sportsfourdummies

Growing up I used to ask myself how could people could watch Golf. I would tell my uncle, you know your not even playing golf, you are watching golf! I considered myself a pretty big sports fan but I could never get into watching Golf.

Fast forward ten years later and now some of the major golf tournaments are the sporting events that I look forward to each year. What changed? In my mind I came to an understanding and a respect of the pageantry of the Masters!

For me the beauty of the golf course, it being on the largest stage as well as the passion of the tournament make it so special.

Each April the sports world gets an opportunity to celebrate the coming of spring and the first golf major of the year. Not having ever been to Augusta I dont know if I can fully appreciate the beauty of the course but the grounds and course to me are one of the most beautiful courses in the US. There is something about the beauty of the course and the views you get to see of the magestic greenary that is inspiring.

I think there is something about the largest events in all of sports that make them more intriguing. For me the NBA and NHL are not very interesting during the regular season, there may be a big game here or there that is fun to watch but for the most part I dont need to watch. However when it comes time for the playoffs or games late in the season there is more on the line and the games seem more intense. That intensity draws in more viewers.

The Masters carry’s that same weight, I may not have any interest in watching the Waste Management Open on tv but the Masters has it all on the line. After his third round and leading going into Sunday Jordan Spieth said this about the Masters “This is the greatest week in our sport”. It similar to how some dont have any interest in baseball but when it comes to the World Series or especially a World Series game seven more people have a desire to watch.

The passion of the Masters permeates through each round and each year. The shot that Tiger Woods hit on the 16th hole in 2005 may be the greatest shot he has ever hit and one of the most memorable from the Masters. Along with being one of the greatest shots it also shows the passion that exists in the tournament. Each year there seems to be a different story line that emerges because of the size of the event.

These three things really stand out to me as what makes the Masters so special. It almost seem like the story builds each day as the tournament goes on. The first two days there is a sifting of the field, Saturday you see everyone trying to put themselves in a position to win on Sunday and Sunday is all about executing and seeing who can win it all.

ESPN video clip, What makes the Masters special? http://espn.go.com/video/clip?id=12628073

Another side note about what makes the Masters special. First off it is extremely difficult to get tickets to the event and if you are caught selling your passes you can be banned for life. Also the food is extremely affordable, usually when you go to a sporting event you expect to pay an extra $5 for everything the Masters is the opposite. See the menu below but in a short note the most expensive sandwhich is $3.

College tennis has been scared, things are changing and the product is now the focus. Television money is fueling college sports, especially in the major conferences where TV money separates the ability to spend insane money on college sports programs. The difficulty in tennis is that our product (with the old format) takes 4 hours to complete and can become boring to the laymen watching who knows nothing about tennis.

The old format was made up of 3 doubles matches, played to an 8 game pro-set that could take anywhere between 45 and 80 minutes. The 3 doubles matches make up 1 point, (of an overall 7 on offer). Next comes the 6 singles matches that were played best of 3 sets just like the pro format with long deuce games played in their entirety. The new format takes the same basic structure, however instead of an 8 game pro-set and long deuce games the doubles is a 6 game set and sudden death deuce (meaning if it makes deuce that point decides the game). The singles takes the same format but instead of long deuce games again the sudden death deuce is used.

Now I have given you the background I will explain the theory behind changing the format. College tennis matches are great, they are unique, they are very physical and the team aspect is crucial. The problem is when a college sports program has basketball and football tennis tends to fall behind in attracting new viewers. We all knew this, but because of the purity of the sport the format was the format and its how it had always been. Until last year… When coaches at big time schools started to realize that tennis was not broadcast worthy anymore. The NCAA finals matches that were traditionally shown on ESPN 2 were dropped by the network, they cited the length of time and difficulty to broadcast the event. The second kick in the teeth was that the big networks (Big 12 network) were also uninterested in showing content. And so… the thinkers started thinking… The idea was that we needed to get the overall product down under 2 and half hours and maximize entertainment by providing tense moments throughout a match instead of just at the climax.

From a coaches perspective it has worked, we have had record crowds, people are engaged in the match throughout and the product is certainly more marketable. If you tell someone that they have to spend 2-21/2 hours at a match it doesn’t feel like they are at the match the whole day. As with any change, there is a considerable opinion in college tennis that we are ruining the purity of the sport and changing it to make it work. My answer to the naysayers is, without change there may be no tennis. I for one love my job, teaching tennis and helping young kids reach there goals and i don’t want that to go. In my opinion the longevity of it as a college sport outweighs the people who are stuck in the past.

On that note… The #45 UNM men’s tennis team is set to finish up its home slate for the season this weekend. 4pm Friday vs #75 UNLV and 2pm Sunday vs #37 SDSU. Come by and watch, eat free food and enjoy the new (more exciting) format!

When we look at the effect that social media has had on our societies over the last decade one of the prevalent elements will be the use in the professional sports world. Although social media has been around some people are still trying to figure out, what is the most effective and best way to use social media. The use of quantifying from a financial standpoint or the gain an organization can have from social media is still difficult to measure.

The sports teams that have started to figure it out are engaging with their fans using the platform to connect with those who are interested in their team. Initially there were many who were infatuated with getting an immediate financial gain from using social media. As we have seen the growth of social media organizations have now started to be highly effective. These three teams below are perfect examples of teams engaging with fans and promoting their brand.

