There was a time where so-called “jocks” wouldn’t be caught anywhere near things deemed “nerdy.” Thankfully, today’s society is not so beholden to such frivolous separations and athletes are proudly flaunting their associations with nerd culture. The latest crossover:Dungeons and Dragonsand the NFL.
Cleveland Browns running back Johnny Stanton posted a picture before the Browns’Thursday Night Footballmatchup with the Denver Broncos wearing aCritical Rolet-shirt. His tweet was captioned “Is it Thursday yet?”, a double entendre asCritical Roleusually airs on Thursday Nights and he was about to play a game on Thursday. It’s also a saying among “Critters,” theCritical Rolefandom, and Matthew Mercer the Game Master’s weekly sign-off saying. Stanton also tagged theCritical RoleTwitter account in a follow-up tweet.
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Stanton ended up playing a critical role in the game, scoring a touchdown which was his first NFL touchdown in the Browns' 17-14 win over the Broncos. The next day, Matthew Mercer saw the tweet and reached out to the running back, in slight disbelief that an NFL player was wearingCritical Rolemerch right before a game. Mercer also congratulated Stanton for his team’s win and his contribution to the win. Stanton replied with gratitude and that he was waiting for an opportunity to watch the latest episode. For obvious reasons, he missed thepremiere of the newCritical Rolecampaignand would have to watch the VODs. Other Critters soon replied with their elation and congratulations to the NFL player.
This is the latest installment related toathletes and prominent figurespublicly claiming their involvement withDungeons and Dragonsor anything that would fall under the umbrella of nerd culture. Social media allows public figures the opportunity to show more parts of themselves and what they enjoy outside of their sport, their acting role, or their persona. And the entities that those people are attached to will also lean into the fandom, helping to make it more of a mainstream thing.
What was once niche and shunned in society is now stepping into the mainstream spotlight. The overwhelming success and popularity ofCritical Rolehelp demonstrate that. So much that people that don’t know anything aboutD&D, know aboutCritical Role. It’s another avenue for people to have fun together and the game has blown up because of the communities and the relationships it can foster. It shows others to treat the medium with respect bymaking movies and games that are faithfulto the genre.
Critical Roleairs every Thursday, 7 PM PST on Twitch.
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