The Year 2013 was one riddled with both ups and downs in the sports world. We saw 365 days of overcoming adversity, broken records, hard work, pride, drama, disappointments, victories, and defeats. The following pictures and videos depict 10 of the most influential and shocking moments in sports during the last year.
An email announcing the creation of “The Center for
Hospitality and Sport Management” last week may have come as a surprise and
left some of us scratching our heads in confusion. After hearing from the new
Center’s Program Director Jonathan Deutsch and Senior Vice Provost John
DiNardo, many of those concerns can be put to rest.
Throughout my internship at Comcast SportsNet, I’ve had
opportunities to see more of the behind-the-scenes fireworks in the sports
industry than I ever imagined. From prepping for the pre-game show to the
post-game press conferences and interviews, it has been a rewarding and
exciting internship thus far. However, nothing quite compares to the view on
the sidelines of the Philadelphia Eagles training camp as they prepare for a media-frenzy
and the new Chip Kelly era of football to officially begin in just a few weeks
against the Redskins.
To follow up my previous post expressing the importance of intelligent
Twitter-use, I’ve decided to include some suggestions for the best people to
follow in the sports business community. These are just a few of the many smart,
entertaining, and informative industry professionals that are very active on
Twitter (in no particular order).
Since Twitter emerged into our lives in July 2006 and became
a staple in the mobile device landscape, it has developed into much more than a
way to communicate with our friends. It’s a source of information and breaking
news. It replaces the need to look at a variety of sources for local and
national news because it’s all housed in one convenient location. For sports
enthusiasts, you don’t have to find the box score or log onto ESPN.com when you
want updates. If you follow the “right” people on Twitter, you can access
interviews, scoring updates, video replays, and post-game recaps all in one
central location on your smartphone.
Drexel University has recently gained their own HerCampus website, and they were quick to notice talent found within Drexel's sport management program. Featuring a weekly "campus celebrity" on their website, they chose Drexel sport management student and Drexel SMTSU member Hayley Zedeck last week.
The Big East has always been synonymous with a
basketball-focused conference since 1982 when they tried to bring in major
football partners and failed. That decision has always been a handicap for a
conference who has provided nationally recognized and prestigious basketball
programs since its’ inception. When this basketball season concludes, only five
founding members will remain from a conference that has been home to 20
different schools for basketball since 1979.
Concussions have become a hot topic of conversation in the
NFL throughout the season. It is an inevitable consequence for such a violent
sport, but it has become apparent that the NFL is doing its part to reduce the
risk. Roger Goodell has worked diligently to manage the influx of concussions,
and the likelihood of future brain trauma. New rules were developed before the
season began such as protecting hits on “defenseless players”. Referees are now
urged to be stricter on hits to a receiver’s head even when both feet are on
the ground. The NFL will continue to improve the rulebook in an effort to keep
its players safe and on the field.
Co-ops: Turnkey Sports and Entertainment – Sport Market Research
Area of interest: Sport Statistics and Research, Communications, TV
Production
What is your favorite memory from freshman year?
When I took the initiative to get involved on campus with different
organizations I developed new relationships and learned new and exciting
things, therefore my favorite memory from freshman year was joining a sorority
and meeting a lot of interesting people associated with Greek Life.
What is
the most important thing that you learned about sport management and the sports
industry?
There is
a world of opportunities available to students in Drexel’s SMT program. The
faculty members are eager to help us get new experience and reach our career
goals. With a career-focused university like Drexel, there are so many chances
to get involved through volunteering and observing a variety of sports jobs.
What
advice would you give to the freshman based on your experience?
I would
recommend that freshman take advantage of academic opportunities available to
them. Taking on a minor in a meaningful subject can broaden your learning experience
and set you apart from other co-op and potential employee candidates.
If you
could do it all over again, what would you do different?
I would have worked harder to develop
and maintain strong relationships with sports professionals I came across.
