The Headaches of the NFL

The baddest hits of the NFL sometimes have a price

The NFL has made extravagant advances in their standards of equipment. They are working on a helmet that can measure the severity of a tackle and determine whether the player should continue in the game. The rules are changing with the game to protect players who may be more prone to injury, resulting in the evolution of the game. But what is causing all of this change?

According to the Sports Business Journal, the NFL could pay $2.5 billion if it loses to the retirees in a federal class action lawsuit in which they say they were injured by concussions suffered from the sport. While it has been presumed the league’s potential liability, if it were to lose or settle the concussion case, the payout could reach nine or even 10 figures which is more than the current predictions.

More than 4,200 retirees have signed on to complaints, with the possibilities of even more to come forward. According to Sports Business Journal, “the complaints have now been consolidated to a single action in federal court in Philadelphia, alleging the NFL hid the risks of playing the sport.” The predictions are projected to payout $450,000 to each player which equals $1.89 billion overall. The remaining $610 million would most likely derive from punitive damages and medical monitoring costs. But the NFL believes they should only be responsible for excess liability, if at all.

The NFL wants the case dismissed stating there is no actual controversy because they face no liablility at this point. The NFL’s outside counsel, John Hall, told the court at the hearing that there could be “hundreds of millions of dollars in defense costs in this case.”

“The NFL is already moving to get its insurers to pay defense costs, and they have done so to some degree, sources said, but not at the amount the league is seeking. The league also could look to the insurers to cover any liability assessed from the concussions. While the numbers are large, they are not particularly surprising to me given the fact that the underlying suits involve multiple players spanning a 45-year period,” said Lynda Bennett, chair of the insurance coverage practice at Lowenstein Sandler. “In light of the $2.5 billion potential liability, coupled with the fact that this dispute is taking place on two coasts right now, the litigation expenses will certainly escalate.”

The federal judge in Pennsylvania is expected to rule this summer whether to dismiss the concussion case, allow it to proceed, or let some of the lawsuit move forward.

What do you think about the NFL paying for the concussions the players have indured? Do you think they should be paid, or do you think they already assumed the risks when they first stepped foot on that field before ever joining the NFL? If the second sounds more like your view I agree. Every athlete knows the risks when competing, especially at the professional level.

Augmented Reality in Sports

Augmented technology is truly changing ticketing in the world of sports

Have you heard of augmented reality? It sounds like a different dimension, but unfortunately it is not, although the effects may trick you. Allow me to explain. Augmented reality is a live, direct or indirect, view of a physical, environment whose elements are amplified by computer-generated input such as sound, video, and graphics. Now imagine this applied to sports media, see the potential?

 

Last NFL football season, the Philadelphia Eagles used this technology to enhance the game experience for their fans. Although this is not a new concept in other parts of the world, the American sports fans have seen nothing like this before.

 

The Eagles added augmented reality to their team app for the 2012 season that added amazing new features for their season ticket holders. If the fans hold their smartphones over the passes, they are able to see a whole different combination of highlights, previews, messages from players, and analysis that is not available to anybody else. Not only do they get the extra info, but when hovering over the ticket a video can play. This is truly a great sports marketing tool.

 

Some other cool features with this technology are the 3D stadium views and traffic updates from areas surrounding the stadium; which is great if you are not familiar with the city. Had a little too much to drink while cheering on your team? Call a cab using this same technology. When the New York Giants caught on to the trend at the end of the season, they had a feature that allowed fans to get a virtual Super Bowl ring. The Eagles partnered with Angry Birds and now have a mobile game. This is a great move by the team because I often see people playing games on their phones either while waiting in rush hour traffic, relaxing on lunch break, or even procrastinating from their work duties. Whatever the reason mobile gamers have to be entertained, the Philadelphia Eagles are leading the way in the NFL with technology. Soon every team will use this same technology to reach out to their fans. I’m sure we will see that most of them have caught up this coming season and created their own personalized twists.

