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A fan with fans of her own

"Dressing cute at a football game" has garnered an FSU student and Lutz native a legion of online admirers, and offers to pose in Maxim and Playboy.

By JAY CRIDLIN
Published January 20, 2006

	Jenn Sterger , right, a 22-year-old Florida State University student is the 'fan with the most fans' She's been noticed on national TV , mentioned on ESPN.com and is turning her celebrity status into Maxim and Playboy photo spreads.

LUTZ - Jenn Sterger would like you to know that she's just like any other senior at Florida State University.

"People don't realize I'm a student," says Sterger, 22.

"I'll get on Facebook and have 5,000 friend requests and 200 messages waiting, and it's like, "Um, hi, I have three lectures today and two tests to study for. I don't have time to sit there and click away on Facebook.' "

Her fans, on the other hand, do have that kind of time - especially when it comes to Sterger's alluring photos on Facebook.com, an online social directory for students.

Ever since television cameras caught Sterger and her friends wearing little more than denim cutoffs and bikini tops at September's Florida State-Miami game, Sterger has spawned a heated frenzy of Internet adoration.

Bloggers have dubbed her the "Facebook Princess" because of her overwhelming popularity on the college networking site. She has spawned fan sites, been worshiped on message boards, and name-dropped on ESPN.com.

Her wave of popularity is set to crest this spring with photo spreads in the March Maxim and the May Playboy, not to mention her own Web sites, JennSterger.com and CowgirlNation.com.

The commotion is a bit shocking to the Lutz native, a self-described "band dork" from Gaither High who attended the University of South Florida for two years.

"Bottom line, this has happened to me because I was at the right place at the right time, and I love sports," says Sterger, who transferred to Florida State in 2004. "I was just dressing cute at a football game."

Sterger credits her fame in part to ABC announcer Brent Musberger, who called the FSU-Miami game and noticed the girls in the stands during a crowd shot. "He said something to the effect of "15,000 red-blooded young American men just signed up to go to Florida State next year,' " Sterger says.

Turns out Musberger was more right than he knew. Sterger immediately became the online poster girl for FSU's student body; over the next few months, she watched her Facebook.com hits soar.

ESPN.com Page 2 writer Dan Shanoff dubbed Sterger the "Hottie Sensation" of 2006. In early January, Sterger was the fourth-ranked "mover" on Yahoo's Buzz Index, ahead of Israeli prime minister Ariel Sharon.

All this, and her Maxim and Playboy photos haven't even hit newsstands.

"I tell you, I'm really impressed with what she's done and what she's accomplished in such a short time," says Leo Sterger, 49, Jenn's father, who adds that he's cool with the Playboy shoot. "I said, "If you don't feel like it's going to be a problem for you down the road, by all means, go for it,' " he said. "Pamela Anderson started by being pointed out in a crowd shot at a hockey game up in Canada, and look where she's at today. I don't want her marrying Tommy Lee, but I wouldn't mind her having an opportunity like Pamela had."

Sterger, who is single, says she's gotten fan mail from athletes and been recognized in airports. But she also laughs about what she calls her "quasi-C-level celebrity status."

She's studying criminology and psychology at Florida State and says she wants to take the LSAT and attend law school. Her parents still live in Lutz - yes, Sterger is also a Bucs fan - and over winter break, she went back to her job selling sunglasses at International Plaza.

"I'm not going to give up everything I'm doing just because I've run into a little bit of luck," she says. "I still want to have an education to fall back on. Looks only last so long. They only get you in the door. You have to be able to keep them interested."

[Last modified January 19, 2006, 08:43:07]