Well damn that labor agreement will go to waste while they deep clean for five months.
On another note fuck Rob Manfred for sullying tradition with uniform ads, fuck Adam scarecrow Silver forever for setting that precedent in America.
If you think ads improve the look of uniforms, smash your pipe immediately.
If you can dodge a wrench, you can dodge a ball.
Who knew Adam Silver introduced advertising on uniforms? And here I was thinking MLS did it before the NBA in America.
Yeah but we’re talking about in sports...
/s just a joke.
They probably need that revenue to keep from folding the league. Not the case for the four major sports. They should have more class than that.
Never retire, Bettman and Goodell!
Ads on soccer uniforms have been around forever. There was a notion that the big four leagues in North America wouldn’t go there. Silver opened the breech despite already running a very profitable league (and did not even reap much financial payoff).
Ads on jerseys, ads in stadiums, ads on cars, stadiums being named after products and financial institutions and commercials before kickoff, after kickoff, and official TO's just for commercials. That's what sports are all about. It's only gonna get worse.
Welcome to Costco, I love you.
The ads have caused me to quit watching nearly all sports both on TV and in person. Same with having to watch a 15-30 second commercial to see a 10 sec highlight on ESPN website.
- Worth noting why they have jersey ads in European soccer: because they basically do not have ad breaks. I'd take that deal!
- Wonder if I will still be able to purchase team gear without the logos.
- I deeply don't get most uniform ad companies. Like, Ultimate Software (the Heat) are an HR software company! Infor (Nets) is enterprise software! The Jazz have Qualtrics -- a survey company. The Celtics have GE; is anyone here buying a jet engine? Like, I get the consumer-facing businesses (the Pistons & Flagstar; the T-Wolves & Fitbit; the Magic & Disney) but most of these seem bonkers to me.
- The NBA ads seem to be the worst of both worlds -- too small to be visible on court, too inconspicuous to be noticeable during close-ups, but big enough to look irritating to fans.
You can get the gear without the logo.
Whoever plasters their logo on the Tigers uniforms loses my business until they remove the logo.
How do you quantify your return on your investment in the jersey patch? Seems more like an intended flex in the company's mind when you're really just lining the team owner's pockets, sort of like stadium naming rights.
They likely measure it in exposure, or impressions (a favored metric of ad agencies). Some brand manager at Chevy can make the case that the brand had close to 4.7 billion impressions because roughly that many people watch the Premier League every year, and they're on Manchester United's jersey.
My sense from talking to ad people is there's two kinds of value here:
- Consumable items (food, events, etc): the ad brings the item to top-of-mind and gets you to spend when you otherwise wouldn't. This is why soda ads are often so silly: nobody needs to convince you to try a Coke or whatever, they want it to be top-of-mind so that when you're eating lunch, you order one.
- Generic items (insurance, entry-level SUVs, pizza places, etc): the ad turns your brand into the generic for that person. It's very valuable that, when someone searches for car insurance, they search for "GEICO" instead of searching for "car insurance." (Ditto, e.g., searching "carmax" vs. "used car.") If you buy the theory that lots of really rich people watch golf, this is why major consulting companies buy ad time: it just takes one guy saying "We need consultants, let's call Accenture" instead of saying "We need consultants, let's call all of them and let them do a beauty contest" to be worth it.)
Worth noting why they have ads in European soccer: because they basically do not have ad breaks. I'd take that deal!
This is a misconception; the two aren't related. The jersey ad revenue doesn't go to the TV networks, it goes straight to the teams. Moreover, the teams aren't doing it because they don't get TV money, they get plenty of that (at least the big clubs).
Soccer allows ads because it comes from a more dog-eat-dog financial position in general. Relegation means a collapse in revenue. TV money often isn't equally shared but is based on performance on the field. There are no salary caps, just "financial fair play" that encourages each club to develop its own revenue stream. So they may as well sell out in every possible way.