 

I for one, cannot wait to see what revisions can be done to mold this technology to the use of sports outside of ticketing. I think that stadiums will make leaps and bounds in changing their technology in the very near future, even more so than they have already.

AVP and the Fantasy

A fantasy league is defined as a game where participants act as owners to build a team that competes against other fantasy owners. The games are based on the statistics generated by the real-life players or teams of a sport. In fantasy sports, what seems to be the most common variant is the conversion of statistical performance into points that are compiled and totaled according to a roster selected by a manager that creates a fantasy team. More complex variants use computer modeling of actual games based on statistical input generated by professional sports. What really draws in the fans of fantasy sports is the ability to trade, cut, and sign players, like a real sports owner.

Fantasy leagues have become one of the most popular activities amongst fans and a great idea to increase retention for players, teams, and networks that provide access to their fantasy league. The NFL Draft and the fantasy leagues play well alongside each other to really boost interaction. With all of the positive attributes of the game, the same question constantly rolls around in my brain. Why doesn’t the AVP create their own?

News of the Association of Volleyball Professional bankruptcy trouble is no stranger to the sports world. Every now and then a story will pop up in the news about how they are restructuring and coming out better than ever. I have heard this story for the past couple of years and I still have yet to see that happen. A new owner took the reins a year ago and has done nothing with the program yet, with the exception of a couple of small events. They have finally announced their five city tour, with only two locations even being on the beach and in a large volleyball based community. Does that make sense to you? Come on guys, get it together. You are the reason I moved to California, but I haven’t seen anything from you. They want to build the brand back up and get their sponsors back. No sponsor will even touch them, with the exception of Wilson, only because they will be using their brand of volleyball. If you aren’t going to build your brand in the volleyball communities first, at least have the sense to reach out and build fans in the cities in which you will be competing.

An AVP Fantasy League might actually be something of interest to me. Building a game would truly get fans interactive with the brand and maybe even trusting of the brand once more. The AVP used to be THE beach league, but now it is all a memory. I am still rooting that they get out of their slump and become great again. To see those athletes in the Olympics is great and everybody watches, why wouldn’t they watch every season of every year too?

A Picture Is Worth A Thousand Words

 It is no surprise that social media is leading the way in communication in today’s technology driven society. An athlete can send a message to      their fans within a couple of seconds by tweeting. The story of the hour can spread to millions within seconds through apps installed on phones which seem to be connected to their owner’s hip. Communication should never be a problem with the conveniences we posses.

As if telling a story using words isn’t enough, there are social media platforms that tell a story by using imagery, i.e. pictures. Facebook has teamed up with Instagram to broaden their social media outreach through words and pictures, with a newsfeed that acts much like twitter, keeping its users up to date. There are also other sites like Pinterest that are quite popular in sharing crafty ideas. A very popular trend on Facebook seems to be kitten and puppy pictures with witty comments. Why is this such a trend? No one can deny that seeing the cute face of a kitten brightens the day. While browsing through the fluffy pictures of kittens, I found a page that replaces gross, dirty sports balls with kittens. Now who wouldn’t be intrigued?

 

Don’t believe me? Check it out for yourself! Sports Balls Replaced with Cats has a Facebook page to celebrate kitties. “We love, own and protect them just like that huge football player. This is the spirit of our blogs: to laugh at muscled people competing for the sweetest kittens.” Their tagline? “Just a bunch of athletes competing for the sweetest kittens.” I must admit my favorite is probably the water polo image, especially since cats hate water. And if this is not enough to tickle your curiosity, there is a website too! (http://www.sportballsreplacedwithcats.com/) Words just cannot describe the experience you will have when visiting this page. You must go see for yourself.

A picture is truly worth a thousand words. Rumors have been spread on less. Social media platforms using images to tell a story or support facts have many more followers because they feel like they are getting the whole story while being entertained. Pictures seem to be solid proof that information is a fact rather than a fallacy. And photo social media it is also a nice source of entertainment for Americans at work.

