Football. Your perfect conversation starter.
Sports fans once again made television history by watching Kansas City defeat Buffalo in the divisional playoff game.
More than 50 million people tuned into the game making it the most-watched divisional playoff game in NFL history and the first divisional playoff game to top 50 million viewers.
Kansas City won the game and advanced to the AFC Championship game for a sixth straight year, but two of the biggest storylines and talking points among fans had nothing to do with stats from the game.
- Some sports fans just liked the drama. (The outcome was decided in the final two minutes of the game.)
- Many Buffalo fans commiserated in another heart-breaking playoff loss. (Google “Buffalo Bills wide right” and you’ll know what I mean.)
- Other fans were entertained by seeing Taylor Swift and Jason Kelce celebrating and cheering together in a suite. (I’m sure you’ve heard by now that T-Swift is dating Jason’s brother Travis.)
There are absolutely football fans – like me - who lean toward talking football, but that does not account for all 50+ million people who tuned into the game.
Here’s what this means for you: sports talk is more than stats and scores.
There’s something for everyone in sports small talk and millions of people you can connect with – more than 50 million from one game alone. That number is nothing compared to the number of people who watch the Super Bowl. You can count on more than twice that many people watching the big game based on ratings since 2010.
If you’re looking for an easy conversation starter, sports is it. Did you watch that game? Would you have sat in that weather to watch a game?
If you’re looking for a multi-faceted conversation starter, sports is it. Did you see Jason Kelce chugging beer with the fans? What did you think of Taylor Swift’s outfit?
If you’re looking for a conversation starter with a natural follow up, sports is it. Who are you cheering for this week? Who do you have in the Super Bowl?
Connection, conversation and relationship building can all start with sports small talk. Football gives you a great chance to do that for the next three weeks.
Author
Jen Mueller
Talk Sporty To Me
From weekly conversation starter blog posts to sharing actionable communication strategies in keynote presentations, Jen Mueller gives audiences tools to communicate more effectively and step into conversations with more confidence.
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