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It has always been known that fans like winners, but the extent of this may be surprising.
The Turnkey Brand Index survey was highly populated with winners with the top 15 of 20 top franchises making the playoffs in their leagues. Teams like the Boston Celtics who went from last to first saw their index almost rise 50 point, with the New Orleans Hornets rasing almost 25 points. Other side is though, teams losing also saw their index declining as well. This is all important to marketing executives because if they can identify a swing in an area so they can have an impact.
From: http://www.sportsbusinessjournal.com/article/60748
As much as this information comes unsurprising that when a team is winning, the more people buy their products and support their team. the problem I have is that it shows how hard it is to be a professional athlete. When you're team is losing most likely you arent going to be seeing jerseys in the streets but when you are its like paradise. People may say winning isnt everything but this survey proves that for these athletes that saying may not be so far away from the truth than we think
THATS IT!!! its a done deal finally. ESPN has now been named the new home for the four big BCS bowl games. It has been talked about for weeks now and everyone has seemed to see it coming. FOX sports was outbid by ESPN by around $100 million posting a staggering $495 million big to be paid out over four years. The news comes from the SportsBusiness journal reporting that it did not take long for the BCS presidential oversight committee to okay the deal from ESPN. University Presidents were expected to make a big stink about the games going to cable television, but no such resistance was met for ESPN and the BCS committee. FOX was reportedly overpowered by the bid and was not able to conjure up a reason for making their bid any higher, they were just not going to win this battle.
The BCS bowl games are now going to be on cable television... Hmmm is that good or bad? For one thing, its going to make ESPN millions of dollars as it still has part of the rights to the Rose Bowl as well which is already aired on ABC. They are expected to make record revenue from this deal just in advertisements alone. However, 16 million fewer people have the ability to watch the newly cable televised bowl games, I guess we will see how people react to that. This has been an interesting story to follow as we slowly begin to see more and more championship games and matches go from over the air television to cable stations. Who's/what is next to go??????
Then it hits you, there's no music. No "CHARGE" bugle, not organ at the baseball game, nothing. Music and sound effects help pump up the crowd at any sporting event.
Teams do have streaming audio and video on their website of the game being played. But how great would it be to log onto Last.fm, and play "Shout!" at home every time the Bills score. Yeah, that would be awesome.
Having a partnership between a league and internet music site would be a huge boost in both of the companies. A Miami Dolphins fan can hear a talk show with Chad Pennington, even though they live in Oregon. Football, or as most Americans know it as soccer, can listen to live feeds of games. Baseball fans can listen into the game from their desk, rather than just watching a box score from their computer.
True: Most teams provide this for their fans already. But if partnered with Last.fm, one of the largest music based social networks, leagues would be able to get their sport out to more people. A simple idea would be to have users check off if they would like game feeds, if selected the user would choose which teams they would like to have feeds from. Every time the user is logged on, there would be an update sent to their Last.fm player. If they decide they want to listen to the game, a simple click on the score would transfer them to the audio feed for the game.
It is a no-brainer to have this partnership. And hopefully, we will soon be able to see this implemented in the near future.
--- Christopher Adamek, Joseph Cardinale, Mike Mendez
As I have talked about before, and continue to follow this story, it is reported that the major BCS bowls are ESPN bound. There is beginning to be a new trend in the sports world, that is moving from broadcast television, to cable television channels like ESPN. We have already seen it with the likes of "Monday Night Football," the Chase for the Sprint cup in NASCAR, and the British open starting in 2010. ESPN reaches 20 million fewer homes the
n its broadcast network partner ABC and other networks. This is why moving BCS bowl games, with such high levels of interest amongst the American people could be a gutsy move.
This has become just another case of looking for the highest bidder. Fox broadcast network, who has had the rights to these bowl games in the past has had the chance to match any offer given up until today. It is believed that they will not be able to afford the $100 million deal over four years which ESPN has posted to the BCS committee. It is obvious that the Disney Corporation is making out like a bandit who owns ABC, and eighty percent of ESPN. ABC still continues to own the rights to the all important Rose Bowl, and now Disney and ESPN may have all of the top bowl games on their cable network. If it is any consolation, the NFL, MLB, and NBA are not even close to being interested in making their post season championships to cable television networks. Who knows what the future has in store for championship play. Hopefully everyone will get to enjoy the excitement of big time games.
In this week's issue of the SBJ there is an article about the USOC starting its own TV channel. Due to the amount of viewer's for this year's summer games in Beijing, China they think that there is a market for the channel. The 08' summer games were the most viewed summer games since the 1992 Barcelona games. Officials are discussing about "flipping" another cable channel like discoveries fit TV into the Olympic channel or just making their own cable channel. They also are discussing having the winning bidder for the 2016 and 2020 games partner with the USOC on making the channel.