The NFL Draft Is Here

Get ready! Its almost here!

Imagine it is late April, 1980 in New York. People are buzzing around nervously getting ready for the first ever broadcast of the NFL Draft. The historical event that happened that day has been described to me as an event that was much like watching paint dry. Not what you thought the first draft would be like? Well I am happy to say the NFL Draft has come a long way since that day.

The NFL Draft has morphed into one of the most watched programs in the country. Last year alone there were 8 million viewers, maybe even more! This year, ESPN and NFL Network have agreed not to show players in the green room at Radio City Music Hall. A shock I know! Want another one? Twitter feeds by staff will not include pick-by-picks. Before you freak out just realize that it may ruin the instant gratification of unveiling the unknown, but adds some real nail-biting drama and enhances the experience of the draft unfolding before your own eyes.

As we await, impatiently, for this annual event happening very soon, all I can say is “its about time!” On every sports website it seems like there is news about the draft, who will go here, and who will go there. They picked up this free agent so they should pick up the player from this college or that. NFL.com even has their own mock draft for fans to choose for the coaches and polls for every player and team. The Draft has become the event of the season for NFL fans and followers. In fact, many of them have their own draft already created in hopes that the coaches will telepathically choose the same players.

Even though I am ecstatic that Draft Day is almost here, I would like to ask my readers, one thing to end on. Do people really think that coaches are going to go to these websites and look at these polls to help them decide what players they are going to pick? Yeah right! These coaches don’t have time to give a whoop-dee-doo about what these draft fanatics think they should be doing. They are too worried about their jobs for that! Plus, they have professional scouts with experience to help them decide what is best for their team. All these apps and mock drafts are just a ploy for networks to get ratings, they don’t really care what you think!

PR in Sports

   The sports industry is an interesting beast. We set the faces of the industry and such a high pedestal that it seems like they will never be touched, until they break the law. Once an athlete or any other face of the industry slips up, oh how the mighty have fallen. Wait a second, that’s not true at all! If that were true Michael Vick would have never been able to set foot back on a football field, and Ben Roethlisberger would still be behind bars. Lawyers can do wonders for the professional faces of the sports industry, but Public Relations professionals can do wonders for the public image.

Al Michaels is a well known sports broadcaster, and a historical figure in the industry.  He has won numerous awards during his career, awards like the Emmy, Sportscaster of the Year, and the list goes on. He is truly one of a kind, but he is all but innocent in the eyes of the law. This past weekend he may have had a little too much fun and spent some time in jail to prove it. Although many of the specifics of the incident have not been released, one little slip up on the road in Santa Monica, California may have cost him his career. Now the question remains, how can his lawyer bail him out with the law, and how can his public relations personnel bail him out with his fans? My crystal ball tells me that, although this incident would be fatal to the average person’s career, for Al Michaels, this is just a little bump and will soon blow over.

What makes public relations so effective? What other than the dominance of social media. What once took a PR rep hours on the phone and contracts signed in blood, now happens with a picture of the culprit kissing a baby or hosting a charity event posted on all of the social media outlets. Celebrities used to fix their reputations through hearsay or possible broadcast over radio and television which took weeks, months or even years. Now, celebrities can fix what they have broken in a matter of days or even hours.

Soon we will see the cover up stories for Al Michaels and his alcohol incident. The stories never cease to amaze me, because the blame always falls on somebody else. Look at Lil Wayne. He overdosed, and almost died, but the cover up story? He was “poisoned.” Right. What will the media have us believe next? Stay tuned to find out.

The Beat Down of the Beat Writers

True reporting of the time

First, you are probably asking yourself “what is a beat writer?” Trust me, I asked the same question. The answer is a genre of journalism described as the craft of in-depth reporting on a particular issue, sector, organization or institution over time. When I was listening to my professor explain this type of reporting, Peter Parker came to mind. Yes, Spiderman. Although he did cheat by setting up the cameras to capture himself as Spiderman, no one else was able to get the pictures to sell to the Daily Bugle.

