An NFL Story for Cowboy and Texan Fans to Appreciate

One player had a chance to make history this weekend in the NFL playoffs, but COVID derailed those plans. There are still reasons to watch, with a fun beverage.

If you've ever had to try, try, and try again, you'll like this story. Persistence was about to pay off for Jared Veldheer, who played in the NFL for ten years without many people knowing his name. He was drafted by the Oakland Raiders in 2010 and had stints with the Arizona Cardinals, Denver Broncos, New England Patriots, and Green Bay Packers over the past ten years. Last fall he was without a team, and watched the games from home, waiting for a team to need him. That happened last week with the Indianapolis Colts. Veldheer was signed by the Colts right before the playoffs and started last weekend's game, which ended up being a loss to the Buffalo Bills. Fast forward a few days, and with the Colts out of the playoffs, the Green Bay Packers signed Veldheer and gave him the chance to make history. With the game tomorrow, Veldheer would have become the first player in NFL history to play in the same playoffs for two different teams. But! He tested positive for COVID-19 this week and has to sit out and will miss the chance to set the record, at least this week. If the Packers beat the Rams and advance, Veldheer could be cleared to play in the next game. And, if the Packers make it all the way to the Super Bowl, he could score a big paycheck too. The winning players earn a six-figure bonus.

The Packers have a huge fan base, but they rank low on a new list put out by Pickswise. They analyzed each team's Twitter account to come up with the most influential fan bases and this is what they found. The Texans and Cowboys are in the bottom half, but it may just mean fans aren't too active on social media. That's not a bad thing.

NFL Teams With the Largest Following and Reach

1. Carolina Panthers - 8.8 million

2. Washington Football Team - 2.1 million

3. Jacksonville Jaguars - 1.6 million

4. New York Jets - 1.4 million

5. Atlanta Falcons - 1.2 million

6. Miami Dolphins - 1.2 million

7. Buffalo Bills - 1 million

8. New York Giants - 1 million

9. Los Angeles Chargers - 902,000

10. Detroit Lions - 898,000

11. New Orleans Saints - 844,000