As for the TV networks, they only get their ads in before the match, at halftime, and after - but it works. They still pay a ton of money for broadcast rights. We could do the same in our leagues, but for some reason we've allowed the networks to push us around.
Season is over. Whatever trust had been built up with the fans after the 94 strike is going right back out the window.
Yeah MLB def doesn’t feel like it’s happening this year.
If the other sports actually play this year, I think this will hurt MLB more than the 94 strike.
As for Manfred, I can’t think of a worse 6 month stretch for any commissioner ever. This dude makes Bettman look like a saint.
Fuck baseball. Baseball is heading toward NHL status.
And a lot of the fan base that did forgive them after 1994 are no longer around and have been replaced in much smaller numbers by the under 30 crowd.
It’s cliche to a point, but in today’s world of limitless entertainment opportunities, young people just don’t care about baseball.
At the same time, I think a huge window of opportunity is opening for the MLS to assert itself as a national sport in America. They’re coming back in a few weeks, right before the NBA I think, and they’ll be the one of the only sports options on. If not the only one for a few weeks.
They wont overtake the NFL or NBA, probably ever, but this could help them become a mainstay in American sports.
It's incredible to me that the fundamental issues of that strike (a salary cap/revenue sharing) still hang over MLB's head to this day, when every other sports league in North America adopted them years ago.
Yet there are still those that believe we will have a college football season. We are 6 weeks away from fall camp starting, ZERO spring practices under teams belts, and we still have no idea how this is all going to play out. Yet things will be ready in 6 weeks for fall camp? Mmmmmmyeahhhhhhhh.
Neg away but all of this is unfortunately true. We all WANT college football this season, but they are simply running out of time with the added issue of cases increasing in lots of areas of the country. I don’t see how they pull it off.
“Facts are stubborn things; and whatever may be our wishes, our inclinations, or the dictates of our passion, they cannot alter the state of facts and evidence.“ - John Adams
Unfortunately, I think you are correct. Pandemics are basically mathematical exercises and when you have very high airborne contagion rates, putting people together in close proximity is a recipe for disaster that is highly predictable. I keep telling myself, and I'm a sports junkie and have been my whole life, that if I can make it through the summer, I'll have a lot to watch this fall. I'm starting to have doubts.
If it doesn't work for athletes, the next question I ask is how is it going to work for a university? Michigan has about 49,000 students who will be living/studying/working in a very large Petri dish as will university students all across the country.
And no, I'm not advocating for keeping the country closed. It has to be reopened but smartly and if you are going to put people at risk, do it in places where their work is essential.
They're going to try hard to have college football in the fall. Even if it means empty stadiums, a shortened season, more local games, etc. No one wants to blink first on pulling the plug, either. If the Big Ten canceled and the other conferences played without major problems, how much would that effect the Big Ten programs going forward? Could they even hold on to their players? They need a lot of cooperation to cancel the season. I really can't see that happening in the next couple of months.
Here's a question, what will the 2021 season look like if they can't play in 2020? Everyone would get their eligibility extended by a year. The next freshman class would still be coming in. There would be no alternative but to expand the rosters by around 25. Depth charts are going to look a lot different, more daunting for young players. The effects wouldn't just be felt in 2021 either. How would it be different in 2022 or 2023?
The schools don't want to have to face this issue. A lot of G5 programs can't afford lost revenue and added expenses.
Again..We are SIX weeks away from fall camp starting. SIX weeks away.
In six weeks we are to believe that a group of 100+ players, coaches, medical staff, etc. will be able to have full contact drills, meetings in confined meeting rooms, etc. And then at the end of the day the athletes will just go back to their dorms and coexist with the regular student population - whom keep in mind will be coming in from all areas of the country. Oh yeah, wash, rinse and repeat that process everyday.
These guys aren't living and playing in a bubble. They are on a college campus. Players will continue to test positive for Covid until proper vaccine is in place.
It ain't happening folks. Sorry.