The Dodgers were voted as winners of the Shorty Awards for being the best team in social media for 2014. One of the things that the Dodgers have done is although this is a simple post it was one of the most popular. The idea is really giving people as much behind the scenes access and info as possible. This post got over 600 re tweets. Not only do fans love to follow the team but they want to interact. The Dodgers were listed as fourth in US locations that fans “checked in” at. The number of people that checked in as well as the growth they had in Twitter over a year of close to 200,000 helped them to be chosen as the most social in 2014.

https://www.facebook.com/philadelphiaeagles

The Philadelphia Eagles are one of the best in the NFL when it comes to using their social network. On any given day you can find anything from informational posts to giveaways or engagement opportunities. You can tell that have invested in making their social networks successful and you can see the payoff in the product.

https://www.facebook.com/losangeleslakers?fref=ts

This one is tough for me to write about as I have never been a big fan of the Los Angeles Lakers but 21 million likes on Facebook and 4.5 million followers on Twitter has to say something. The Lakers are arguably the biggest brand in the NBA but they have leveraged the opportunity by having quality content on their social media sites to go along with their popularity. A quick scroll through their Facebook of Twitter pages and you find videos, pictures, giveaways and updates at great frequency. All elements that social media followers are really looking for.

The list can go on and on of teams and how they are using social media. The teams are engaging with fans but also starting to use social media as a one stop shop for all things. The Lakers Facebook page has a link where you can now go on and purchase Lakers tickets through the page. A trend many sports teams are taking advantage of by linking directly to their ticketing sites from social media outlets.

An even playing field… Equal opportunities… A fair shot…

All of the above would be fair expectations of how people should be treated. There are so many examples of how sports are great at transcending the gap between competition and life. One place sports has failed to transcend that gap is in how it still in 2015, sport “protects” the female sex and changes rules, judges them differently and restricts them from being equals on the sporting landscape.

Tennis is a prime example of one of those sports… In grand slam events (the 4 events with the most money, prestige and rankings points available on the calendar year) women play best out of 3 sets, men play best out of 5 sets. In 2007, Wimbledon and the French Open joined the other Grand Slam tournaments in offering equal prize money for both sexes. It has raised quite a debate in whether this is fair, and whether the women should join their men’s counterparts in playing 5 sets at grand slams. It would change women’s tennis competition forever, and it could make the physical aspect of tennis become a huge influence on who wins the big tournaments.

Interestingly there were lots of calls for tennis to make the equality move in 2007, but since then we have not heard the same calls to make the matches of equal length. By nature the fact that the governing bodies have women play less is sexist, arguably more sexist than the prize money being different for less work. My question to you as you read this is why was there so much outcry for equal pay, without equal exertion? Do we think that the focus of that change was wrong? The issue divides the players, many of the men have voiced their issue that the women do not have to exert themselves as much, and are paid equal money. Others chose to stay out of the issue. The fact is that in tennis we corrected the money issue without addressing the real equality issue, women are happy to earn the same amount, but they are also happy to play less in the big tournaments. Why doesn’t women’s grand slam tennis run to five sets?  It can’t be a question of stamina, surely? Women run in marathons and they do triathlons (iron mans too), and the quality of the women’s game is rising all the time. The best argument I can find is that women length of match does not necessarily mean quality of match, I 100% agree with this idea, but down the stretch in the grand slams it would be nice to see the matches be about all aspects of tennis, fitness included.

With tennis being put aside, I do believe there are examples in most sports where we instinctively are sexist. Here is one to get you thinking…

March Madness brackets… ever filled out one for the women’s NCAA champs?

My dad once counseled me while I was in college, I was worried about a friend that was having some issues. The main point of the conversation was “a majority of the time in our lives, we create our own problems”. Not to say that we intend to create problems for ourselves but actions can create unwanted results. A decision to drink and drive may come with a host of outcomes that are not favorable for us, but many still continue to do so.

I think this same principle applies to the world of sports as we look at sexism. Anyone that goes to a sporting event or takes a look at the landscape of college sports right now would have to agree with the statement that there is sexism in sports. If you think about it, there is a league for football called the lingerie league. They changed there name in 2013 but initially that was the name of it. The only way you could get people to watch women playing football was to have them wear lingerie?

When I say that we created the problem ourselves I think that one of the elements that has moved us into a more sexist sports landscape is the Sports Illustrated Swimsuit issue. This is an annual magazine issue that they produce every year that has nothing to do with sports and everything to do with what has become socially acceptable mainstream pornography packaged as “safe” for your coffee table.

Sports Illustrated has 23 million followers that get their latest sports news from their magazine and online from SI, the self-proclaimed “foremost authority” and “most respected voice” in sports news. When it comes to the Swimsuit Issue each year those 23 million followers soar to more than 70 million and are joined by 250 million more online views.

No small scale numbers for a magazine or website. I know why Sports Illustrated is doing it, they are making big bucks. Two years ago the swimsuit issue of the magazine had generated $1 billion dollars. They are going to continue to do so because they are making so much money. Just as my dad said we create our own problems. SI has been creating this issue since 1964 and it has played a part in the way sports have been consumed over the years. If you go to a football or basketball game you are sure to find cheerleaders or dancers that are wearing as little clothing as possible dancing or cheering for the team. Some of the most popular female athletes have also been famous for their looks, here is a short list; Danica Patrick, Hope Solo, Maria Sharipova and Alex Morgan. (I got those from a short list of most popular Female Athletes in 2014.)

We have created a culture where in sports for females to be famous you have to be attractive. Female’s athletic ability isn’t appreciated as much unless they are also attractive. For 50 years a Sports magazine has been selling sex and incorporating it into sports. Of course that is going to bring other unwanted consequences.

I don’t know what the solution would be. It can start with each of us, if it bothers you to see the sexism in sports. Don’t buy the swimsuit issue of Sports Illustrated and encourage others to not buy it as well. The old adage is sell sells, that is only true as long as we keep buying it.