Digital dating has been very good to athletes

Athletes turn to social media like Tinder, Instagram, Snapchat

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The world of social media has changed the way people interact and that is no different for athletes, many of whom recently opened up to ESPN’s Sam Alipour about using Tinder, Twitter, Instagram and Snapchat to find love, or something else, as they travel the country.

The article has all sorts of interesting anecdotes from stars who recount their strategies for reeling in dates, including Rob Gronkowski, who relies on good old Google for icebreakers.

 “Make them laugh. Just Google 'Tinder pickup lines.'”

Steelers running back LeVeon Bell said he is in it for the conversation, but that he likes to outsource some of the dirty work to his agent.

"I'm a guy who likes conversation, especially with women, and obviously they like doing it with me." But as often as not, Bell phones a friend. "You have your agent reach out, see what they're about," he says. "I can take myself out of the process." 

Timofey Mozgov had never heard of Tinder before Alipour asked him about it, but he seemed to take a liking to the app fairly quickly.

"I see, just random girls ..." Mozgov says, swiping rapidly, 10, 15 times, all to the right.

...

"Trust me," he says, just as he strikes a match. "She likes you! OK, we send a message: 'Hi, can we meet?'"

The story has tons of fascinating tidbits, including Brandon Jennings crediting Vine for helping him meet the mother of his son, and Willie Cauley-Stein saying he forgoes the online pickup game in favor of meeting women in real life at places like Walmart and gas stations.