Social Media and the NFL Wild Card Playoffs

Twitter sports came alive once again as the wild card playoff for NFL 2013 revealed the Seattle Seahawks (@Seahawks)?claiming victory over the Washington Redskins (@Redskins) with a 24-14 point close. It was a heart-stopping game at the FedEx Field especially after?#Redskins?key player and quarterback Robert Griffin III (@RGIII), or RG3, injured his already weakened right knee at some 6 minutes and 19 seconds left in the game. The blow left Griffin on his back for a few minutes, before he finally got up and hobbled off to the lockers while fans chanted his name in support. Griffin had been wearing a knee brace after suffering a sprain in December 2012, but was adamant in still playing to support his team. Unfortunately, this wasn't his or his team's day. The game started slow for the Seattle #Seahawks, but eventually found rookie quarterback Russell Wilson (@DangeRussWilson) stepping up, completing 15 of 26 passes for 187 yards, as well as a touchdown. Marshawn Lynchhelped make ?the Seahawks' game even stronger, scoring a 27-yard touchdown that appeared to be the only lead the Seahawks would need to win. Here's the activity on the hashtags #SeaHawks and #RedSkins at the height of the game, as well as the related hashtags used. The hashtag #NFL trended naturally.?Hashtags have been a fixture at major sporting events around the world, giving even those who have no immediate access to television a real-time blow-by-blow account of the happenings. "It ain't about how you start, but it's about how you finish," Pete Carroll, coach for the Seahawks, was quoted by media as saying. The Seahawks are on their way to Atlanta to play in the divisionals.