Questioning your @theUFL coaches' decisions? Ask them about it during the live tweet draft
By
Erik Tavcar
/ CBS News
United Football League Draft Logo
UFL
(CBS/What's Trending) When you're a struggling upstart professional football league still trying to connect with the American sports fan, you do what you can to bridge that gap and show that you're better than the more established and favored NFL. For the United Football League, that means utilizing the digital world we live in to show that they care more about their fans. Tonight at 8 P.M. EST/5 P.M. PST, the league will conduct its player draft live via Twitter. The team's coaches former NFL head coaches, Dennis Green (@UFLDennisGreen), Marty Schottenheimer (@DestroyersMarty), Jerry Glanville (@JerryGlanville) and Jim Fassel (@LocosJimFassel) will communicate their picks with the league commissioner Michael Huyghue (@UFLCommissioner) by tweeting the player they want. Those attending the draft online will be allowed to tweet at the coach of their choice and ask them questions about their decisions.
Nation Hahn, Director of Digital Media for UFL told What's Trending, "For the first time the fans will hear directly from the coaches and commissioner as the selections are being made. They can ask questions, read invaluable insights from each and follow along as the picks roll in."
Imagine an NFL where as a Carolina Panthers fan if you're skeptical about Cam Newtown being picked first overall, you could directly ask new head Coach Ron Riveria why the team is going with that player. Sounds crazy, right? Well, in the UFL you can do that.
This move just broadens the UFL's social media fan outreach. They broadcast all their games live on their website. The league utilizes Twitter to hold question and answer sessions with the league coaches. They even allow fans to submit question for press conferences using social media tools. The UFL believes it's important to utilize these tools to bring fans inside the game and make them an integral part of the league -- a feeling most NFL fans would say is a great thing judging from the recent problems stemming from the lockout.
