There are few things in life (family, friends, & my cat) that I love more than the city of Philadelphia and sports. I was born and raised in the city, and I’m a lifelong Philly sports fan. One of my first sports memories is Joe Carter hitting a three-run walk-off home run against closer Mitch Williams, propelling the Toronto Blue Jays into a World Series victory over his hometown Phillies. Sigh.

A big complaint about today’s Internet is that there is “so much noise” and it’s too hard to find the content you care about among all the other stuff out there. I agree, there is a lot of noise, but I don’t think it’s a bad thing. I’d rather everyone had a voice than only a select few. Plus, Twitter is a great platform for getting through the noise and to the stuff you really care about. Why? Because you choose the people you follow. Essentially, you choose the amount of noise you want to see and hear. If you only want to follow people who talk about peanut butter, that is entirely possible.

I thought it would be a good idea to create a Twitter resource for the Philadelphia sports fan. I’m passionate about Philadelphia sports, and I know there are many others out there. Granted, a lot of you don’t care about Philadelphia sports, and maybe this article isn’t for you. But, which city do you care about? Maybe you should write the Twitter resource for the [your own city] sports fan, or at least write to SportsNetworker about which city you’d like to see highlighted next. Anyway, if you don’t care about this post, I’m sure you know someone who does, so share the wealth!

Before we get started, I’ve created a Twitter List with all of the accounts included in this post, so please feel free to follow that list if you’re a Philly sports fan.

Teams [Major Four]

@Sixers

@Phillies

@OfficialEagles (Inactive. Sad.) Maybe best to follow @Eagles until the Birds get their act together…

@NHLFlyers

Note: Each team has a variety of unofficial / news feed accounts which I have not listed, but are easy to find.

Teams [Other]

@Union2010

@WPSPhilly

@PhillyKiXX

@PhillyWings

Players (Only Verified by Twitter)

Andre Iguodala [Sixers]

Evan Turner [Sixers]

Lou Williams [Sixers]

Thad Young [Sixers]

—–

The Moyer Foundation [Phillies]

Note: Chad Durbin used to have an account, but it appears to be inactive.

—–

Brent Celek [Eagles]

Macho Harris [Eagles]

Desean Jackson [Eagles]

Michael Vick [Eagles]

Note: There are several other Eagles players on Twitter, including Leonard Weaver, LeSean McCoy, and Jamar Chaney, who are not verified, but who I believe are authentic. Also, there are no Flyers players on Twitter, as far as I can tell.

Media (Blogs, Bloggers, & Writers)

Philly.com Sports [All Teams]

610 WIP [All Teams]

The 700 Level [All Teams]

All Things Philly [All Teams]

Crossing Broad [All Teams]

Recliner GM [All Teams]

Phinally Philly [All Teams]

Liberty Ballers [Sixers]

Macho Row (and their list of beat writers) [Phillies]

The Good Phight [Phillies]

Todd Zolecki [Phillies, Beat Writer]

Bleeding Green [Eagles]

Iggles Blog (Bounty Bowl) [Eagles]

Birds Fan Blog [Eagles]

Broad Street Hockey [Flyers]

Frank Seravalli [Flyers, Beat Writer]

Anthony SanFilippo [Flyers, Beat Writer]

Honorable Mention: Jayson Stark is a baseball writer for ESPN.com but he was a writer for the Inquirer for 20+ years and loves the Phillies, and I recommend you follow him.

…And Phinally

Be sure to follow me on Twitter! I tweet about Philly sports all the time!

Suggestions?

This is an incomplete resource, for sure. It’s just impossible for me to know or find all of the great Philadelphia sports Twitter accounts out there! So, I apologize if I left you out! Please leave your suggestions in the comments section below and I will make edits to this article as they come. Thanks!

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About Sam Taggart

Sam is a Creative Strategist for VaynerMedia, a social media agency based in New York City. Sam previously worked as an Account Executive for the New York Jets as well as the New Jersey Nets and spent time working with former NBA player Jalen Rose as well as NFL safety Kerry Rhodes. He now focuses on creative strategy across VaynerMedia's portfolio. You can follow Sam at http://twitter.com/gosam & visit VaynerMedia at http://www.vaynermedia.com.

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For the record, I am a Sixers fan, and I love Allen Iverson.

The Background

Three years ago, yesterday, Allen Iverson asked for a trade from the Philadelphia 76ers. “As hard as it is to admit,” he said, “a change may be the best thing for everyone.” Eleven days later, Iverson was traded to the Denver Nuggets, seemingly having played his last game as a Sixer.

