Editorial

Inter Miami Now Has More Instagram Followers Every NFL, MLB, NHL And MLS Franchise After Lionel Messi Signing

(Photo by Joe Raedle/Getty Images)

Andrew Powell Sports and Entertainment Blogger
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The Messi effect.

What a glorious time it is for South Florida sports, and here we go again with another incredible report showing that Inter Miami CF is now arguably the most popular franchises in the United States — a status it achieved literally overnight after the Lionel Messi signing.

The numbers are truly remarkable, with the David Beckham-owned club now having more Instagram followers than any NFL, MLB, NHL or MLS franchise. And even more crazy, they did it in just a 24-hour period.

Inter Miami’s ‘gram account gained over four million followers after the Messi news was announced, a perfect example of the “Messi Effect” that is currently sweeping South Florida and the entire United States.

Messi announced Wednesday that he intends to sign with Inter Miami, declining a historic $1 billion contract from Al Hilal in Saudi Arabia. Instead, Messi will be getting a percentage of the revenue from Apple’s MLS Season Pass as payment in his new deal.

Ticket prices absolutely skyrocketed after the Messi news broke, with tickets for the Argentine star’s expected debut now costing more than the NBA Finals. Before the news broke, Inter Miami tickets for that particular game were less than $30. Now, they’re sitting at over $450.

Man, there’s so much glory in South Florida right now. I can’t get over it.

I’ve been a fan of Miami sports ever since I was a kid, and historically, our teams haven’t necessarily been the best. Yeah, we’ve won a championship here and a championship there, but it’s mostly been a disaster. So everything that we’re seeing right now is just surreal.

I used to dream about runs like this. Heck, I even remember when I was a child how I would play all of the sports video games, acting like I was the owner of the Miami Dolphins, Miami Heat, Florida Panthers and the then-Florida Marlins. What’s happening now in real life is exactly how things were going in my video game playthroughs. It’s just crazy. (RELATED: Fiorentina’s Cristiano Biraghi Bloodied After West Ham Fans Blast Him With Trash During Europa Conference League Final)

Everything going on in South Florida right now is truly remarkable, and I couldn’t be more proud as a 305er.