Networking is essential to be successful in this field. I should have taken
advantage of important people I met throughout freshman year during classroom
and volunteer experiences. Those are the people that can eventually assist in
acquiring a great co-op and eventual job opportunity. Previous: Greg Monforte Previous: Ryan Pratt Previous: Kevin Giordano
Youth sports have consistently provided an
outlet for young children to develop their athletic and character traits,
establish participation in fitness, and recognize enjoyable activities that
they can share with their friends. As the importance of athletic performance
has progressed in the last hundred years, sport-governing bodies are forced to
handle the issues associated with youth sport activity. When one begins playing
their designated sport at such a young age, their peers, coaches, and parents
can easily be influential. As they continue to mature as athletes, scouts,
college coaches, other family members, neighbors, and athletic directors may
also choose to become stakeholders in their success. For many young athletes,
the pressure put on them from all of these sources can be overbearing and overwhelming
enough to ruin their chance of success.
According to Helen Jõesaar, Vello
Hein, and Martin S. Hagger (2012) and their study “Youth athletes’
perception of autonomy support from the coach, peer motivational climate and
intrinsic motivation in sport setting: One-year effects”, it has been proven
that coach and peer relationships with an athlete can affect such athlete’s
ability to make coherent decisions, influence their level of involvement and
effort, and the understanding of their ability to directly affect success
rates. More specifically, coaches have the ability to motivate a child to
develop certain individual characteristics that lead to athletic performance.
If a young athlete not only understands what it takes to be successful, but can
also make a self-afflicting decision to attain those goals, they can determine
their own opportunities. It is this realization about the significance of youth
coaches that proves how they can have a negative or positive impact on a young
athlete’s life. For youth sports, it is expected that coaches act more as
teachers and mentors for young children as they acquire skills and knowledge to
be successful in all aspects and activities in their lives.
Youth sports affect so many individuals
throughout the country, and throughout the world, it is a catastrophe that it
has dealt with number of problematic issues that it faces today. Sport
organizations should begin to establish principles that bring them back to the original
meaning behind youth sports. The future of our society is dependent on the
young individuals developing their leadership, cooperative, and proactive qualities
that can make an impact on their lives in the future. The parental, coaching,
and peer pressures influencing children that winning is the most important
quality is harming their social development and ability to reach their
potential.
It’s safe to say there are big problems in Bean Town. How
does a team with so much potential compensate for a three year drought in the
post season, disappointments at every position, failed free agent attempts, and
a depleting farm system? And to top it all off, they are now manager-less. A
manager experiment that had many scratching their heads from the beginning
finally came to an end yesterday.
The Bobby V-Era came to a close after the outspoken manager
was at the helm of a whirlwind season in Boston. It seemed like he never got
very comfortable in that clubhouse through disagreements with players, media
issues, and criticizing his players of different offenses. The team longed for
the environment established by Terry Francona and Theo Epstein, but it was nowhere
to be found.
With $250 million dollars available through in-season
transactions in which they saw Kevin Youkilis, Josh Beckett, Carl Crawford, and
Adrian Gonzalez depart, the Sox have an opportunity to rebuild the franchise.
Many believe Josh Hamilton is in their sights, but with the lack of support
around him, they may need to go a different route. If they spread it around,
they can fill out their lineup with solid all-around players, rather than
burning the majority on one stud. The Red Sox have attempted the high profile,
free agent route the last few off-seasons, but seen limited results. They’ve
been most successful when discovering and developing hidden gems and underrated
athletes, such as Dustin Pedroia, David Ortiz, and Youkilis. If they go back to
that game plan, they might just see a turn around in their results next season.
The lockout of NFL referees seems to be at a stalemate, and
not beneficial for any side of the equation. The NFLRA is distraught with the
contractual changes the NFL has proposed because it strips the referees of
benefits for their families that have been promised to them. The NFL, who doesn’t
seem to be losing any money or sleep with the situation, is not making any
moves to prompt conversations. The players and coaches are thoroughly upset
with the issues of the replacement ref’s and their effect on the outcome of
games. Fans at home are disappointed with the product on the field, the delay
in game-play, and complete blown calls throughout these past two weeks. The media
personnel may be the only beneficiaries to this difficult situation, as
journalists and executives are using the Twitter sphere to poke fun at the
referees.