They're going to make a lot of adjustments. Practices and meetings won't look the same. Players will miss time. Schools are still going ahead with their plans to resume. They'll try to adapt as circumstances change.
If MLB or the NBA come back, if the NFL is still on track to play, CFB won't give up on starting the season.
My basic expectation has been if schools bring their students back to campus, college sports will be back too. If the students are kept away, there won't be football or basketball in the fall.
I like your optimism and I also want college football to be played this year, but I can't be naive and believe that in less than 6 weeks football will be happening.
MLB just closed ALL of its training facilities.
NBA is building the plane while its flying for the Orlando restart. Which, by the way, have you seen whats happening in Florida right now?
NHL is probably playing their cards the best way, that being they are keeping their mouths shut about everything.
I guess I'll just keep going back to the fact that we have 6 weeks until ALL football player and staff are supposed to kick off fall camp. These kids haven't had full contact drills since last year. No spring practice. No organized team work outs. Most importantly, nobody seems to know how things will play out. Clemson just had 23 players test positive. What happens to fall camp should 25% of your team test positive in the thick of camp? Answer. It closes down immediately.
I just don't see this happening.
Six weeks ago we were told there would be millions dead and the zombie apocalypse was about to start. Take a breath and just wait to see what happens.
Actually 6 weeks ago we were told there would baseball happening early July.
The other possibility is to try a spring season. Push everything six months into the future and play from March-May. But that could be iffier still as we don't know if there will be a second wave in the fall.
I think we're ultimately going to see games played this fall in empty stadiums.
Toe meets leather at 1:05. If you want to be there, fine. If you don’t, that’s fine too.
...because they are in Florida and Arizona, where cases are growing exponentially because governors don’t understand math.
As a full-time Florida resident, nothing really changed in Florida among the responsible citizens after the reopening. Cases per day have grown in Florida recently because the migrant workers who live 15 to a trailer are finally getting tested; there has been a massive influx of visitors from NY, NJ, OH and other states with much higher contagion rates; the protest brought tons of people together in close proximity; and the alcoholics and tourists crashed the bars with no regard for distancing. I drive by four bars every evening and people are packed into them like crazy (dumb a$$e$).
Florida has dropped from 17th to 36th in cases per capita since the end of March. While there has been an increase in the number of new cases per day since the reopening as would be expected, Florida certainly is not out of control as the sensationalist media wants so badly to portray.
There is another math point that people are not understanding. Cases are definitely rising in Florida and Arizona, but a large portion of that is that we are testing many more than we were before. If we were testing 100 a day before and 10,000 a day now, of course cases are going to go up significantly. That’s to be expected, especially with a seaways for which the majority of people who get it are asymptomatic. It’s an apples to oranges comparison. The better number to track is hospitalizations for COVID and deaths from COVID. In Florida, at least, those are not increasing.
also, at some point we are going to have to resume some semblance of normal life. What if there is never a vaccine? Are we going to permanently cancel sports, wear masks and stand on little dots in line at grocery stores? For a disease that isn’t more deadly than the flu to those under 70 who don’t have certain defined underlying conditions, wouldn’t it make more sense to protect those most at risk and allow others to resume their normal lives as their personal risk tolerance permits?
Your premise about testing is suspect. Check out this site which allows you to sort countries and states by tests per unit of population: https://www.worldometers.info/coronavirus/
You will note that the US is ranked 26th in the world for testing based on number of tests per unit of population and Florida is way below the national average for testing.
There were ways to control this virus that should have been implemented early in the game but our leadership chose another path. If there never is a vaccine, as painful as it might be, there are still ways to move the needle. You need look no further than Michigan or NY or NJ or a host of other states that had significant infection rates that have dropped way below what they were.
New York, New Jersey and Michigan rank first, second and sixth nationally in COVID deaths. Are these states doing well now because of policy, or because the virus has already swept through, killed the most vulnerable, and has now left a lot of people with antibodies? That remains to be seen.
