How Twitter Changed My Sports Fandom

Twitter has completely changed the way I intake, view, and digest the sporting experience.

The day was December 6, 2009. I had recently signed up for Twitter and was finding my way. The BCS Selection Show was about two hours from beginning. As a fan of Non-AQ football, I was excited to see where undefeated Boise State and undefeated TCU would be placed in the Bowl Championship Series. I was scrolling through tweets from commentators predicting where each team would end up. Then it happened. Pete Thamel of the New York Times and Dan Wetzel of Yahoo! Sports broke the story. TCU and Boise State were going to play one another in the “Separate But Equal” Fiesta Bowl. Instantly I had inside access. This has happened again and again.

In what other ways has Twitter changed my sports fandom?

1. I realized I wasn't alone.

I have always considered myself a poor man’s sports analyst. Whether it be basketball, football, or baseball, I have never been short of opinion on matters of sports. Or anything for that matter. I have had the same four friends since elementary. Each of us are similarly constructed in the love of sports. Twitter has given me hundreds, if not thousands of new friends to associate with. Sports Nerds Unite! 

2. I understood I was not, in fact, bat s*** crazy

Additionally, I have also been able to find people on Twitter who love to analyze every facet of sports with a fine-tooth comb. Where else could I join in the dismissal of yet another Steve Addazio play-call? Join in the derision! Who could forget when EXPANSION CRISIS 2010 blew up Twitter for a month straight? 

3. I have no patience for ignorant sports fans 

Have you tried to have an in-depth conversation with a non-Twitterer? In my experience, they simply know the very basics of each story. And they are usually a week behind on the information train. 

4. I now associate teams with their respective Twitter followers. 

Teams that I never before had a rooting interest in now find a place in my heart. Florida State? @KilroyFSU. USC? @brendanloy. Syracuse? @eric_theorange. Iowa? @KegsnEggs. Louisville? @Mengus22. Oklahoma? @LandThieves. New Mexico? @albolte. Maryland? @SportsStilettos. Florida? @AndyHutchins. Michigan? @mccook2002. TCU? @jadaily. Washington? @krizoitz.

5. Twitter is now my stand-alone news source. 

Twitter has replaced every news and sports app on my iPhone. Simply put: By following the correct people/organizations, Twitter has completely monopolized my information gathering. 

6. Mark Twain was referring to Twitter.

“A lie can travel halfway around the world while the truth is still putting on its shoes.” If Twitter was to be believed 100% of the time, John Gruden would be finishing up his recruiting class at Miami, we would be living in a world without Morgan Freeman, and Newt Gingrich would be currently exploring a presidential bid. (Wait, the last one is actually true)

7. Gameday will never be the same. 

Watching and following my Twitter feed during major sporting events has become apart of my game-day ritual. I have become a better commentator by reading the opinions of those I follow. 

** How has Twitter changed the way you experience sports?**