Football Zebras named a top 50 NFL Twitter page by The Athletic

Football Zebras was recognized by Lindsay Jones and Andre Fernandez of The Athletic with our Twitter feed (follow) being included in their list of 50 NFL-related Twitter accounts to follow. Football Zebras is included among Adam Schefter, Ian Rapoport, Peter King, and former senior vice president of officiating-turned Fox rules analyst Dean Blandino. 

Fifty NFL Twitter accounts to follow (plus a bonus team-by-team list!)

We identified 50 of the best NFL accounts to follow to keep you informed and entertained as you wait for football to return.@bylindsayhjones and @FernandezAndreC are here to help: https://t.co/7y9izlbU0c pic.twitter.com/uJchHoJq4F

— The Athletic Miami (@TheAthleticMIA) May 25, 2020

The Football Zebras website was soft-launched in 2009 with coverage of Super Bowl XLIII. Founder and editor-in-chief Ben Austro created the site because he could not find analysis of rules interpretations of controversial calls, just fan-based complaints about controversial calls. Now in its 12th season, Austro is joined by writers Mark Schultz, Cam Filipe, and Rich Madrid to provide analysis and commentary of rules and officiating, appreciation of the history of NFL officiating, and is the prime resource for weekly NFL officiating assignments.

Football Zebras was also recognized as a member of the Sports Illustrated Social 100 list of top sports-focused Twitter accounts in 2015.

The @footballzebras account on Twitter offers rules interpretations and answers fans’ questions, particularly on NFL Sundays. In between rules discussions, Austro will add his own humorous take of events happening in the games or in the broadcast booth, like this one — one of our favorites from last season:

One butt cheek equals 2 feet

—  Fᴏᴏᴛʙᴀʟʟ Zᴇʙʀᴀs🇺🇦 (@footballzebras) January 12, 2020

In addition to the website, a discussion forum for officiating fans — Behind the Football Stripes — is also run in parallel to the Football Zebras site. Austro also released a book in 2015, So You Think You Know Football?: The Armchair Ref’s Guide to Officiating which uses actual plays to explain various rules interpretations. Thanks to our many followers for your interest in our work, for without you it would not be possible.