Steelers wide receiver got to play ‘Fortnite’ with Ninja and was ‘at a complete loss for words’ while streaming with the superstar

AP Photo/Keith Srakocic // Willy Sanjuan/Invision/AP

• Pittsburgh Steelers wide receiver JuJu Smith-Schuster says he was star-struck while playing "Fortnite" with popular streamer Tyler "Ninja" Blevins in 2018.
• Smith-Schuster, along with hip hop artists Drake and Travis Scott, was a part of Ninja’s record-breaking stream in 2018 that brought in over 600,000 viewers.
• Smith-Schuster wrote about Ninja’s ability and innovation as a part of Time Magazine’s list of the 100 most influential people.
• Visit BusinessInsider.com for more stories.

Pittsburgh Steelers wide receiver JuJu Smith-Schuster says he was "at a loss for words" while playing "Fortnite" with superstar streamer Tyler "Ninja" Blevins in 2018.

Smith-Schuster told the story of his streaming session with Ninja after he was named one Time Magazine’s 100 most influential people.

Read more: This 27-year-old makes $500,000 every month playing ‘Fortnite’ in his bedroom — here’s how he does it

"I play in the NFL, so you’d think I wouldn’t be star-struck much," Smith-Schuster wrote. "But last March, when I—along with Drake and Travis Scott—got in a ‘Fortnite’ game with Ninja for the first time, I was at a complete loss for words!"

Smith-Schuster was a part of Ninja’s record-breaking stream in 2018 that also included hip hop artists Drake and Travis Scott that brought in over 600,000 viewers.

Read more: A record-breaking number of people watched Drake play a video game in the middle of the night — and it was an incredible cultural moment

As an avid gamer and viewer of Ninja’ streams himself, Smith-Schuster praised Ninja for both his ability as a player and an innovator.

"He was the unquestioned best in the world at his craft, something I had so much respect for both as an athlete and as a fan," he wrote. "Now, he was single-handedly blending gaming and pop culture."

While Ninja’s job might not be as physically daunting as Smith-Schuster’s, the Steelers wide receiver can relate to the difficulties of competing against the best in the world, and the pressure that comes with knowing millions are watching you with the expectation of greatness.

You can read Smith-Schuster’s entire entry here, and see more of Time’s list in its entirety here.

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Source: Business Insider – feedback@businessinsider.com (Tyler Lauletta)