This semester has been a great one. I have both met a lot of new people and learned many things that will benefit me in my future career in the sporting world. We have learned about how the globalization of sport impacts and is impacted throughout the world.
The one thing that really stood out to me and interested me the most this semester is when Octagon came to our classroom to talk. This was really interesting to me because this was something I am interested in doing as a career. It was amazing to see the money involved in the events that they help create. It was shocking to me that he said he has had companies come and ask for them to draw something up and come up with a marketing plan and they say we have no budget and the sky is the limit. The amount of sponsors that strive to get their product out in the public by using sport was also hard to believe. This was a prime example of how globalized sport has become. It is so large that companies are using it to spread their brand around the world.
Another part of the semester i enjoyed was looking back on former athletes that we used to watch when we were young and even those who came before us and see the impact they have had on different sports because of their accomplishments. To deeply look at what Tiger Woods has done to the sport of golf both positively and negatively. The importance of the move to the U.S for Gretzky and how he grew the sport of hockey. And also how the Jordan brand is still increasing even though he hasn't played a game in a decade.
I have learned a lot from Dr. Spencer and would take her class again and would recommend it to everyone interested in sport.
Friday, December 9, 2011
Chris Paul Issue...Is it fair?
Do you think it was right for the NBA to veto the Chris Paul trade?
In my opinion it in many ways is not fair and not right to the fans, players, and the organizations. If players and teams want to trade or be traded and play in other cities for other teams why is the NBA stopping it?
It is not fair to the players in this trade that the NBA stepped in and vetoed this. If you are a team that has worked a deal to get a player that will be a huge asset to your team and that is taken away from you for no reason except the assumption that your team will be too overpowering in the league that's not right. Basically, the NBA is saying no because with this player you will have a juggernaut team that will dominate. Since when are we trying to control the talent in the pros?
It is also not fair to the players in the trade. Say your the players being traded away from your team for this player, and the trade gets vetoed. Why would you want to go back to a team that doesn't want you? You wouldn't! That puts those players in an awful position. And for Chris Paul, he's probably excited to be upgrading to a very strong team but that gets taken from him and he has to go back to the team thats not as talented. He's a great player that wants to win a championship but the NBA says no because the team that your going to has too many good players already. NBA is a joke. It would be better is the league went back into lockout mode if this is how its going to be.
In my opinion it in many ways is not fair and not right to the fans, players, and the organizations. If players and teams want to trade or be traded and play in other cities for other teams why is the NBA stopping it?
It is not fair to the players in this trade that the NBA stepped in and vetoed this. If you are a team that has worked a deal to get a player that will be a huge asset to your team and that is taken away from you for no reason except the assumption that your team will be too overpowering in the league that's not right. Basically, the NBA is saying no because with this player you will have a juggernaut team that will dominate. Since when are we trying to control the talent in the pros?
It is also not fair to the players in the trade. Say your the players being traded away from your team for this player, and the trade gets vetoed. Why would you want to go back to a team that doesn't want you? You wouldn't! That puts those players in an awful position. And for Chris Paul, he's probably excited to be upgrading to a very strong team but that gets taken from him and he has to go back to the team thats not as talented. He's a great player that wants to win a championship but the NBA says no because the team that your going to has too many good players already. NBA is a joke. It would be better is the league went back into lockout mode if this is how its going to be.
Thursday, December 8, 2011
Tiger's Back?
This last sunday Tiger ended the 2 year winless drought at the Chevron Challenge in Thousand Oaks, California. We finally saw the old Tiger in the all too familiar old fashion win. Tiger was one back of Zach Johnson with two to play and just like we would've expected 2 years ago, he poured in a birdie on the 17th. He then proceeded to bury a 6 footer on 18 for the birdie and the win. As the world watched him drain the putt on 18 the goose bumps had to get to everyone as he did that fist pump we have been patiently waiting to see for 2 long years. When asked how he felt he said "It feels awesome whatever it is".
Does this win put Tiger back in the hearts of fans everywhere? Is he back for good? I think this is exactly what Tiger needed . This was the confidence boost he needed. This win got him back to that feeling of being in contention and also got the belief back from the fans that Tiger can still do it.
The big question is that is he going to win some big tournaments now? Yes the Chevron was big with it being over a $2,000,000 paycheck to the winner, but there were only 17 player in the field. This is a stepping stone in the right direction but will we see some majors that will go toward Jacks record next?
Does this win put Tiger back in the hearts of fans everywhere? Is he back for good? I think this is exactly what Tiger needed . This was the confidence boost he needed. This win got him back to that feeling of being in contention and also got the belief back from the fans that Tiger can still do it.
