Fans are abandoning their own NFL teams to watch a NEW Orleans Saints reporter who has become a viral phenomenon.
Aileen Hnatiuk, 26, rose to fame on the internet when her season finale video received more than 5 million views.
Hnatiuk, a Louisiana-based reporter for BRProud who is originally from Florida, has covered the Saints during their miserable 2022 campaign.
She was raised in Weeki Wachee, Florida, where she was born in February 1996.
Aileen Hnatiuk, a PGA golfer’s daughter, graduated from Bishop McLaughlin Catholic High School and then enrolled at East Carolina University.
She was an All-American volleyball player for the Pirates during her time at ECU. She grew up participating in pageants and playing a variety of competitive sports.
Aileen graduated in May 2018 with a masters degree in communications with a journalism concentration.
During her time in college, Hnatiuk completed internships at WNCN-TV, WITN-TV, and ESPN, where she gained invaluable experience.
Aileen reported on athletics for NBC29 WVIR-TV in Charlottesville, Virginia, after graduating from college.
Before returning to the Sunshine State in 2020, she covered the Orange Bowl and worked as an anchor.
Hnatiuk was a freelancer back in Tampa when she was hired by CBS to cover the Rowdies as a sideline reporter.
In August 2021, she started working for NBC33/FOX44, where she is in charge of all Saints-related programming this season.
And after taking the internet by storm, Aileen’s blend of on-screen elegance and sporting expertise has seen a dramatic increase in her following.
One fan wrote: “Amazing reporting, the only reason I watched the games [this season] tbh” after watching video of her final NFL report of the year go viral on January 10.
While another added: “[You] single-handedly made this season worth it.”
While a fourth gasped: “This is the greatest thing the Saints accomplished all season.”
And a fifth added: “You are simply breathtaking.”
Watching the viral madness unfold and her follower count go through the roof, Aileen took to her Twitter to respond.
She laughed: “Y’all are wild lmao.”