On online dating sites like OkCupid or eHarmony, users can sort potential matches based on lots of criteria. Location, interests and religion are just a few of the many matching tools used by the websites.
But until now, there was no website or app designed specifically to connect fans of the same team. And seeing as mutual fandom is one of the strongest bonds around, it would make sense for someone to create an app centered around sports.
Enter NFL Network broadcaster Rich Eisen.
Eisen has helped create a new dating app, called Free Agent, which allows fans of the same team in the same general area to connect with each other.
“There are hundreds of millions of people on dating apps every day, but apparently no such apps cater solely to sports fans,” Eisen told Forbes. ”My wife and I met in the newsroom of ESPN (which technically makes our children ESPN babies) so it hit me: without sports I may never have met my wife. I wanted to create an app that would provide the same type of meeting place, whether it’s mobile, in the stadium or at a college campus."
Through the app, which has already launched in Los Angeles and will soon be available in New York, users can browse 200 fans within 50 miles for no charge. The site will be especially busy during games or right after that big trade, when every fan has something to say.
Free Agent has partnered with Nike, giving fans the opportunity to win free gear after signing up. And perhaps if all goes well for a pair of fans who meet on Free Agent, Eisen might even make an appearance at the wedding.
In. RT @KirbyNYC: @richeisen If I meet my future wife thanks to Free Agent will you come to the wedding? A Walk and Talk Toast would be epic
— Rich Eisen (@richeisen) October 17, 2013
