IMC Hawks Blog

Tag: Sports

  • Price Tag on a Super Bowl Ticket? Not for these fans.

    It seems fans whose plans were altered by seating issues at this years Super Bowl have filed a lawsuit against the NFL. Go figure. The lawsuit also targets specifically the Dallas Cowboys and owner Jerry Jones and alleges a breach of contract, fraud, and deceptive sales practices. The massive group of fans, as many as a thousand people, are pushing for a collective gain up to $5 million from the NFL. While some of these fans pushing for the lawsuit are legit (400 fans did not even get a seat for the game), others seem to be coming off as a bit forced such as season-ticket holders who weren’t aware that they would be in “temporary seats”.

    Perhaps the NFL’s biggest problem stemmed from an inadequate offer that would have given the displaced fans $2,400 and even a ticket to next year’s Super Bowl, airfare and hotel included. But clearly this just is not good enough for these fans who felt gipped out of their paid-for seats. Apparently the NFL should have made these fans an offer they couldn’t refuse, at least up front, and now they will really have to pay for it. Clearly, the NFL cannot afford to get into a legal battle with these angry fans as it would lead to nothing more than a public relations disaster and a huge blow to the brand. It is no secret now that the league is to blame for the seating fiasco. So now in order to evade future damage to sales efforts and brand integrity and credibility, the NFL needs to do whatever it now takes to keep its faithful customers.

    Apparently there is no price tag on a Super Bowl ticket for these fans and they show no signs of dropping the issue. It seems at this point, the main hope for the NFL is that this story gets out of the media as fast as possible, and without further damage to the brand and future marketing and sales efforts and profits.

    -Eric Holtzman, Chad Graves, Ryan Kelley, Maxann Keller, Katelyn Truss

  • Battle of the Blues

    How do you market one of the most watched sports programs when it doesn’t have as grand advertising sponsorships as the Super Bowl? The answer is you let the fans advertise for you. The historic game I’m referring to is the infamous and arguably most intense rivalry in college basketball- the UNC Tarheels vs. Duke University Blue Devils. At least twice a basketball season, these two juggernaut teams battle it out for who is King of Tobacco Road (the literal 8 miles of road that separate each university).

    The feuded rivalry between both schools is long and exhausting but no one has taken it any more serious than the fans and the schools’ students. These fans through word-of-mouth advertising taunt their opposing fans to the point where no matter what the current team’s ranking or accomplishments, everyone must watch the game between Carolina and Duke that will shut their rival’s jabbering faces. To some die hard fans it doesn’t even matter how great the season, if Duke didn’t beat Carolina or if Carolina didn’t beat Duke, the rest of the season hardly matters.

    It also doesn’t help that not only bragging rights between fans are on the line, but each school’s newspaper gets in on the action and goads one another. This is truly the best representation of how the game should be advertised, capturing the essence of each school’s spirit. The day before each match Duke’s newspaper, The Chronicle, runs a phony page titled “The Daily Tar Hole” to ridicule UNC’s The Daily Tar Heel. To punch back, The Daily Tar Heel, publishes the “Insider’s Guide to Hating Duke” by Ian Williams. Also, to add gasoline to the flames, each newspaper has agreed on a bet to if their school loses they will place the logo of the winning team in their newspaper announcing that they are “still the best” and change their newspaper’s masthead to the opposing school’s color. Nothing could entice fans anymore to watch the big game than knowing that if their opposing team loses, that loss will be sensationalized in print.

    The Duke and Carolina opposition is one of the best illustrations of competition itself and the definition of rivalry in college basketball. It is no surprise that it is one of ESPN’s most watched sports games each year. Next Wednesday, February 9th, when the Tarheels and Blue Devils face again for the Battle of the Blues the ultimate reward for the winning school’s students will not only be the bragging rights, but to take part in the performance of their school’s celebration ritual (the massive crowding of people on Franklin Street in Chapel Hill or the bonfire of burning benches at Duke University). However, luckily for whatever team loses, both schools always meet at least twice each season, and the next matchup after February is scheduled for March 5th.

    – JC Salter

  • Think Pink…Football?