It is clear after only two weeks of the regular season that
there are major issues to be assessed with the replacement officials. I don’t
believe the NFL ever anticipated the learning curve associated with stepping in
to the position. It seems they thought anyone
could be a referee, and they underestimated the talent level of their current
officials. As they continue to take more criticism and Roger Goodell fails to
make a big move, the integrity of the league suffers.
It’s entirely possible that it will just take time for the
replacement referee’s to adjust to the many rule differences between the NFL
and collegiate football, and they will soon start to make calls quicker and
more efficiently, continuing to reduce their errors as well. Unfortunately, the
possibility is all too likely that the NFL officials will continue to holdout
and not return for a significant amount of time, if not the whole season. If
that’s the case, we’ll just have to hope the replacements don’t make the
drastic mistakes that determined the outcomes of numerous games so far. They’ll
have to tighten up their restrictions to keep the game safe for its players,
and still exciting for its fans.
With the kickoff of the 2012 NFL season this week, there is
an influx of new NFL-related marketing campaigns. There are new NFL sponsorship
deals that are taking advantage of opening week ratings, and player-specific endorsements
that are also launching their marketing efforts. To promote the 2012-13 season,
every sponsor is in full gear to get their name and campaign efforts in the
homes of millions of NFL viewers.
Some of the biggest campaigns include those sponsors that have
established new or renewed relationships this off-season with fresh contracts
to begin. New Era Caps has locked in a five-year deal to be the official license
for players to wear their hats on the field during games, a feat previously
held by Reebok. Their humorous campaign (similar to the MLB commercial spots)
features Bills’ DT Marcell Dareus “testing out” his cap in the makeshift Laboratory
of Headwear Science and Capology. PepsiCo
also has a new contract for the next 10-years, and they’re hard at work to make
it meaningful. One big aspect of their new marketing plans is to make limited
edition cans for the different team markets. It will help to engage fans from
all across the country. With research they completed this off-season, Pepsi has
determined it is increasingly important to associate the two partner logos as
much as possible, because it encourages NFL fans to purchase their products.
Bud Light, although now in the second year of their deal is
instituting some unique aspects to their marketing campaigns this season. The cardboard
cases of Bud Light will be manufactured partially with a football “leather-like”
feel. It is a very innovative way to incorporate the partnership directly into
their products. In addition, Bud Light is also sporting fantasy football codes
in their cans which each can has the potential contribute to a virtual “football
game” on budlight.com/ffl.
Many more partners will be launching their campaigns for the
2012-13 NFL season as Opening Week continues, and as usual every effort of the
season will lead up to the ultimate feat of elite Super Bowl commercial
recognition.
When a professional athlete is drafted, signed, or picked up
by a team or organization they are immediately slapped in the face with the
realization that they are not just a college kid hiding behind their university’s
compliance department, or a high school prodigy who can “do no wrong” anymore. You
are now being dissected under a microscope, as the press wait for your one
wrong move that gives them a story and puts a stamp on your career forever.
In a recent survey the NBA administered to their rookie
players at the annual Rookie Photo Shoot last week, they asked numerous
questions to gauge the opinions of their newest brethren. One of those being “What will be the biggest
adjustment to the NBA?” and apart from the obvious answers “better competition”
and “length of season”, nearly 10% said “lifestyle”
would be one of the more difficult aspects to deal with.
For the upcoming season, the average first-year, first-round
draft pick contract will be about $1.6 million. Ranging from about $900K to $4.2
million, it will be more money than most of these guys have ever seen before. As
they say, “mo money, mo problems”, the life of an NBA player is quite extravagant
and puts most in very difficult situations.
