of less than 13,000 students.

The men’s basketball team is currently riding a 21-game winning streak and have not lost in 2016. The Southland Conference Champions for the third straight season, Stephen F. Austin has advanced in the NCAA tournament for just the second time in the school’s history.

What do you think of Stephen F. Austin inviting WWE legend Steve Austin to watch a basketball game? Leave your thoughts in the comment section below.

[Photo by Moses Robinson/Getty Images]

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