We're seeing clear geographic trends with the virus. It's gradually making its way through the global population and very few places are actually flattening the curve once local outbreaks begin. (California seems to be one of the few that has. The virus there has been on a slow burn in Los Angeles for 3 months.) But each local outbreak seems to lose steam after a month or two.
Hospitalization counts absolutely matter, but if Florida really is testing so many more people than before AND the virus wasn't growing in the state you'd assume the positive rate would have ticked down. Instead, it's stubbornly hanging around 5.5-6% in Florida, and has been on a bit of an uptick. Plus, hospitalizations are slowly starting to tick up (I think I saw somewhere that Florida has a rolling average of 160+ after being closer to 100 earlier in the month), which makes sense with an increase in positive tests as hospitalizations are a lagging indicator after tests, with deaths being the next lagging indicator afterwards.
Again, people keep talking about "protecting those most at risk" as if that is somehow possible and distinct from the rest of us "resuming our normal lives". So it means anyone who is over 70 is basically locked away in a room, as is anyone with (checks notes) hypertension, obesity, and diabetes. Good thing those are uncommon characteristics in America, found only in (checks notes again) 108 MM for hypertension, 34.2MM for diabetes, and a whopping 40% of Americans over the age of 20 for obesity. Will the vast majority of people with those conditions die if they get COVID-19? No, obviously. And despite what you've heard, it's unlikely most people have been exposed to COVID-19, so there's still a lot of people who are at risk. And that doesn't even get into all of those individuals who don't realize they may have other unknown conditions that increase their risks.
I agree that society is going to have to make some tough decisions and being shut down isn't realistic anymore. The US response to COVID-19 has been, at best, uneven, and there were numerous missed opportunities that can't be undone. But as a community we're all in this together when it comes to exposure, so the idea that our individual actions won't affect the larger community isn't realistic.
"but a large portion of that is that we are testing many more than we were before"
This simply isn't true and it's been shown that testing in these states has been flat or decreasing but positive rates have been going through the roof. Also hospitalizations up, percentage of tested being positive up but don't take my word for it listen to what the health professionals in these states are saying.
Here is an example: Orange County, Florida:
June 6th - 1 out of 50 tested returned positive
June 19th - 1 out of 6 tested returned positive
It's spreading and at a rate that is scary. Yesterday, we had over 33K new cases and cases across the world shattered the previous number. But go ahead and be fooled again by the same people saying the same things they did back in February...
U are not smart. If u were u would have said Hilary and anchovy pizza is behind this hoax.
Good thing the the nba decided to resume in Florida.
Yeah, that’s looking more and more like it may not happen.
They should just go and do it in a bunch of high school gyms in Montana instead.
Butte action... It's FAN-tastic!!!
It’s pretty amazing how MLB managed to take a difficult situation with the COVID outbreak and somehow make it even worse with their behaviors. It’s about a 80/20 owners-players split in my book as to who the bigger dumbasses are in this saga.
Regardless, I think baseball is screwed big time. It was already a sport suffering from a major problem with an aging fan base and its fading popularity with the 25 and under crowd, and this sure isn’t going to help things.
I’m not saying the MLB as we know it will cease to exist, but I do think in the next 10 years we’re going to see the sport hitting some major revenue issues with due to its dwindling popularity, fan resentment from their current actions and ESPN and other networks reducing their offers for future TV rights.
It’s almost a certainty player salaries are going to go down in the future and I think there’s a chance we might see a few teams fold.
Over reaction
The MLB is fucked. What a damn shame, no MLB, no MiLB, no college baseball or college World Series (which was supposed to be happening this week, btw). It just sucks :( at least I can watch reruns and South Korean baseball.
America is the HERPA DERP of COVID-19 management.
Florida over 4k cases today which is the most cases in any state since early May in NY and NJ. Also, Orlando just passed a mandatory mask mandate starting today: It states that every person either working, living or visiting must wear a mask in public.
Contract negotiations n covid related.