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Annie Agar has become a household name among NFL fans, but her rise to fame is a story of persistence against all odds. Three years ago, when the COVID-19 pandemic came, she was a TV Sports reporter in Rockford, Michigan.
She returned home without much of a plan to begin with, but with Zoom becoming a staple across homes, she had an idea. She decided to do a parody Zoom call between Big Ten college football programmes, discussing how they could start their season. What followed became Annie Agar's ticket to success.
Annie Agar: From a viral video to an established name
The aforementioned video above went viral on TikTok, making Annie Agar an overnight sensation. By 2022, she had more than 350,000 followers on TikTok, growing her brand during the pandemic.
Have a look at the video below that started it all:
As she said in an interview with the Sports Section, sports was always her destiny. Her father played baseball in the minor leagues and wanted a sports family. She had decided by high school to become a sports reporter. She earned a degree in sports broadcasting from Grand Valley State University, interned and started a job with the local station.
Then the pandemic hit, and she was out of job. Sitting at home with her parents, she decided to create the above video on Mother's Day. She played on the friction between Michigan, Michigan State and Ohio State and figured that a humorous take would do well in the bleakness of the pandemic. As it turned out, she was right.
Annie Agar has sinced joined Bally Sports and has worked on both reporting and content creation. The format of her first video has become a recipe for success with many emulating the same, such as this one from NFL week 18 of the 2021 season.
With her hilarious takes on NFL teams, it would seem that she would have rubbed executives the wrong way, but her popularity is such that NFL teams reach out to her, asking to be part of their videos.
In one case, as she recounts, the Arizona Cardinals, who were undefeated at the start of the 2021 season, reached out to her and asked why they had not made it on yet. The team sent her jerseys as well, as a common theme of her videos is impersonating a team wearing their logo.
No team is immune from her barbs, including her beloved Green Bay Packers. She took a shot during the playoffs last season when Aaron Rodgers failed to lead them to the postseason, as part of the hilarious exchange below:
Annie Agar's sustained success has seen her recognized by her peers and led to her evolution as well.
She has worked with the likes of Adam Schefter and has turned her attention to other sports as well. She has covered March Madness in college basketball, and her latest take marks an international foray into the world of golf. She made a spoof video for the recently concluded Masters tournament.
Agar has been recognized for her perseverance on other platforms, too. The COVID-19 pandemic was a time of upheaval where many people, including Annie Agar, lost their jobs.
That she could rebound from that situation with her unique content speaks very highly of her. She has been invited on to Ted Talks to share her experience as well.
At the moment, the world seems to be her oyster. We are sure there are many more takes to come and many more comedic videos and other reporting. As always, we are sure we will not be the only ones watching out for it.
