I wonder why Paola Egonu has so few followers compared to her popularity. In Italy there are many d-list celebrities who have twice as many followers, and in addition Paola is known abroad and is often on Italian tv, newspapers…
her instagram isnt that interesting... it's a lot of ads.
plus a ton of players got their boom during the olympics... egonu didnt have the best olympics 
Volleyball isn't that popular in Italy though. I also noticed the same thing with the followers and comments on the teams'pages.
Very few italian people comment, most are foreigners.
Same goes for players, for example in Turkey or Brazil volleyball is much more popular, and you got the Zehra or Gabi of the moment with way more followers and comments.
The only exception here I'd say it's Ivan Zaytsev who has a lot of followers.
A bit off topic: a noticed woth Cate and Cristina's profiles, many of the ads are about food for athletes or sth like that, if I think about Zehra and Mac, Ebrar and Elidor or Hande and Mercedes.... There is no comparison..
I think followers on social media is hugely affected by pop culture. Players like KYK & Gabi have huge followings from pop culture because of their presence on the culture.
I think another factor is a players openness on social media. Other players mentioned above with huge followings tend to show a lot of their behind the scenes life both inside and outside of volleyball which fans including myself tend to enjoy. Correct me if I'm wrong, but wasn't Boskovic's IG private before? It's hard for players to become likable and relatable if we can't see the personal side, but in the end it's the players choice what they want to share with the world and when they choose to do so.
And nowadays you can buy followers/likes which I know a lot of "influencers" do. IMO these guys don't deserve the platform they have doing scripted skits and stupid challenges. I would rather see the younger generation look up to athletes then those bozos.
Here is an article from FIVB, another volleyball player gains one million followers on social media.
Zehra Gunes now with 2M followers. Didn't she just earn a million followers like last year or was it 2020? that's mindblowing.
Is she the most followed VB player?
Didn't she just earn a million followers like last year or was it 2020? that's mindblowing.
Is she the most followed VB player?
Yes, mainly due to Tokyo Olympics 
Zehra Gunes now with 2M followers. Didn't she just earn a million followers like last year or was it 2020? that's mindblowing.
Is she the most followed VB player?
I thought Douglas was at 3M+ during Olympics? Or have the numbers decreased?
Can't believe Valdez has more followers than KYK lol. Happy for lods. But why does Mauricio Souza have that many followers? did he gain more followers after his homophobic comments?
Can't believe Valdez has more followers than KYK lol. Happy for lods. But why does Mauricio Souza have that many followers? did he gain more followers after his homophobic comments?
Yes... But probably most of those are bots
Can't believe Valdez has more followers than KYK lol. Happy for lods. But why does Mauricio Souza have that many followers? did he gain more followers after his homophobic comments?
Valdez fans are dedicated I give them that.
If you watched AU there was one particular Valdez fan in the livechats that kept saying she should be playing there instead of Nootsara, comparing her to the likes of Zhu, and even suggesting she play in the 2026 Olympics (lol). People kept responding to report/block this user, but then they replied back saying they have multiple accounts anyways...
Valdez fans are dedicated I give them that.
If you watched AU there was one particular Valdez fan in the livechats that kept saying she should be playing there instead of Nootsara, comparing her to the likes of Zhu, and even suggesting she play in the 2026 Olympics (lol). People kept responding to report/block this user, but then they replied back saying they have multiple accounts anyways...
A lot of Filipinos take pride in her UAAP achievements and the fact that she played for Ateneo, one of the top universities in the country. But I wouldn't go that far even as someone who likes her. That's really cringe and an insult to Zhu Ting. Also if we're talking about hardcore fans, Valdez wouldn't even make the top 3. Bea De Leon, Deanna Wong, Maddie Madayag are up there before her. General sports fans do know of her from her UAAP Phenom peak but she hasn't had any major experience that proves she's at that level.
A lot of Filipinos take pride in her UAAP achievements and the fact that she played for Ateneo, one of the top universities in the country. But I wouldn't go that far even as someone who likes her. That's really cringe and an insult to Zhu Ting. Also if we're talking about hardcore fans, Valdez wouldn't even make the top 3. Bea De Leon, Deanna Wong, Maddie Madayag are up there before her. General sports fans do know of her from her UAAP Phenom peak but she hasn't had any major experience that proves she's at that level.
Basic Philippines fan here so I can't really say much, but Valdez and Jaja are the ones that catch my eye as far as performances. They're good players, just need the right coaching to take them to the next level.
I'm not familiar with the other three players you mentioned, but what things do their fans do that makes them hardcore?
Basic Philippines fan here so I can't really say much, but Valdez and Jaja are the ones that catch my eye as far as performances. They're good players, just need the right coaching to take them to the next level.
I'm not familiar with the other three players you mentioned, but what things do their fans do that makes them hardcore?
De Leon succeeded Valdez after she graudated. Known unofficially as the "Baby Phenom" extremely popular for being that cool girlcrush type. Deanna Wong is a lesbian player who dated another volleyball player. Maddie Madayag is another of Ateneo's best players. All 3 plus Valdez are from Ateneo. But all 3 are mediocre compared to Valdez.
Personally I think Majoy Baron has the most potential out of all Filipino hyped players. But like Valdez, she doesn't have sufficient experience and hasn't been given more opportunities to play at a higher level.
Personally I think Majoy Baron has the most potential out of all Filipino hyped players. But like Valdez, she doesn't have sufficient experience and hasn't been given more opportunities to play at a higher level.
Do you know why Majoy didn't play in recent SEA Games?
Someone posted over there that Maddie Madayag is playing Beach now? I enjoyed that MB duo in the previous SEA Games.
Do you know why Majoy didn't play in recent SEA Games?
Someone posted over there that Maddie Madayag is playing Beach now? I enjoyed that MB duo in the previous SEA Games.
Majoy is not originally part of that lineup, but was added when other players were not available, iirc. She didn't do that well in the latest club season in the Philippines also. I still think she should have played even a few minutes, but looking only at the recent club league, all the other MBs in the SEAG lineup performed better than her. Madayag is not playing beach, but she had an ACL injury and still on recovery.
There is also another Filipino player with more than 1 million instagram followers and not on the list on this post. Deanna Wong (@deannawongst)
now has 1.4M followers. She is a national team setter but got injured so she didn't get to play in the SEA Games.
Ran Takahashi finally reaches 1 Million followers in Instagram.
keyla alves from brazil didn't reach the million?