The big question is that is he going to win some big tournaments now? Yes the Chevron was big with it being over a $2,000,000 paycheck to the winner, but there were only 17 player in the field. This is a stepping stone in the right direction but will we see some majors that will go toward Jacks record next?
Wednesday, November 30, 2011
Paralympics and the Media
How many times when the Olympics were being televised have you missed the games? Seeing that if your reading this, your into sports, so you probably haven't. The Olympics give those with extreme athletic ability to show off their stuff and represent their country on the biggest stage in the world.
There are also more athletes that have these extreme skills, but unfortunately they have been handicapped by a situation that leaves them unable to compete at the Olympics. This is why we have the Paralympics so these unbelievable people with great skills can still compete. They are just as stunning and eye opening as other Olympians but why don't we see them? How many of you have seen any events of the Paralympics? Probably not many because they are not really televised and are very poorly marketed. What kind of message are we sending that we can't support our athletes that our handicapped? Not a very good one.
Of course people say it's because there is no money in it or there are no sponsors supporting it. Obviously sponsors are nit going to support something if they know that it will never been seen. Why would a company want an advertisement that no one can see? To sum this up the media is hurting the Paralympics by not televising it or marketing it. If you did want to watch the Paralympics you probably wouldn't even know were to look.
The talent is there that will bring viewers and it is also amazing to see these athletes compete. We have people playing basketball in wheeclairs and athletes playing ice hockey with no legs. Tanni Grey-Thompson has dominated the wheelchair games at the Paralympics with 11 gold medals! It is inspirational and should be shown on tv.
The only thing holding it back is the support and the media. What are your thoughts on changing this problem?
,
There are also more athletes that have these extreme skills, but unfortunately they have been handicapped by a situation that leaves them unable to compete at the Olympics. This is why we have the Paralympics so these unbelievable people with great skills can still compete. They are just as stunning and eye opening as other Olympians but why don't we see them? How many of you have seen any events of the Paralympics? Probably not many because they are not really televised and are very poorly marketed. What kind of message are we sending that we can't support our athletes that our handicapped? Not a very good one.
Of course people say it's because there is no money in it or there are no sponsors supporting it. Obviously sponsors are nit going to support something if they know that it will never been seen. Why would a company want an advertisement that no one can see? To sum this up the media is hurting the Paralympics by not televising it or marketing it. If you did want to watch the Paralympics you probably wouldn't even know were to look.
The talent is there that will bring viewers and it is also amazing to see these athletes compete. We have people playing basketball in wheeclairs and athletes playing ice hockey with no legs. Tanni Grey-Thompson has dominated the wheelchair games at the Paralympics with 11 gold medals! It is inspirational and should be shown on tv.
The only thing holding it back is the support and the media. What are your thoughts on changing this problem?
,
Thursday, November 17, 2011
Has Money & Marketing Taken Over Sports?
How many times when your watching a game do you see comercials? Too many right? After listening to Dick Maxwells speech this morning I learned that there are 5 commercial breaks per quarter in every NFL football game. All lasting 110 secons. The media timeouts are not called during breaks of plays either. Their is a sideline referee that has 2 orange bands on his arms and when he signals it is time for a media timeout it happens. It doesnt matter if Peyton Manning was about to take the snap or the lions were about to blitz. Once the whistle is blown the ref signals to the broadcaster and the commentator then has 10 seconds to make a sendoff statement followed by 90 seconds of comercial. After commercial the commentator has 10 more seconds to bring it back for a totla of 110 seconds of marketing commericals. Do you think it is degrading to the game to have commercials dictate the flow of the game?
Personally I do, The marketing aspect has taken over sports completly. The big players don't even seem to play for teams anymore. Its almost as if they play for a brand. Hockey for example, when someone says sidney crosby one of the first things that comes to my mind is Reebok. Why? Because when I see him on T.V he is either in a Reebok commercial or in a game wearing all Reebok. Same as Michael Jordan, immediatly nike comes to your head. Same with Tiger, does PGA Tour come to your mind when you hear Tiger? No nike does...And maybe affairs but hats it lol.
My point is that sport has become overwhelmed with the advertising and marketing I feel were are losing some of the drive from players to play from the heart instead of their wallet. NBA is a great example. Those guys have enough money they don't need more. But yet, they are not playing because they are getting a pay cut which is still in the millions for almost all. What happened to play the game because you love it? Is that gone for good?
