The Best way to Sell-Out

In the past few months there has been lots of discourse regarding the jerseys our professional athletes wear. Currently the NBA seems to be leading the conversation about including sponsor logos on the jerseys themselves, but this may be an issue that traverses between all American sports. Internationally, it may be hard to find sports jerseys that don’t have a sponsor stitched alongside the team name. In some cases the name of the sponsor is just as famous as the name of the team. I have been a fan of Chelsea football club from the Barclays Premier League for a while and I can admit that at first, I recognized Samsung as the sponsor before I knew the team’s actual name, “The Blues.” As far as American sports are concerned there are already athletes whose clothing is riddled with advertisements. The MLS, NASCAR, and the WNBA all sport sponsors on their jerseys yet the quality of the sport has not dissolved, so why are people so against this move.

I love the Samsung Football Club

Many argue that this is an abomination and in essence an example of “selling-out.” In response I would ask, “Where do the Lakers play?” or maybe even “Who makes those Jordan’s you’re wearing?” What would their response be? It seems as though people forget that sponsors and advertisements are rampant in professional sports because we are so used to seeing it. You can’t walk two feet in any arena without a sponsorship ad, so why would there be any resistance for another sponsor on the team’s jersey? If I play devil’s advocate I could claim that I fell in love with my team’s logo, and that it’s the insignia I use daily to proclaim my loyalty to that team. If teams were to start selling Jerseys with RedBull stitched on them, the message would be confused because the consistency is tossed out the window. For example; Dolphin’s Stadium was once Landshark Stadium, which was once Pro Player Stadium, which was once Joe Robbie Stadium. I don’t have the money to be buying a relevant Jersey every year.  Now, while all of the aforementioned issues are fair, they don’t necessarily mean that that is how it will be.

I believe that in order to ease Americans into accepting jersey sponsors, NBA teams should allow their special jerseys, like the Christmas games and “Noche Latina,” to be sponsored. For example, “Noche Latina” could be sponsored by Taco Bell. Taco Bell and the NBA team can then collaborate on the design of the jersey and put them up for sale. This would be no different to how LeBron wears a new pair of shoes every night. I believe this will be a new and unique way to incorporate sponsors on pro jerseys that fans would be eager to collect. I mean, how cool would this conversation be: “Hey did you get that special edition ESPN Halloween Jersey?” “No, but I did get the 2014 RedBull Christmas Jersey on eBay?” “Nice, I’m definitely jealous.” Besides why would your team earning more money be a negative thing? I mean, their primary goal is to get us interested. A few extra million would make things easier for all of us   

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AD outdoes Shyamalan w/ Surprise Ending

In 1863 Vin Mariani, a popular European drink of the time, became the first drink to be endorsed by a celebrity. Since then, businesses have been pursuing celebrities of all types to promote their brand. In the sports world, it’s all about the getting the best athletes to promote your product. I daresay brands like Nike or Under Armor would not be as dominating as they are today without the celebrities they’ve collaborated with over the years. Recently, Gatorade has been airing an advertisement called “Fixation” that stars Miami’s Dwyane Wade and OCK’s Kevin Durant. In the AD spot, Durant is blocked at the rim by Wade which then wakes Durant from an apparent nightmare and inspires him to train hard while hydrating with Gatorade. We are then taken back to the final seconds of the championship game where we see Durant getting his revenge on Wade. Finally, in an almost Twilight Zone inspired revelation, Wade wakes up from his nightmare. I enjoyed this commercial so much I tweeted about it and was surprised and delighted to see Gatorade “favorite” my post, which then inspired me to write about what I enjoyed most about Gatorade’s advertisement. 

Through the years, many companies have taken advantage of the “versus” ads. Michael Jordan and Larry Bird battled for the rights to a bag of McDonalds, Converse brought Bird and Magic together for the first time, LeBron and Howard played for another McDonalds value meal, and Gatorade let Michael Jordan compete against the only person that could possibly beat him; himself at 23 years old. This type of commercial resonates with the fans because it shows that athletes have a sense of humor about the rivalries augmented by the media. These commercials essentially depict situations that are commonly discussed among fans. I mean, I have always wondered if a 23 year old Michael would make a 39 year old Michael look like every NBA star from 1991 – ‘93 and 1996 – ‘98. So, fans can instantly connect with these kinds of commercials and the brand can reap the rewards.

Next, I enjoyed the depiction of what it means to be a professional athlete and the importance of the competitive spirit. We all have a desire to be the best at what we do despite our career choice and we will always have to improve in order fend off any challengers. Wade and Durant are both superstar players with strong competitive spirits and a dramatic history. It’s the perfect seed for a great narrative, which Gatorade executed brilliantly. 

Finally, with the Playoffs quickly approaching, I’d like to take this time to say “Go Heat!”

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ESPNU? ...Where's ESPNW?

Professional sports have a history of male dominated broadcasting. Recently, we have seen female journalists wielding the microphone on the sidelines, but does this mean that the male dominated industry is balanced? The short answer is no, not really. While it is refreshing to hear the female perspective, there is still some discrimination when it comes to sports broadcasting. If you take a closer look, you will see that for the most part, female analysts and journalists are usually only seen on the sidelines during timeouts and between quarters while the male broadcasters enjoy hours of airtime doing pre-game, play by play, half-time and post game reports.

Reading about this particular issue in pro sports, I was astounded by the personal accounts of women who dared to enter the male dominated industry. In an article written for ESPN.com, Kate Fagan describes a scenario where she felt she was discriminated against. Fagan was waiting for an athlete to finish his shower, as he likes to do, before doing the post game interview. She was the only one in the locker room when she approached him, still in his towel, to ask questions. Instead, she was asked if she enjoyed walking up on half naked men. Minutes later all the other male journalists walked in to interview the athlete, still in his towel, without any smart remarks. These kinds of things are more prevalent than one might think. In a more recent example of discrimination, ESPN broadcaster Brent Musburger made remarks about the attractiveness of Alabama quarterback AJ McCarron, and suggested young Alabama males should pick up a football so they too could attract a beautiful woman. Now this concept may be ahead of my time, but I believe that sports broadcasting should focus on sports. Trivia and commentary during games should relate to the team, athletes, or sports world in general. I don’t need to hear an old man’s opinion on an athlete’s significant other. I can determine a person’s attractiveness on my own, thank you.

In addition to the lack of female presence at the analyst desk, the issue of women’s sports and national airtime is also imbalanced. In a 20-year study by sociologists Mike Messner and Cheryl Cooky, women’s sports only accounted for 4% of all sports news in 2009. I believe this is mostly due to the fact that there is hardly any coverage. It is quite difficult for WNBA teams to gain fans if the only way to watch a game is on ESPN2, NBATV, or attending a game. Those channels, while influential, do not draw the same numbers in ratings as network channels like ABC or NBC.

There are many things that need to change in our society. While this isn’t the most important in the grand scheme, the idea that women aren’t as effective in analyzing men’s sports is severely outdated. Just take a look at the stands in any major sporting event. There are just as many women going nuts and yelling obscenities at opponents, as there are men.

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