Romo joins the party on Twitter
Cowboys QB already has 150,000 followers and is stirring the pot.
Tony Romo waited years before joi ning Twitter, but he quickly figured out how to win followers and influence people.
Dude has even managed to try his hand at subliminal messaging, underscoring the biggest issue facing his Dallas Cowboys.
Since arriving in the Twitterverse one week ago, Romo has tweeted three times but has al ready amassed 150,000 followers — more than 100,000 on his first day. After a rather inauspicious debut tweet of “9” — presumably referring to his jersey number — Romo officially joined The Land of 140 Characters 0r Less with a pic of wideout Dez Bryant in the NFC pl ayoffs making his infamous “catch” that was later overturned by a repl ay challenge, which played a huge role in ending Dallas’ seas on.
“Looking back on it...it was a catch:),” Romo tweeted.
Jump in with both feet, @tonyromo. The water’s fine.
That tweet received 83,000 retweets and favorites, undoubtedly from Cowboys fans who shared his pain on that cold day at Lambeau.
Now, if you’re familiar with Twitter, you understand that a perfectly heated pool can quickly reach 212 degrees within seconds.
This from Packers fan @BrentWillett3, upon reading Romo’s offering: “well gue ss what it wasn’t so shut up, #GoPack.”
Guess you saw that coming .
Romo could end up being Twitter gold, but the NFL’s biggest names aren’t leading the way in social media in a way comparable to someone like the NBA’s LeBron James, who has 21 .2 million followers.
According to a February listing on Statista.com, the NFL’s biggest Twitter presence isn’t even a top-10 player. San Francisco running back Reggie Bush has the league’s most popular account, pulling in 3 million followers with quarterbacks Michael Vick and Drew Brees topping 2 million.
So where’s Peyton Manning? The Denver quarterback, easily the league’s most popular pl ayer, says he doesn’t do Twitter.
And what of the guy whose whole spring has been dominated by deflated balls?
Well, the official Twitter account of Tom Brady — verified blue check included — lists him as having only 54,700 followers.
Upon further inspection, it’s not even the New England quarterback whose model wife Gisele Bündchen has 2.77 million followers. This Tom Brady happens to be an English rugby player. ’ Sele’s hubby is Twitter silent, as far I know.
Here’s where the conversation turns serious. Romo is coming off arguably the best season of his 11-year career with 34 touchdowns with only nine interceptions and career highs in passer rating (113.2) and completion percentage (69.9). Those numbers came behind the league’s best offensive line and were bolstered by the league’s top running back in terms of statistics.
This is where that subliminal message comes in.
Romo’s third tweet was a photo taken with his best bud Jason Witten and rushing champi on DeMarco Murray, who bolted for Philadelphia and a four-year, $40 mil lion deal ($20 million guaranteed) after the Cowboys lowballed him with only $16 million over four years.
Underneath the pic, Romo posted the caption, “Where have u gone Joe DiMaggio,” which is a line from the old Simon & Garfunkel hit “Mrs. Robinson.”
The sentiment is obvious. Romo misses Murray, whom he described as a “cl ose friend” upon hearing the news of the trade.
Dallas didn’t exactly wow us with the addition of oft-injured Darren McFadden, who has appeared in only 83 of a possible 112 regular-season games during his seven-year career. He will battle Joseph Randle, Lance Dunbar and Ryan Williams for the starting job.
So to Twitter’s newest find, a word of advice. Instead of turning your lonely eyes toward Philly, you should get back to the business of being the quarterback of the Dallas Cowboys.
It’s time to accept the unvarnished truth.
#DeMarcoHasLeftAndGoneAwayHeyHeyHey.