    When someone says football, more likely than not the first images that come to mind are big, sweaty, muddy and masculine MEN. However, as a yearly tradition this month the NFL will be getting in touch with its more feminine side. To be more precise, all of the players will be accessorizing with pink. Pink sweat bands, socks, cleats and even pink mouth guards, all in honor of Breast Cancer awareness month. The NFL has designated all games from October 5-27th as NFL Breast Cancer Awareness games, started its own campaign called “A Crucial Catch” which encourages mammograms and also donated 14,000 to the Susan G. Komen for the Cure at the beginning of the month. Not only is the NFL taking action, throughout the year Major League Baseball is incorporating 250 pink bats into its games, and the National Hockey League players will be using pink hockey sticks as well as many other professional athletic teams. It seems that breast cancer awareness has turned “Think Pink” into a masculine concept as well.

    From the view of a Corporate Communication student, there is more to this concept than meets the eye. Professional sports such as football, hockey and baseball has had (for the most part) a predominantly masculine appeal. Not to say that thousands of women don’t love a full Sunday of watching their favorite team score touchdown after touchdown, or even participate in the sport itself. However, this “Think Pink” concept has become an athletic BRAND of its own. Fans of all genders love to see there favorite male players donning there pink accessories in order to create awareness of a disease that is statistically expected to effect 207,090 women by the end of 2010. Considering the biggest risk factor for being diagnosed with breast cancer is just simply being a woman, sports teams all over the nation that consist of mostly men are creating a whole new concept of branding for themselves. Star players within all areas of the athletic industry are taking action to show their concern for the cause; from Alex Rodriguez using a pink Louisville Slugger bat, to Cowboy’s LB Bradie James forming his own personal foundation that supports breast cancer, “Foundation 56”.

    It’s pretty obvious that breast cancer is a disease that effects all parties involved, not only the women (and men) who are diagnosed. This month, the NFL and other sports teams are making a statement about their normally masculine “brand” and letting everyone know that real men really do wear pink.

    – Lora Hampton

  • Integrating Social Capital, The Court and Beyond

    As Black History Month comes to an end, many of us would be remiss to think that only about sixty years ago, names like Kobe Bryant, Michael Jordan, or Lebron James wouldn’t exist, or in essence they wouldn’t. Approximately 80% of players that make up the African-American National Basketball Association would not even be allowed on the court, if it weren’t for the efforts of 3 individuals who have truly changed the face of the game.

    A New York Times piece covered the 50 year commemoration of the first 3 African-American players to play in the NBA, which took place at a Knicks game in 2000. The article spoke about the men’s struggles with playing an integrated game in a segregated world. Earl Lloyd, Nat “Sweetwater” Clifton, and Chuck Cooper endured the ugly side of social capital on an everyday basis in the still separated America. Jeering fans often taunted the men when they played well, but ignored them if they played terribly. Lloyd said he “took special pains in those towns” to make sure he was called names.

    Though there were many negative aspects of social capital they experienced while in their early days as NBA players, there were also some positive aspects. NBA legend Bob Cousy was one of the white players who created positive social capital as a teammate to Chuck Cooper. Cooper’s widow stated that without Cousy’s continuous support, Cooper’s career wouldn’t have been near as long. She shared “once, they were down south, and the people at the restaurant put Chuck’s food out by a railroad track and Bob went out there and ate dinner with him.”

    These historic events happened without much fanfare at all. It happened after Jackie Robinson’s entrance into baseball and the NBA was nowhere near as popular as it is today. The impact of the positive and negative social capital experienced by these 3 players has truly affected the way we come together in sports. Many basketball fans couldn’t really imagine the game without flashy alley-oop passes from the Canadian star Steve Nash or a slamming Amare Stoudemire. Well just think, if the positive and negative social capital between Cousy and Cooper never brought them to a railroad track for dinner some time ago, what would the face of basketball look like today?

    Colby Lewis

  • Jay-Z Joins the NJ Nets on the Court of Social Media

    The New Jersey Nets have had a questionable relationship with Twitter, recalling a scenario not too long ago when their teammate, Terrence Williams, tweeted out how he regretted being drafted to the Nets. With this in the past, it appears the Nets are attempting to rekindle their relationship with the social media giant. They are now attempting to use its features a little more…constructively.

    The Nets are deemed by many sports fans as “historically bad” at basketball with a record of 5-51. Thus, they are attempting to liven up their fan base and keep the support on the court. In an article on February 23, 2010, the Nets unleashed their newest marketing effort to try and increase their wobbly attendance. They have announced a contest for fans to win tickets to Jay-Z’s concert on March 6th.  In order to be a “fan” and enter the contest, an individual must become a fan of the team on Facebook or must follow them on Twitter.

    Once a fan on Facebook, fill out a form before March 1st to be entered into the drawing. As a follower on Twitter, tweet the message “Hey @NetsBasketball I want to win two tickets to the Jay-Z concert at the Izod Center on March 6th. More info: http://bit.ly/jayznets.”