I think that this channel is a really good idea. Most people would say oh great another sports channel. But I think that this channel would teach a lot of people history about the Olympics that they didn't know and I find that idea very interesting. The channel will be like a yes network or MSG with a mix of live broadcasts and "classics". Another reason that I really support this channel is that they plan to offer it at a reasonable price unlike the overpriced NFL network. Overall I think that this would be a great idea and hope that it happens soon.
Over the past couple years it has become a trademark statement for when Manny Ramirez pulls a bonehead move either up at bat, in the field, on the base path, or in the locker room. Other situations involve, Manny refusing to play left field when he was acquired by the Boston Red Sox in 2001, demanding trades in the offseason for about his last 3 years in Boston, then come regular season denying all reports of it, and two all-time "Manny being Manny" events happened just this year. One being that Manny was criticized very harshly for showing a lack of effort in the field and while running the bases, as well as being accused of purposely striking out in a game against the New York Yankees, and for two, during a game against the Baltimore Orioles a pop fly was hit to him in left field, and on his retreat towards the wall to catch the ball, he hauled in the ball, hopped on the homerun fence, high-fived a fan in the stands, then proceeded to throw a runner out at first base. Sports reports around the nation simply described these as "Manny being Manny" moments. After the trade deadline though, many baseball fans will tell you who the real Manny Ramirez is, and that is a guy who hit .396, with 17 homeruns, and 53 RBI's, in the season's final two months. One newspaper report described the situation as, "Manny Ramirez, the man who has turned Hollywood into Mannywood..." No one knows which Manny will show up on any given day, but the results will always provide entertainment and will continue to bring L.A. Dodger fans to the stadium if he plays this way, and this can be shown by the new hit t-shirt they sell at games, with writing that says "We Love Manny being Manny". I guess we will never know who the real Manny is due to his sporadic behavior, but if something does happen, it's just Manny being Manny.
Over the past weekend the movie "The Express" hit theaters and was a hit in some people's eyes but, in the eyes of most critics the movie was just moderate. "The Express" is a movie of the Ernie Davis story which deals with segregation in the 1950's and 1960's. This movie is a compelling true story of the two-time All American Ernie Davis who was also the first African American to win the Heisman Trophy which is the most prestigious award in college football. The movie also includes Syracuse University's first National Championship for college football which came in 1960 with Ernie Davis as the team's elite running back. Since the movie is based on a true story it doesn't exactly have a happy ending. After Ernie Davis' last season with Syracuse he was drafted by the Cleveland Browns but was shortly diagnosed with leukemia and died within a year, never being able to play a snap in a Browns uniform. Over the movie's premiere weekend beginning Friday October 10 they have already brought in over $4.5 million.I myself watched "The Express" this past weekend and thoroughly enjoyed it. In fact I would grade the movie as a whole an A-.What I enjoyed most about the movie was that it was based on a totally true story and had real life events with some clips of those real events included in the movie. Watching the movie was also an eye opener to the segregation which surrounded college sports and the country at that time in the United States. One movie it reminded me of was "Remember the Titians" which became very popular and was another box office hit. The only thing I didn't like about the movie was how at times it moved quickly through Ernie's younger life and quickly through his senior year at Syracuse as well with little explanation. Overall I think the movie will be a major hit because it's a good time to come out with a football story during the fall and midway through the football season because it's a time when people are very excited about football. Another reason is because "The Express" is an inspirational true story about the first African American Heisman Trophy winner, although he died from a tragic illness at a young age before he could play a professional snap.
Over the past seven years Matt Millen has been the team president and CEO of the Detroit Lions. Throughout these years Millen has endured many dreadful seasons. In fact he has never had a winning season under him. He recorded a low of 31 wins over his seven year career. Talks from fans have publicly spoken about the firing of Millen for years. Finally their wishes were granted when owner Bill Ford relieved him from his duties today. Ford had invested a lot of time in Millen and decided to cut his losses and get rid of him once and for all. Ford had a lot of pressure put on him about this decision not only from his fans but also from his own son, Bill Ford Jr. After a 0-3 start for the Lions, Ford Jr. was fed up with their embarrassing performances. On Monday, Ford Jr. publicly announced his outrage with the job Millen was doing. He said he would fire Millen if he had the authority. This just added fuel to the fire and ultimately was a big deciding factor in this situation. "I am very disappointed with where we are as a team after our start this season," William Clay Ford added in his statement.
