
REUTERS/Mike Blake
Carolina Panthers' quarterback Cam Newton walks off the field after throwing an incomplete pass against the Denver Broncos during the third quarter of the NFL's Super Bowl 50 football game in Santa Clara, California February 7, 2016
The 50th anniversary game, which ended in a win for the Denver Broncos, was watched by tens of millions of people, many of whom shared opinions, jokes, and general chatter on social media.
Conversations around sports events, especially the NFL, have historically happened on Twitter, and Facebook wanted to take some of that. Over 28 million tweets were sent during the 49th game last year, according to Twitter, up from 24 million in the previous year.
The immediacy of Twitter, driven by the chronological feed, is part of the reason so many people flock to the service during the game. Sports Twitter, a sub-section of the larger network, is "changing the way we watch sports," according to The New Republic.
For the first 11 minutes of the Super Bowl game, Facebook had no trending topics related to the event, according to Danny Sullivan, an editor at MarketingLand.
On Facebook, according to its trends, there is no Super Bowl right now #SB50 pic.twitter.com/56wmA55RJj
- Danny Sullivan (@dannysullivan) February 7, 2016
Went to @facebook to checkout their new Sports Stadium feature for #SuperBowl 50....back to Twitter.
- Ben Jata (@Ben_Jata) February 8, 2016
It took 7 mins for Facebook Sports Stadium to update the score with the Panthers' touchdown. Early days but Twitter is still winning. #sb50
- Gabriel. (@GGOwusu) February 8, 2016
Also, maybe, tell them the game has started already pic.twitter.com/eoDuvihzkz
- Max Willens (@maxwillens) February 7, 2016

REUTERS/Lucy Nicholson
Denver Broncos' T.J. Ward celebrates recovering a fumble by Carolina Panthers' quarterback Cam Newton in the fourth quarter of the NFL's Super Bowl 50 in Santa Clara, California February 7, 2016.