Let’s fast forward to the present, and reality. Beat writers still exist, but a percentage of the media comes from outside sources, and may not always be accurate or favorable to the subject. For example, Joe Paterno’s death was announced through twitter a day prior than released, and then announced on the radio shortly after. After announced on the radio the news spread like wildfire even on http://www.cbssports.com, all while Paterno was still fighting off death. This example just shows how false information can easily be spread through the media and misinform its followers.

One of the most recent false reporting scandals is the Papal Election by the Vatican. The quote I read regarding the situation truly explains the effects of false reporting. “It is deplorable that as we draw closer to the time of the beginning of the conclave … that there be a widespread distribution of often unverified, unverifiable or completely false news stories that cause serious damage to persons and institutions,” the Vatican Secretary of State Tarcisio Bertone said in a statement that never specifically mentioned the claims that were first published in La Repubblica.” (http://www.slate.com/)

False reporting can negatively effect the life of an innocent person, or completely blow the situation out of proportion and cause unwarranted negativity. But, a reporter or journalist’s job is to research the truth and get the in depth information, not just skim the top and let readers imagine the rest. Many athletes have been hurt professionally due to the leak of information through outside sources from their personal lives. Information that a journalist would either have not witnessed themselves, or information that just isn’t worth their time. For example, Michael Phelps. He lost many deserved endorsements for his accomplishments, was suspended for three months and lost his financial support temporarily because he took a hit from a pipe. The only reason that all of the supportive institutions went to the extent that they did, is because the information was public and there hand was forced. They didn’t want the negative media eye on them, so they did what they needed, but had the information not been leaked, Michael Phelps would never have had the negative attention. He still went to win more gold medals after and be one of the greatest athletes in the USA, so what was the point?

Outside sources can truly effect the lives and well being of others in the sport community and beyond. Social media can be a great marketing tool, but in the same breath, it can be the worst enemy too.

Mobile Media and Sports

Mobile applications will innovate the sport industry.

Convenience is the craze for every industry today. We can thank technology for that. The advances in technology have completely revolutionized the business world, allowing transactions to occur within seconds from across the globe. Buying and selling of trade now happens within the blink of any eye, which probably accounts for some bad business decisions.

The advances in technology have come so far, that even the once innovative idea of laptops have become a thing of the past. Not far from now laptops will be non-existent, much like the portable walkman and discman that allowed listening to music anywhere at anytime “convenient” if you didn’t move too much. Now, cell phone users (which is almost everyone) search the internet from their phones while sitting at home, not even bothering with their laptops anymore. With the invention of the tablet, internet surfing is even easier. Mobile applications have put convenience on a whole new level.

Schools have integrated the use of tablets in their classrooms, educating the teachers as well as the already tech savvy students. The lessons have become more interactive compared to previous generations who sat through drawn out hours of lectures and reading out of real books.

What can the sport industry make of all this technology? Stadiums are integrating technology into their box seats to get sponsors more involved and invested. Marketing plans have adjusted to create much more fan interaction during games with sponsorship activation opportunities. During time-outs or innings, the video board can put a code up for fans to text if they want to win a prize. A team’s whole website can now be accessed from a mobile device to get scores and stats. Not to mention all of the updates on facebook, twitter, and all other social media outlets for the fans to follow.

The fantasy leagues have exploded with the ability to participate in the “draft picks” no matter the time of day, because every time is convenient with a phone. All of the avid football fans have been analyzing, planning, and scheming to decide where all of the free agents will end up and incoming recruits will be placed. The NFL draft will be occurring within the next few days but for many fans, they already have their mock draft drawn up. NFL.com has created an application that allows fans to have a feeling of investment in the event.

Technology has changed the way people live their lives. It has evolved the business world making a consumer’s decision based on convenience. The sporting industry has started revolving their marketing and business plans around the fan interaction. Convenience drives our economy, building or breaking a business, and sport business is no different. We will see the way the sport industry evolves as the technology continues to amaze.