I believe this was the right move for the Lions. They are done with the Millen era and can move on. He has never significantly improved the team in anyway. He was given the team when they were decent and had potential. Now they are a mockery to the NFL and are not taken very seriously. Millen has also made many controversial draft picks where he did not come up on top. You would think with a team consistently bad they would get some good rookies in the draft, but not in this case. Ford wants to start fresh and begin to rebuild to a respectable franchise. I think this firing was long overdue but now that it's happened all Lions should be happy and optimistic for the seasons to come.
Congrats all you Detroit Lion's fans, a successful season is in your near future. Matt Millen has been fired as president and general manager of the Lion's this morning, confirmed by his wife. After 7 years and a whopping 31-84 record, finally the Detroit Lions have something to cheer about and it's not watching Roy Williams score a touchdown. Matt Millen has been complained about for a while now and he was not liked by anyone in the Detroit area, but nothing was done. He was taking once a very successful and popular franchise and completely destroyed it himself. But now it has all changed, the Lion's are on the road to recovery in the business aspect of the team, they still however have some work to do with the actual football team. A franchise that once held one of the greatest players in professional football, Barry Sanders, has become the laughing stock of the entire NFL. The road to recovery for the Lion's will be a struggle, but it's about time they started and with a new president it will be the fresh start they have been looking for.
I personally enjoyed watching the Lions lose almost all of their games throughout the season, seeing how I am a Green Bay fan and Detroit is a divisional rival. The only reason why I would like to see Detroit succeed is the fact that every Thanksgiving they are on TV along with the Dallas Cowboys. Why would I want to sit in front of the TV eating my turkey dinner and watch a team beat down on the Lions? I would rather be watching re runs of the Brady Bunch and eating a Big Mac. Maybe the Lions will be able to make a few changes to the team with a new president and hopefully every thanksgiving they won't get blown out by 30. I may be able to change my Thanksgiving logic to watching both games instead of just watching the Cowboys feast on their opponent.
Before the times of steroids and dog-fighting, athletes had a very personal relationship with the media. Reporters would regularly hang out with players and even share a drink or two at the local pub. Nothing ever came out that happened behind the scenes. Now, times have changed. This is mainly due to a change in personality regarding reporters; nowadays, reporters are more inclined to blow up a story for personal gain, while in the days of yore, athletes' imperfections were kept in the closet. When Mickey Mantle was busy winning the Triple Crown, was there stories of his drunken nights and bar room fights in the paper? When Babe Ruth was hitting home runs for sick children, did anyone mention how he much he loved the sauce? A star athlete can't walk down the street nowadays without it being recorded.
Players such as Derek Jeter, David Wright and Tom Glavine have kept the tradition of good relations with the media. Is this due to their lack of controversy? It is more due to their smiling faces while being interviewed, and the "clichés" they throw at every reporter left and right. Guys like Gary Sheffield are trashed by the media, but that is mainly due to his lack of class and his outspokenness. Then there's guys like Alex Rodriguez, who by all accords is going to end up the best player in the history of baseball, who get thrown under the bus for a headline. A-Rod's career has been outlined by controversy despite being the youngest player to hit 500 home runs, changing positions, being an annual All-Star and winning countless awards. The media fret over A-Rod's inability to hit as well in the postseason as he does in the regular season. If this was say, 1920, Rodriguez would be admired by all, cherished by most, and the folklore would be endless. Stories would run about how good of a guy he is off the field, as well as how focused and determined he is on the field. You would hear how a good of a teammate he is, and how his power doesn't translate into a shortstop. Reporters would follow him into the bars after games and buy him a drink. But this isn't 1920, and in this day of selfish accolades, stories like that don't make a reporter. Anybody can write about how good of a hitter Alex Rodriguez is. But who broke the story about him cheating on his wife? That's the kind of news that propel a sportswriter into fame.
An example of this is Paul Lo Duca, the ex-Mets catcher. Lo Duca's divorce was all over the newspaper, with pictures of the little sk--excuse me, the woman that he had an affair with. Does the public really need to know about Paul Lo Duca's relationship status? If Joe Cooper had an affair on his wife, would it be all over the newspaper? No, because the general public doesn't care. I don't know if the media change has more to do with the media needing controversy to sell papers, or to the fan's lack of intelligence and desire for scum stories and in-depth looks at athlete's personal lives. I mean, the media is only doing its job: providing the consumer with the news that they WANT to read.
It really is a shame how the media has changed towards athletes over time. Yes, it has since come out that Mantle was a drinker, but don't you think it was better for all the little boys who grew up admiring Mantle to not know that he was an alcoholic? How do you think that little eight year old boy in San Francisco with a Barry Bonds number 25 jersey feels when he hears people chanting "BARROID" and sits with his dad on the couch watching "Around the Horn" listening to Jay Mariotti talk about how Bonds has put a black eye on the game of baseball? Maybe he doesn't understand. Or maybe he does, and it kills his dream, and his love for the game.
