Twitter has become an outlet for just about everything. Celebrities, brands, bots – you name it, and they probably have a twitter page. But what about sports? Every professional team has their own page, and now athletes are filling up the Twittersphere with friendly battles (i.e. Anthony Stewart (@astew22) of the Carolina Hurricane and brother Chris (@cstew25) of the St. Louis Blues), adventures during the lockout (see Chad @ochocinco of the Cincinnati Bengals), to their favorite music (sounds like @SerenaWilliams really loves @KellyRowland).
However, sports and twitter do not always mix in perfect harmony. With the MLB trade deadline quickly approaching, it is no surprise that ESPN, MLB Network and Fox Sports bottom lines cannot keep up with trades. However, how many “rumors” and “trades” get lost (and created) in the Twitter-sphere?
Twitter gives fans, analysts, “insiders,” and really anyone who can type the option to throw their own opinion into the world regarding a potential trade, a game, a bad call – you name it. That’s great, but coming from a sports writing background, how on earth can I trust these “insiders?”
Can you tell the difference between these two accounts?
Aside from the amount of tweets, they both look pretty convincing. During the NHL trade deadline on March 1, reports coming from TSN analyst Nick Kyperos (@RealKyper) had Dustin Penner heading up north to Montreal, which wound up being retweeted 75 times. Too bad for Canadians fans – the “@RealKyper_” was actually a real fake, and Penner went south to Los Angeles.
So how can you tell the difference between these fakes and the real people they claim to be? It’s not easy. Most athletes become verified, such as David Freese, with a blue checkmark next to their name.
Newer accounts may not have the verification, but many organizations will have a link on their website with their personnel’s twitter pages like the St. Louis Blues.
If you aren’t sure, check out websites such as tweeting-athletes.com for a listing athlete’s real twitter pages, as well as checking your favorite sports station for analysts and broadcast personalities.
Twitter isn’t perfect, but with a little common sense and verification, twitter can be the new sports hub of the Internet.