    It is clear the Nets are attempting to build a stronger social network to not only increase attendance but also foster an identity for the future. They are attempting to connect better with their fan base and build a lasting brand. With part owner Jay-Z on their side, this strategy might actually work. Let’s just hope Terrence Williams does not tweet out that he’d rather have Lady Gaga tickets…

    Rachel Kaylor

  • Athletes Better Watch Out

    We’ve all heard the advice, “Be careful with what you post on ________.” Just fill in the blank with your favorite social media. That is certainly the advice given to collegiate athletes about their Facebook, Twitter and MySpace accounts. Before the social media craze hit, many colleges and universities had no idea what social networking was until there was some incident being broadcasted by the news about some damaging pictures or comments that were posted on the internet. This according to a recent article on ESPN: The Life.

    How could schools counter this? What could administrators do to prevent such online scandals? Kevin Long had the answer. Long, founder of MVP Sports Media Training, came up with the website UDiligence.com. This site is the only automated service that helps collegiate athletic departments protect against damaging exposure. For a fee ($1,250 a year for 50 athletes or less and $5000 a year for 500-750 athletes), schools are provided with a monitoring system for student athletes’ Twitter, Facebook, and MySpace accounts. Schools type in keywords into the program that they would not like to see on their athletes’ social networking sites. If these buzz words are used, then administrators will be alerted via e-mail. Then, a detailed account of the instance is added to a spreadsheet log.

    This service is definitely a great program for universities to use. Instead of hearing of damaging instances through the news or on blogs, they are able to prevent and handle such issues before they make it to the press. Long believes his service is both a tool of protection and education. According to Long, “UDiligence.com is about protecting brand, image and reputation. And it’s about education and responsible social networking.”

    Ryan Corazzo, author of the article, notes that colleges aren’t the only users buying into Long’s services. NFL teams are also looking into the monitoring system. With UDiligence.com teams have the ability to gather information about potential draft picks. For years now, concerns of character issues have been raised after teams draft certain troublesome players. Problem players like Adam ‘Pacman’ Jones and Deltha O’Neal could have been better assesed if teams possessed a service like Long’s.

    Whether you are an athlete or not, maintaining your social networks is important. Your friends and followers aren’t the only people looking in on your posts or pictures. Potential employers and graduate schools google your name to get a glimpse of who you are. So take the advice, watch what you put up online.

    – Jesse Bazemore

  • Tiger Woods and His Wounded Image

    Last Friday, Tiger Woods finally came out of hiding.  Nearly three months after his car crash, which unveiled rumors of cheating, Woods made his first public appearance. With his mother present, he apologized and took sole responsibility for his actions. Woods pleaded for acceptance, stating, “What I did is not acceptable. I never thought about who I was hurting.” Although his speech was meant to be humble and selfless, many believe otherwise.

    Many people have been asking whether or not his personal life should really even be brought into the spotlight. Some argue that his personal life really doesn’t affect his ability to perform on the golf course. While these are valid arguments, there is something to be said about the personal life of a public figure, especially one who is tied up in endorsement deals.

    When Woods committed these acts of adultery, he hurt more than those who love him and those who follow him. He hurt himself. He hurt his image, his reputation and his personal brand. His actions in his personal life have had a negative affect on his public image. An article in the New York Post from December states, “Analysts said his contracts likely contain a “morality clause” that allows sponsors to walk if Woods engages in bad behavior.” Many of his sponsors have been doing just that.

    It was no accident Woods’ statement took place during the Match Play Championship. Player Ernie Els, among others, believes Woods was trying to play by his own rules. He stated that Woods is “selfish” for choosing the week of a World Golf Championship to make a public apology. Of course the media would give priority to Woods for his apology.

    Although the statement was a widely announced event, the media had limited access to the live speech. Three camera crewmen were allowed in the room, along with only 40 friends and family members. Also, no questions were to be asked during the speech, minimizing the media’s involvement in the speech.

    No matter the game, golf included, sports creates a sense of comradery and raises morale, especially within American society. When one of America’s most valued, favorite and squeaky clean athletes such as Tiger Woods commits adultery, the spirits of the golfing community as well as sports fan community are weakened. Tiger Woods did not only hurt his family life and golf game, but he diminished his public image and contributed to what many feel to be the slow decline of social capital within the world of sports.

    Lacey Inman

    Nicole Doherty

    Stephanie Saulsbury