The Fall of Rome

“Streets reserved exclusively for runners filled with emergency crews, as first responders climbed fences to reach wounded athletes and spectators. Flags from nations represented in the race were thrown to the ground.” This was the description of the Boston Marathon Bombing held on Monday, April 15, 2013 from the Huffington Post. Is this what our nation has become? A warzone?

Sports have been around for centuries and beyond. They have been a means of survival to many, a way to honor a family name, or a way of release for the athlete in hard times and good.  In the present, it is a multi-billion dollar industry which pays athletes more than the average person could spend in four lifetimes, a far cry from the days of the gladiators who competed not for money, because they weren’t paid, but for their freedom.

Today, freedom has become an idea rather than a reality in our nation. Our ancestors once fought for our freedom and won, but yet again, our freedom has been imprisoned. We are prisoners of fear from the man who might kill our children who we send trustingly to school. Fear of the man who might plant bombs in our public streets during a sporting event. We jump through hoops just to be able to fly home for the holidays. We spend millions of dollars in security for the Super Bowl, in which you have to apply for a credential to even attend. When attending a sporting event, you have to die of thirst or overpay for a water bottle, but no way are you taking your own.

What has our nation become? We once were able to freely attend a sporting event without a second thought of our safety. We could enjoy the game and move around the stadium freely, but now, we are herded like cattle from place to place. Much like the victims of the holocaust, if we step out of the line, there is a price to pay. We were once a great country, much like Rome. Beautiful and prospering, with no downfall in sight, but like Rome, our freedoms are slipping through our fingers while our government fills its greedy pockets. What will we the people do to take back our country that our ancestors once fought and died for? A country that was once strong in the eyes of others. Soon, American athletes will be attending the World Olympics to honor this country. If we have nothing but war with ourselves as well as others, what will be left to honor?

 

NFL: Taking It International

Every year in February, the US has one of the most popular national events broadcast over millions of televisions. People spend hundreds, even thousands, of dollars on food and refreshments to entertain their avid NFL fan friends. Millions of dollars in merchandise and media are sold which combines to be more than any other programming during the year. Millions of dollars in ticket and event sales go out to the deepest pockets of the dedicated fans, and even fans that sacrifice to be there for their team. This event is one that most Americans look forward to from the NFL draft in the spring all the way through the fall and winter, which adds up to be more than half of the year. Now, imagine this event being held outside of the United States. The game would be played at a very inconvenient time for Americans, and would probably not even be live. Unreal right?

Reading the blog of an international fan of the NFL, who doesn’t think it is fair that he has to watch an American sport at an inconvenient time for him or his buddies, has made my support of the outreach of the NFL to international countries non-existent. The more I think about taking our sport to other countries, the more I realize that it just isn’t a good idea.

If we think about the MLB, a league that was once considered “America’s Past-Time,” the more you have to wonder, what happened to the sport? The MLB started bringing in talent from all over the world, that is the problem. It no longer became America’s past time, but rather a watered down pool of athletes. The great thing about the NFL is many fans follow their favorite athletes from high school, to college, through the draft and during their professional career. Fantasy football leagues are popular because fans know the players; they know the improvements, strengths and weaknesses of each player because they have been able to follow them. Bringing in international players sounds like a great idea for the sport, but is it really? Sure, you have more talent to choose from, but the fans may not agree.

You can’t make everybody happy, but moving a strong league like the NFL, that continues to grow each day, will not make anybody happy except for the few fans that are international. College players would lose their fans once they are shipped overseas because it is too hard to follow somebody who is in a different time zone, and too expensive to go watch live. Even with the advances in technology, the real thing is far better than watching a screen that only shows you part of the game at a time. Can international fans really increase the revenue enough for the NFL to make it worth losing their American fans? Fans who may follow their teams overseas at first, until the next thing takes its place.