Quote:

jafabian said:
So you never read the sports page? So you never check out ESPN.com? Don't pick up Sport Illustrated?



No and no. I read Sports Illustrated and can't recall ever reading post-game press conference quotes in abundance. The stories in SI are about the games themselves and the stories surrounding the games. They don't report on press conferences.

Quote:

And I don't think your Jordan comparison works. Jordan is the exception, not the norm. I don't see Devean George with a Gatorade commerical. I don't see Trent Dilfer in Nike ads, or Matt LeCroy of the Twins doing Pizza Hut commericals. Comparing Jordan to most other pro athletes just doesn't work because most athletes don't have the charisma, charm or success that Jordan did.



There is so much ridiculousness in these examples I wonder if you're just f'ing with me like bsams likes to do. OF COURSE you won't see players who aren't even stars in commercials! You see Kobe(before this season) and Shaq in commercials. Why the fuck would anybody care what Devean George drinks? But Kobe did Sprite and shoe commercials a ton, Shaq does Crunch commercials now and has done all sorts of other endorsements over the years. I mean, you have noticed that the best players in the league are the ones who get endorsement deals, right?

Jordan's not the exception, he was the guy who paved the way for players like Vince Carter, Allen Iverson and LeBron James, to all build huge followings through commercials. Once again, SUPERSTARS get the deals and bring attention to the sport. I honestly hope you've seen commercials with these players. I'm sure Franta has.

As for the other sports...once again, why are you referencing non-stars? The reason you don't see Trent Dilfer in ads is because you see Peyton Manning getting the Gatorade and other deals. Matt LeCroy? Couldn't you at least have said Torii Hunter? But nobody knows the Twins, so instead we have Sammy Sosa, Derek Jeter and a few other players doing spots here and there, which gets the sport much more exposure than stock answers in press conferences.

Besides all this, I already mentioned:

Quote:

Originally posted by Kristogar Velo:
The NBA benefits more from corporate sponsorship than any other sports league out there, mostly because they market individual stars more than any other league, and commercials and other advertisements feature individual stars.



Quote:

Pro sports relationship with the media is a give-and-take relationship. If the players and coaches don't work with them, then they aren't covered in the papers, magazines and TV. If they aren't there, then no one knows how they're doing. You can't deny that leagues like the WNBA and NHL don't get nearly enough press as the NBA, MLB or NFL or even NASCAR. If they did they might get more people to come out and see them.



That sounds all nice and neat, but the fact of the matter is, if the entire NFL boycotted talking to the media(hey, MANY players refused to talk to ESPN last season over Playmakers, including Warren Sapp, probably the most quoted player in the league), and didn't say a single word to a single reporter, the Super Bowl would still be the highest rated and most covered event of the year. Football would still be the most covered sport. And it would be for several seasons following if the NFL continued to never talk to the press. And it wouldn't matter how much the WNBA and NHL did cooperate with the media, it wouldn't solve the problems casual fans have with those leagues. You're placing way too much emphasis on talking to the media. The media doesn't build fanbases for leagues(if they did, the hype the XFL got would've guaranteed more success), they report in response to what their readers want to know about.

And that's terrible.