With LV Super Bowl just a few days away, players and teams are busy preparing for the showdown of the NFL season, and they’re including their fans on the journey across social media accounts, connecting spectators to some of their favourite athletes.
For instant information, it’s always key to follow the official team accounts on Twitter.
The Tampa Bay Buccaneers (@Buccaneers) boast 937,000 followers as they post their preparations for the Super Bowl. Interact with them with the hashtag #GoBucs.
But with almost double that amount at 1.7M followers, the Kansas City Chiefs (@Chiefs) have been posting video highlights and live press conference links, encouraging fans to contribute to the conversation with their special hashtag #RunItBack.
The official NFL Twitter account (@NFL) produces a constant stream of new information, posting statistics, highlights and retweets of content from around the league for all fans to enjoy.
ESPN Senior NFL Insider Adam Schefter (@adamschefter) produces a more auditory style of work, releasing episodes on his The Adam Schefter Podcast. He recently discussed life as an NFL insider, making history with representation and previews the Super Bowl.
Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) is the National Insider for NFL Network. In form with an impressive accumulation of 145,000 tweets, he is continually updating his followers with the latest news – including COVID-19 information, signings around the NFL and everything Super Bowl related.
Away from Twitter, player Instagram accounts are always popular.
They enable a different level of interaction, with Instagram stories, Instagram live streams and Instagram highlights promoting content through videos and pictures.
Tampa Bay Buccaneers
Tom Brady (@tombrady)
We have to start with Brady. The 43-year-old will be participating in a record-shattering ten career Super Bowl appearances, a long way away from his playoff pinnacle debut in 2001.
On Instagram, you can find him posting uniquely-created graphics of team wins, video montages and himself talking to the camera.
Rob Gronkowski (@gronk)
Tight end Gronkowski, or “Gronk” as he’s more affectionally known, spent ten seasons with Brady on the Patriots before announcing his retirement in 2019 at just 29 years of age.
But just over a year later, the pair were reunited in Tampa Bay, and they were back recreating a very viral Instagram video.
After the New England Patriots beat the Chiefs in the 2019 AFC Championship, the duo posted a clip of them walking out of the stadium to P. Diddy’s “Bad Boy For Life”.
A week ago, Gronk uploaded a fitting recreation; the duo were strutting around to the same tune while wearing their new NFC Champion gear.
Ndamukong Suh (@ndamukong_suh)
Ndamukong uses his Instagram platform for awareness, recently posting a picture of his cleats that don the phrase “social injustice”. The past year has seen an increase in the discussions prompted by a lack of racial justice that quickly saw demonstrations spread throughout the sports world.
He also reminded his followers of voting deadlines, encouraging them that their vote matters and posting a video with Yahoo Sports on how to register.
Chris Godwin (@chrisgodwin)
In 2019, Godwin made a pledge that for every catch he made, the wide receiver would donate $50 to his Receptions for Rescue campaign.
He owns two dogs with his girlfriend Mariah DelPercio, rescuing an American Staffordshire Terrier named Ziggy and a Pomsky called Ghost.
His passion for animal rescue floods his Instagram account, with pictures of not only his two dogs, but advertisements for donations towards other rescue societies.
Kansas City Chiefs
Patrick Mahomes (@patrickmahomes)
The Chiefs’ superstar quarterback is a frequent poster on Instagram, regularly updating fans with game day posts, highlights and touching moments with his pregnant fiancée Brittany Matthews.
Amassing 4.2M followers and counting, the 25-year-old is one of the most popular NFL players on the app behind Odell Beckham Jr, Russell Wilson and Cam Newton.
Frank Clark (@therealfrankc55)
If you want style, Clark has you covered. His most common trend for posts surrounds pre-post-flight fit pictures that show off his fresh sense of style. From huge fur coats to corduroy pants and leather jackets, he shows exactly what a $105.5m contact extension can buy.
The Super Bowl begins at 23:30, Sunday 7th Feb, and now you know who to follow on social media during the event.
Check out the history of the two teams here and interviews with fans of both teams here.
Featured image credit: Bernard Gagnon via Wikipedia Commons CC 3.0 license