This September, Iverson signed with the Memphis Grizzlies. He played three games (starting none) and averaged 22 minutes, 12.3 points, 3.7 assists, and 1.3 rebounds. However, the veteran could not accept his role as a bench player, and his relationship with the Grizzlies quickly deteriorated. In early November, he left the team for personal reasons, and on November 25th, he announced his intentions to retire from the National Basketball Association.

Ironically, on the Tuesday before Thanksgiving, Sixers starting point guard Lou Williams broke his jaw. Immediately, the rumors began. Will Allen Iverson rejoin the Sixers? With Williams out for eight weeks, the move actually made some sense for the team. Not only would they generate massive buzz, but they would have the chance to renew a once troubled relationship with one of the greatest players in their team’s history, a player who just wanted a chance to start and prove he still had game. All of the pieces fell into place, and Iverson signed a one year deal with the Sixers in early December, starting his first game two nights ago.

Why the Sixers made the move

Obviously, Allen Iverson is a great player and a future hall of famer. He ranks 6th all-time in points per game with an average of 27, behind NBA legends like Michael Jordan and Wilt Chamberlain. He’s a great player and he says he can still play. With the Sixers’ record well below .500, his scoring abilities were definitely a factor.

However, before Iverson signed with the team, the Sixers were having massive problems with ticket and merchandise sales, fan morale, and generating buzz. Without Iverson, they were looking at a half-empty arena for the foreseeable future, unless the young team could turn things around. With Iverson, they could generate immediate buzz (and jersey sales). Obviously, Iverson’s first game back was absolutely packed. Now, for the Sixers, the key is: how do they keep building on that initial buzz?

The Answer: Social Media

A major difference between Iverson’s last tenure with the Sixers and this one is that social media was not prevelant in the sports world back then. Now, the National Basketball Association is leading the way. Both the Sixers and Allen Iverson are on Twitter, so that’s a start.

My advice for the Sixers: make the rest of this season the “Allen Iverson Show.” He’s one of the greatest players in your team’s history, and more importantly, the fans of Philadelphia love him. You can start by taking advantage of all those extra tickets. It’s not like just because Iverson signed, you are going to sell out every game (or come close). So, here’s an idea: give away three (Iverson’s number) pairs of tickets in every section of the arena for three straight home games. Have your Twitter followers submit creative photos of themselves with their Iverson jersey/gear and give the tickets to the followers with the best photos. Then, give anyone who entered a coupon code for a pair of $3 tickets to a home game of their choice. Use Twitter as a place to inform the fans about anything and everything that is Allen Iverson. Post behind-the-scenes videos and photos, promote the Allen Iverson bobblehead giveaway you’ll surely have, and let people know that if they want news about AI, Twitter is their place.

My advice for Allen Iverson: Be you, be real, be honest, and keep showing the fans you care. For most people, you are that selfish bad guy who didn’t want to talk about practice. You say that’s not you anymore, that you’ve grown up and changed. I saw your emotional press conference, and I saw you kiss the floor after you were announced Monday night. We see your passion and your love and your good side, but that has to extend to social media. For starters, your Twitter profile still says you reside in Detroit and play for the Pistons. That needs to be fixed. Also, you need to stop letting other people take control of your account. All they do is link to your fan club and talk about Reebok! I saw, on September 25th, you wrote us a short Twitter novel about your experiences in Spain. It was great, but remember, Twitter is about 140 characters. If you take control of your account, tweet for yourself, and show the fans you care (e.g. film videos, respond to tweets), we will continue to show you love.

Conclusion

Obviously, the team has to have a balance of Allen Iverson and everyone else. They don’t want to create problems within the team because of Iverson’s presence. And clearly, if Iverson is a bust on the court this season or gets into some trouble, it won’t matter much what he’s doing in social media. But social media can provide both the Sixers and Allen Iverson with exactly what they’re looking for.

So, I’ve opened the conversation, and I’d love to continue it in the comment section below. How do you think the Sixers and Allen Iverson can capitalize on his comeback, knowing that the team wants to sell (tickets and merch) and Iverson wants to renew his image? How much of a role will/should social media play in all of this?

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About Sam Taggart

Sam is a Creative Strategist for VaynerMedia, a social media agency based in New York City. Sam previously worked as an Account Executive for the New York Jets as well as the New Jersey Nets and spent time working with former NBA player Jalen Rose as well as NFL safety Kerry Rhodes. He now focuses on creative strategy across VaynerMedia's portfolio. You can follow Sam at http://twitter.com/gosam & visit VaynerMedia at http://www.vaynermedia.com.

Web | Twitter | LinkedIn | More Posts (49)