A post on the official Twitter blog reveals the details, which will allow users to follow these messages in a real-time format, thanks to a surprisingly-robust page at NFL.com, featuring a map showing what the majority of NFL-related tweets are discussing, a trends tab, and a “Steelers VS Packers” page that shows which team is trending the most

Naturally, this information is derived from how many times either the Packers or the Steelers are mentioned on Twitter, and if it’s anything like last year, both will be mentioned a great deal.

While discussing the partnership, Twitter’s blog entry reveals:

Considering how much more Twitter has intertwined itself into society, even since last year, it wouldn’t be a bit surprising if, on Super Bowl Sunday (February 6th), 75% of all tweets were related to the Packers/Steelers game.

Other areas of interest on the NFL’s “Twitter Tracker” page include a map of United States, which shows the Twitter/Super Bowl trends in relation to their location.  Obviously, the northeast portion of the U.S. is all about Pittsburgh. 

There’s also a “Players” tab, which ranks the highest trending player, according to tweets.

Surprisingly enough, the current leader is Nick Barnett, linebacker for the Packers.  One would expect Aaron Rodgers or Ben Roethlisberger to take that honor.

Another feature allows users to follow the tweets of Super Bowl-related content as well.  This includes players, media and NFL personnel, and it’s featured on the start page on the right-hand column.  Users are also able to respond to a poll question, via their Twitter account, and their responses will be shared across this particular network.

This year, keeping up with all the Super Bowl-related Twitter chatter will be exponentially easier.   Just don’t forget about watching the game, something that tends to get lost as the hype for Super Bowl event (the parties, the commercials) continues to grow.

Unfortunately, the actual game itself gets relegated to an “oh yeah” status from time to time, thanks, in large part, to all the effort that goes into getting the hype machine rolling.

Just when I knew exactly where everything was and how it worked, Twitter made sweeping changes–apparently without consulting with its users first. I’ve not seen too many Tweets showing delight for the new navigation location.

But, I’m not naive. Despite Twitter doing its best to push these features as huge benefits for its users–perhaps we’ll learn to love them–these changes are not about us. Nope, they’re about Twitter’s ability to grow and remain stable in the process. Here’s the statement to that effect:

But more importantly, it was an investment in the future. We plan to have more tabs, and we’d run out of room putting them along the top. This was the driving factor for this redesign, but you won’t see all the benefits until a future release (hopefully, very soon!).

Go take a look at the list of new features. If you’re a Twitter user, let me know what you think of the design. User either the comments below or @andybeal me. You can also share your feedback with @twitter.

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