Superbowl sets Twitter record
Millions of fans took to social media for Sunday’s Super Bowl 49, making it the most tweeted about NFL football final in history, Twitter said on Monday.
More than 28 million tweets were sent out relating to the big match, which saw the New England Patriots snatch a win from reigning champions Seattle Seahawks.
“All night, the conversation around #SB49 dominated Twitter,” the social networking giant said in a blog post.
“Over 28.4 million global Tweets containing terms related to the game and halftime show were sent during the live telecast (from kickoff through 30 minutes after the clock expired).”
Last year’s Super Bowl generated 24.9 million tweets, the company said.
The most tweeted moment of the night was when Pats cornerback Malcolm Butler intercepted a pass from Seahawks’ Russel Wilson to win the game 28-24 for New England.
The deciding moment generated some 395,000 tweets a minute, according to the blog post.
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News of the final score got about 379,000 tweets a minute, while Katy Perry’s dazzling halftime performance saw 284,000 posts a minute.
Most tweets came from the eastern United States, with the plenty of social media action taking place in Boston, New York, Washington and Philadelphia.
But a flurry of activity also occurred on the west coast, namely in Seattle, San Francisco and Los Angeles, Twitter said.
International hotspots included Britain, Spain and Brazil.
Patriots star quarterback and 2015 Super Bowl MVP Tom Brady was the most tweeted about player, followed by his teammates Rob Gronkowski and Julian Edelman.
Super Bowl Sunday, an unofficial holiday in the United States, was expected to draw a whopping 115 million viewers – or about one in three Americans.
Meanwhile, Seahawks head coach Pete Carroll has shouldered the blame for the loss.
The Seahawks, seeking a second straight Super Bowl crown, fell 28-24 to the New England Patriots – with a late interception sealing their fate as Carroll opted not to turn to superstar running back and team talisman Marshawn Lynch in the crucial moment.
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Trailing 28-24 with 26 seconds remaining, the Seahawks faced second-and-goal from the one yard line.
But Carroll didn’t call a play for the NFL’s most dominant running back, counting on him to surge through for a touchdown and the victory.
Instead, quarterback Russell Wilson threw a slant pass intended for Ricardo Lockette – and the unheralded Patriots cornerback Malcolm Butler intercepted it.
“I told those guys, that’s my fault totally,” said Carroll, adding he and Wilson could barely speak in the moment.
“We just looked at each other trying to realize the gravity of what we just witnessed,” Carroll said. “We didn’t say very much.”
Lynch gained 102 yards on 24 carries before Carroll denied him a 25th.
“I know you have a million questions about this, and I’ll answer them,” Carroll said, explaining that he thought the Patriots defence was expecting a play for Lynch, and that he could lull them with a pass “really to kind of waste that play.”
The Seahawks missed out on a scintillating final drive, which very nearly gave them the kind of stunning come-from-behind victory they achieved in the NFC championship game against Green Bay.
“When they called the call, I just trusted it like I always do,” Wilson said. “We were thinking about throwing the ball, scoring a touchdown right there.”
Seahawks cornerback Richard Sherman called it an “unfortunate” play.
“Their guy made a heck of a play,” Sherman said. “We gave ourselves a chance to win, that’s all you can ask for.”
“At the end of the day, if we didn’t give ourselves a chance to win and play up to our potential, then you could be more disappointed,” he added.
