It seems like Nick Barnett is joining the thousands of other athletes who use Twitter to connect to their fans. What makes Barnett 
different from most of them is that he is using it to give away Packers garb, just like Chad is giving away Bengals tickets.
To see these football players, or athletes in general, use a social networking site like Twitter, to give back to their fans, I feel it is a wonderful gesture.
The first athlete that I saw getting involved in fan giveaways on Twitter was Shaq. One example of a Shaq giveaway was when he told people he was in the mall, and the first person to touch him would get free tickets to the next Suns game. When a guy like Shaq chooses to be a role model by doing such things, he is helping his self-image as well as the image of the NBA. It shows the fans that they are important too, and it’s not all about me, me, me. He makes the fan feel like s/he has an important role and is a true contributor to the team.
It is the athletes like Shaq, Barnett, and Ochocinco that keep the fans loyal, and in turn gives their respective teams a good home court/field advantage for home games. So although the fan giveaways seem to only benefit the fans on the surface, it is benefitting the givers as well. It really is a win, win situation for both parties.
So I would just like to say, “Props Nick Barnett, you are truly using your popularity for the greater good, and I really respect that.”
Filed under: NFL
