Clout. Juice. Pull.
They are three words that essentially mean the same thing, and in the sports and entertainment world, those words describe the ability some people have to move the needle or make an impact. One superstar stands alone as having more of those three things than anyone else, and there’s proof to back up that bold claim.
When news hit that Lionel Messi would be taking his talents to South Beach and playing in the MLS for Inter Miami CF, it created bedlam. Ticket prices for Miami’s games at home and on the road instantly soared. What’s more fascinating is what happened on social media. Inter Miami CF had about 1 million followers on Instagram when the story broke. On Friday, just three days later, the team will eclipse 7 million followers.
The numbers keep soaring too.
Incredibly, Inter Miami is now the most popular non-NBA U.S. professional team on Instagram, and it’s not even close. They have soared past the Yankees and Dodgers and will soon double the followers of the Patriots and Cowboys of the NFL.
The Pats are the most popular NFL team on IG, with 4.9 million followers, thanks to Tom Brady. Dallas is second with 4.5 million.
The NBA has a worldwide fan base and is very big in China, which expands their teams’ popularity. The Los Angeles Lakers have 22.8 million followers on Instagram, followed by the Celtics with 7.5 million.
The way things are going, it is almost impossible to imagine Inter Miami won’t eclipse the Lakers in a matter of months. Messi’s draw is that powerful. And as of now, nobody knows when he will play his first game in America. He won’t officially sign with the team until July 5 or after. Looking at the schedule, Miami plays at D.C. United July 9.
Over 3,000 tickets to that game were sold on Wednesday alone.
On September 3, Miami plays at LAFC, and the lowest price for a ticket for that game as of Thursday was $700.
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