The issue for pro athletes these days is nothing you do will
go unnoticed, and it will shape how fans see you for the rest of your career. If
you get caught up in bad situations; possess fire arms, cheat on your spouse,
use illegal drugs, get in fights, drive drunk, commit assault, or simply caught
in the wrong place at the wrong time; someone will see it. The most unfortunate
part of this problem is that many common folk commit the same acts and make the
same mistakes, but because of whom you are and what you do it’s not the same
outcome. An accountant can cheat on his wife and still be a great accountant,
get promotions, earn a raise, and be a great face for the organization.
However, an athlete will always have that title as a “cheater” as if it’s
stamped on their forehead.
Should a professional athlete’s actions off the court, field,
track, ice, road, etc. have an impact on their success, or perceived success,
on it? Why do owners and GM’s take personal issues into consideration when they
prove to you in games that they are great athletes? And how much success must
you attain before your past is forgotten? (Example: If Tiger wins a few more majors,
will people start to jump back on the bandwagon?) @hzedeck
As we look back on the 16 glorious days of the 2012 London
Olympic Games, it’s hard not to wonder what the future holds for Rio 2016. The
U.S reclaimed their control over the total and gold medal counts, after a brief
hiatus in Beijing. Here’s to hoping we can repeat that in Rio with the influx
of promising young athletes in this country.
There will be a few major changes to the schedule come 2016,
as Rugby Sevens and Golf have been added to the list of competitions, which
brings the total to 28 different sports and 42 medal events. A few other sports
were in contention, but eventually lost through presentations and a voting
majority (baseball, softball, squash, karate, wake boarding, roller sports).
What to look forward to - the beautiful venues and attractions of Rio de Janeiro:
Lagoa Rodrigo de Freitas, home to the rowing and canoeing competitions of the Olympic Games
A bird's eye view of the main Olympic Village and downtown area.
The Olympic Village beach and volleyball courts.
Copacabana Beach, which will host marathon swimming, triathlon events, and beach volleyball.
It's hard not to get excited for the the first South American country to host the Summer Olympic Games, and these next four years can't possibly move any slower. I'm hoping I can make the journey down to Brazil and enjoy the experience in person. Either way, it's sure to be an opportunity for more life-changing accomplishments, world record shattering performances, and inspiring displays of athleticism for athletes around the world.
A five-hour time difference (to the East Coast) from the excitement in London has caused much discomfort for anxious Olympic fans who want to be a part of the action as it’s happening, not on a time delay by NBC. For those who are too impatient to wait until primetime, Twitter has come to the rescue. Athletes, media personnel, other fans watching live, sponsors, and broadcasting partners alike are “tweeting” before, during, and after every event. You may not have live access to some of the biggest events, but it’s impossible to miss out on the breaking news if you follow any major Olympic organizations (@USOlympic, @London2012, @NBCOlympics, @IOCmedia, @Olympics, etc, etc, etc).
As Twitter continues to play a major role in the spread of information, a few tweeters have made noteworthy contributions to the twitter-sphere throughout these first six days of Olympic action. Kevin Love, the big man off-the-bench and “designated photographer” for Team USA Men’s Basketball has humorously brought us along for the journey of his Olympic experience.
Hope Solo, the well-known (and outspoken) goalie for the US Women’s Soccer Team made some controversial comments regarding commentator, and former teammate, Brandi Chastain after their second win last weekend. Apparently Chastain had made some accusatory comments on air regarding the defense of the United States, and Hope Solo took particular offense. She began attacking Chastain via Twitter with the following message:
"Its 2 bad we cant have commentators who better represents the team&knows more about the game @brandichastain! Lay off commentating about defending and gking until you get more educated @brandichastain the game has changed from a decade ago. Its important 2 our fans 2 enjoy the spirit of the olympics.Its not possible when sum1 on air is saying that a player is the worst defender! I feel bad 4 our fans that have 2 push mute, especially bc @arlowhite is fantastic.@brandichastain should be helping 2 grow the sport"
The US Olympic Team members are not the only athletes active on Twitter from London, as many others are turning to the social media outlet to reach their friends and family at home. Similar to professional and collegiate teams, PR departments are encouraged to educate their athletes on how to properly use social media tools. Some athletes have disregarded this information and come off more strongly than Hope Solo; strongly enough to be dismissed from their teams for the remainder of the Games.
