Professional NFL cornerback and Super Bowl 48 champion Richard Sherman made an appearance at Pokemon Go Fest Seattle, but the lack of overlap in fans showed when the internet mistook him for a Poketuber.
Pokemon Go Fest Seattle 2022 took place this past weekend, July 22 – 24, and despite a hiccup with servers at the beginning, the event was a huge success.
Content creators from around the globe traveled to Seattle for the annual city-specific Go Fest. There were meet and greets, shiny hunts, and special raids from 9 AM to 7 PM each day. And a Battle Ground was established for players to duke it out in-game.
While he currently plays for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, the former Seattle Seahawks cornerback – and avid Pokemon Go battler – Richard Sherman made an appearance. The only issue is a large number of players had no clue who he was.
Reporting live from the Battle Ground!Some Trainers who decided to test their #GOBattle skills today were met with another challenge, battling @RSherman_25! 🏈 📍Seattle, USA#PokemonGOFest2022 pic.twitter.com/ryyzp4uhl3
— Pokémon GO (@PokemonGoApp) July 25, 2022
Richard Sherman is not a Poketuber
There are reasons to know Richard Sherman outside of his star-studded football career. Sure, he’s won a Super Bowl, has made the NFL All-Pro team five times, and competed in five Pro Bowls. But players might recognize him from when he made “legendary meme status” for his reaction to losing the Super Bowl to the Patriots.
However, a Reddit post from user Pokerader showed that not many Pokemon Go players are huge Seattle Seahawk fans. The post was captioned, “The official Pokémon Go tweeted it! Did any of the GoFest attendees get to meet, see, or battle him?”
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Despite OP knowing who Sherman was, many comments came from users who had no clue. One user commented “who?” before being presented with links to Sherman’s meme face. To which the user actually claimed was helpful.
Others, much to their own chagrin, asked if he was a YouTuber. One user commented, “Is he one of those Pokemon youtube people?” Another asked, “Is he some kind of Poketuber?”
Nevertheless, there were plenty of players on Twitter who enjoyed their time with Richard Sherman. Some stated that they felt accomplished for having beaten the champion on a football field. Others commended his gameplay and respected his choice of Pokemon.
While the NFL and Pokemon Go might not reach the same audience, fans thought this surprise appearance was pretty cool. Maybe Niantic will continue to bring stars to their events in the future.