Ah, Thanksgiving… Family. Turkey. Beer. Pumpkin pie. And football. For me, Thanksgiving is a day to spend with people I love, and to take a step back to think about all the things I have to be thankful for. What are you thankful for? At the top of my list are good health, happiness, family, and friends, without question. How lucky I am to have all of those things in my life. But what do you care? This is a blog about sports! And since it wouldn’t make any sense to write about those for this blog, I’ve decided to take a bit of a different angle.
Since football has become such an essential and inherent part of the Thanksgiving tradition, I thought it would be a good idea to share some of my favorite NFL-related Twitter accounts. These men, on a daily basis, provide fantastic and genuine content. And I highly recommend you follow them. So without further adieu, here are the five NFL related Twitter accounts I’m thankful for:
Jason La Canfora (@jasonlacanfora)
Jason is a reporter for the NFL. He has a blog on NFL.com which ironically hasn’t been updated in a while. Ironic because his Twitter account is incredibly active and engaging. Jason uses his account for news updates and @replies, but more importantly, he frequently retweets other football-related Twitter accounts. He’s just a great, all-around football news source. And I recommend you follow him. Now.
Chad Ochocinco (@ochocinco)
A classic choice, but what can I say? Ochocinco continues to impress. He’s consistently been one of the best athletes on Twitter, and his 1.4+ million followers prove it (thank you, Twitter suggested user list). He sends massive amounts of @replies, tweets photos and videos. Most importantly, Ochocinco is authentic. He is funny. He is rowdy (probably why he got suspended). And he is himself.
Note: Ochocinco tweeted from @ogochocinco until very recently. That account is now suspended.
Darnell Dockett (@ddockett)
Darnell Dockett is a professional football player for the Arizona Cardinals, but you’d never know it from his Twitter bio. “I wORk 4 WhoLE FOOdS,” he starts, “#90, PaRt tiMe StriPper, weIGHt room FreaK, I ate 2 rats along time ago, I study the movie BLOW , I see DEad peoPLE, I saw Your SEX tape!” Darnell doesn’t take himself too seriously, and that’s what makes him so great. He’s horribly candid, sometimes offensive, but like Ochocinco, he is himself. He talks to his followers, he tweets out things he thinks are funny, and he maintains his presence despite how his team is doing. The Cardinals haven’t had a great season so far. Last week, he tweeted, “I know all the Card fans are disappointed in our play this season and yall should be yall deserve better all we can do is Keep working!” Even if you don’t like Darnell, he uses Twitter the right way.
Adam Schefter (@adam_schefter)
Adam is an ESPN NFL insider and he is simply on top of his game. Because he often receives first word on breaking news, he is an absolutely amazing source for just that. Follow his account and get up to the minute information on injuries, trades, and league announcements. Further, Schefter provides his own insights on league happenings. My favorite recent tweet of his (in reaction to the Vikings’ beatdown this past weekend at the hands of the Packer), “Last time Green Bay humiliated an opponent as badly as it did to Minnesota today, Wade Phillips got fired on Monday.#justsayin.” What happened next? Vikings’ coach Brad Childress got fired.
Matt Higgins (@mhigginsjets)
I’m a little biased here since Matt is Executive Vice President of the New York Jets and the New York Jets are a client of ours, but Matt is doing a heck of a job. You don’t often see powerful sports executives using social media, but Matt is one of them, and he’s kicking butt. For one, he consistently engages with fans who talk to him. Most of his stream is full of @replies. He actually gives a crap about what fans say and ask, and his Twitter stream proves it. Other than that, Matt posts pictures, asks fans their thoughts on various things, and gives insights on the business of football. Since Matt is on the business side rather than the football operations side, his tweets are especially interesting.
Note: Even though Darren Rovell (@darrenrovell) and Bill Simmons (@sportsguy33) are not football-exclusive, they’re fun to follow on Sundays.
While I hope none of you (Americans) are indeed reading this post on Thanksgiving Thursday (get off your computer, go enjoy the day with family and friends), I do want to thank you for taking the time to read this post, and any post of mine you’ve ever read for that matter. Enjoy your day and enjoy your football!
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