Michel Morganella, a Swiss Men’s Soccer player was kicked off the Olympic Team for inappropriate comments towards South Korea after a tough match with them on Sunday. His comments alluded to causing physical harm upon the South Korean team. Another dismissal cause Greek triple jumper Voula Papachristou’s Olympic dreams to come to an end after she posted a racist tweet; “With so many Africans in Greece, the West Nile mosquitoes will be getting home food!!!”
So there you have it. With its growth in usefulness and entertainment, Twitter can be your best friend or your worst enemy. If it breaks your heart to see the spoilers before watching events “live” on NBC in primetime, then refrain from Twitter for the next 10 days. Otherwise, enjoy the luxury of feeling as if you’re sitting in the stands watching your favorite athletes win Gold, from thousands of miles away.
One week from today, the Olympic Torch will illuminate the
city of London and mark the beginning of the 2012 Summer Olympics. The whole
world will turn to watch the competitions that we’ve longed to see for four
years. This years' events will be nothing short of spectacular, and we’ll be
sure to see our fair share of records broken, tears shed, bursts of raw
emotion, inspiration, and pure glory. To have a truly complete experience with
this year’s Olympics, I’d make sure to keep your eye on some of the following
stories and opportunities for Team USA:
The big one everyone’s talking about… Ryan Lochte vs.
Michael Phelps. They’ll compete head to head in the 200 and 400 individual
medley and work together for the 4x200 freestyle relay, but the big question is
“whose going to earn more gold medals”? Every race shall be a fight to the
finish so I’d get your DVR set up now.
On the women’s side of the sport, we’ll see 17-year old
Missy Franklin compete in her first Olympic Games. She will be swimming in 7
different events, and with her potential she just might place in every single
one.
Men’s Basketball is dealing with a whirlwind of injuries at
the moment, so can they still ban together and continue to make other teams
look silly? Spain is a big threat standing in their way, and it will be an
interesting matchup of NBA teammates when they square off.
The Women’s Soccer (football) team looked sharp in the
qualifying tournament, and here’s to hoping they can carry that over to the big
show. A talented, young, yet experienced group of women will work to repeat the
success of their Beijing counterparts and take home the gold this year.
The “fab five” of gymnasts will be competing in the women’s
all around with Jordyn Wieber leading this pack of young teenagers to victory.
It says quite enough that Nastia Liukin couldn’t make the cut this year after
an inspiring performance for the all-around gold medal just four years ago.
As we approach the makeshift beach of central London, we
will look to Misty May-Treanor and Kerri Walsh to do it again for us in the
Beach Volleyball competition. If
you followed their journey in 2008, you couldn’t help but jump out of your seat
with every passionate point from the duo. However, a lot has changed and will
make this trip more difficult. Walsh gave birth to two children, Misty May
dealt with lingering injuries, their 112 match win streak came to an end, and
to top it all off their biggest threat this summer are the fellow US
competitors (Kessy and Ross). It will be an uphill battle, but I don’t foresee
a lack of excitement.
For extra motivation (as if you need it) here is a video to pump you up for next week:
What are you looking forward to? Do you have a dark horse to keep your eye on?
With so many talented US Olympians, it's hard to pick a few to spotlight so please share any noteworthy athletes I may have left out.
As the 2012 London Olympic Games draw near, it's time to look back on the preparation and ahead to the implementation of the partners involved with the 30th Olympiad. The World Partners, as well as the London partners have been hard at work to get the most out of their sponsorship activation which has the potential to reach millions of viewers world-wide. I have outlined some of the most significant developments and plans for the Olympic Games of the World Partners:
