By Matt Rogers

During the Denver Broncos match-up against the Arizona Cardinals on Sunday, Peyton Manning became one of only two quarterbacks in NFL history to throw at least 500 touchdowns, the other being Brett Favre.

Merely seconds after the play that resulted in Manning’s 500th touchdown, social media exploded with analysis from fans, professional journalists and even the Denver Broncos themselves. In this day and age, social media sites like Twitter and Facebook have become a popular source for getting news, especially when a milestone is reached in the NFL. Twitter is filled not only with fans of the NFL, but is used as a medium to deliver current news by the journalists that cover the league.

In the days leading into the Broncos’ game in Week 5, there were questions being posed on social media. “In what quarter will Manning achieve the milestone?” and “Which receiver will be the recipient of Manning’s 500th touchdown pass?” were two of the most prevalent. These types of posts have become a minute-by-minute occurrence, when Twitter was ushered in as a way to reflect on things that have happened in the sporting world that day or recently.

This could definitely be attributed to the expansion of media, especially as it pertains to how sports are covered. Without these social media sites, fans and followers would have either waited to find out happenings in the newspaper or wait to see the highlights on shows like ESPN’s SportsCenter. This can also be attributed to the rapid increase in the general public’s interest in sports.

Social media sites are not  the only type of media that continues to expand. Coverage of sports, mainly the NFL, has expanded to a point where all important weekend time slots are filled by most of the nationally televised networks, such as CBS, FOX, NBC and ESPN. Now, to find out about things like Peyton Manning’s 500th touchdown pass, a person can choose from so many different types of media that provide updates as frequently as every second.

Peyton Manning has become one of, if not the face, faces, of the NFL and one of the league’s most beloved players because of his personality and demeanor. He appears in various commercial ads for large companies, like Papa John’s Pizza, Nationwide and Buick. Anytime Peyton Manning reaches a milestone or breaks a record, which happens on a weekly basis it seems, the fans of the league are going to find out about it the second after it occurs.