Personally I do, The marketing aspect has taken over sports completly. The big players don't even seem to play for teams anymore. Its almost as if they play for a brand. Hockey for example, when someone says sidney crosby one of the first things that comes to my mind is Reebok. Why? Because when I see him on T.V he is either in a Reebok commercial or in a game wearing all Reebok. Same as Michael Jordan, immediatly nike comes to your head. Same with Tiger, does PGA Tour come to your mind when you hear Tiger? No nike does...And maybe affairs but hats it lol.
My point is that sport has become overwhelmed with the advertising and marketing I feel were are losing some of the drive from players to play from the heart instead of their wallet. NBA is a great example. Those guys have enough money they don't need more. But yet, they are not playing because they are getting a pay cut which is still in the millions for almost all. What happened to play the game because you love it? Is that gone for good?
Thursday, November 10, 2011
What will happen to Tiger next?
Throughout Tiger Woods' life he has experienced everything you can think of wether it be discrimination because of race, jealousy, or just plain bad luck. How could someone overcome things like these and still be the best player in the world and be flawless in situations beyond stressful and pressure packed.
Incidents with Tiger:
The first incident occurred when Tiger was in kindergarden. Tiger was bullied by older white kids and they tied him to a tree and labled him with the N-word. "I became aware of my racial identity on my first day of school" reported Tiger. Tiger states, "A group of sixth-graders tied me to a tree, spray-painted the word 'n- - - - -' on me, and threw rocks at me . . . And the teacher really didn't do much of anything.
Incidents with Tiger:
The first incident occurred when Tiger was in kindergarden. Tiger was bullied by older white kids and they tied him to a tree and labled him with the N-word. "I became aware of my racial identity on my first day of school" reported Tiger. Tiger states, "A group of sixth-graders tied me to a tree, spray-painted the word 'n- - - - -' on me, and threw rocks at me . . . And the teacher really didn't do much of anything.
"I used to live across the street from school . . . The teacher said, 'OK, just go home.' So I had to outrun all these kids going home . . . it was certainly an eye-opening experience."
The second incident was by a golf channel analyst Kelly Tilghman during on air commentary with Nick Faldo. Faldo and Tilghman were discussing young players who could challenge the world's No. 1 player toward the end of Friday's broadcast at Kapalua when Faldo suggested that ``to take Tiger on, maybe they should just gang up for a while.''
``Lynch him in a back alley,'' Tilghman replied.
The third incident occurred when tiger crashed his escalade into a fire hydrant outside of his jupiter home in Florida after his wife found out that he was cheating on her. She alledgedly busted out the windows of the car with one of his golf clubs. This later lead to the divorce of Tiger and Elin and the slow decline of Tiger Woods as a golfer and a person.
Thursday, October 27, 2011
Language Barriers with Professional Athletes in the U.S, Why is this wrong?
Imagine you just watched an unbelievable baseball game and the pitcher just struck out three batters in extra innings for the win. Reporters come from everywhere to interview the player with the stellar performance on the mound to lead your favorite team to a huge win. They begin to ask him questions about the game and how he prepared and executed such a great performance. He begins to explain but you cant understand one word he is saying, how frustrating is that?
In my own opinion if you are going to come to the U.S and play a professional sport in a huge media spotlight you should have to be able to communicate in english. This sounds a little harsh but U.S citizens are pretty much paying your paycheck, they are almost all of the people in the stands who paid $50 for a ticket to watch you play, they are buying your jerseys and voting you into the All-Star game. Don't you think you would owe them the littlest thing as to be able to communicate with them?
The LPGA is a tour that is almost completely taken over by foreign players finally decided to take action back in 2008. This article goes more in depth with the problem and how they plan to solve this. http://sports.espn.go.com/golf/news/story?id=3553888
LPGA commissioner Carolyn Bivens says that by the end of 2009, all players who have been on the tour for two years must pass an oral evaluation of their English skills or face a membership suspension. Do you agree with this? Should other professional leagues begin with this type of action?
In my own opinion if you are going to come to the U.S and play a professional sport in a huge media spotlight you should have to be able to communicate in english. This sounds a little harsh but U.S citizens are pretty much paying your paycheck, they are almost all of the people in the stands who paid $50 for a ticket to watch you play, they are buying your jerseys and voting you into the All-Star game. Don't you think you would owe them the littlest thing as to be able to communicate with them?
The LPGA is a tour that is almost completely taken over by foreign players finally decided to take action back in 2008. This article goes more in depth with the problem and how they plan to solve this. http://sports.espn.go.com/golf/news/story?id=3553888
LPGA commissioner Carolyn Bivens says that by the end of 2009, all players who have been on the tour for two years must pass an oral evaluation of their English skills or face a membership suspension. Do you agree with this? Should other professional leagues begin with this type of action?
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