Ads on uniforms? Discuss the pros and cons
Don't see this topic on the board but if so please delete.
http://www.wsj.com/articles/nba-to-allow-ads-on-jerseys-1460737136
It happens in other sports, notably auto racing, soccer, etc., and frankly I'm surprised its taken this long for major U.S. sports teams to put corporate logos on jerseys. And now that the cat's out of the bag I'm sure this will become the norm very soon.
Personally I don't like it, and while I'm quite comfortable with the tenets of capitalism, I am also struggling with WHY I don't like it. I guess the purist in me just doesn't like the iconic uniforms like the Old English "D", the pinstripes, the winged wheel, etc. to be muddied up with "Yum Yum" logos. Also, the naive little boy inside me wants to believe that the teams we root for belong to the community and not IBM.
And while we must acknowledge that all team uniforms already have apparel logos on them, let us at least agree that we will NEVER see some corporate shill logo on the maize 'n blue.
If adds on the uniforms would lower the amount of TV timeouts and delays I would be all for them. In my opinion its silly to get mad about adds on jerseys and not at how bad the in game experience has gotten due to delays. I have been a season ticketholder for 20 years and I find myself dreading primetime games because I know i'll be sitting in my seat staring at the guy with the red had for a frustratingly long amount of time. If they can pack the stadium and jerseys with adds ala the BPL but make each half uninerupted by tv adds count me in.
If adds on the uniforms would lower the amount of TV timeouts and delays I would be all for them. In my opinion its silly to get mad about adds on jerseys and not at how bad the in game experience has gotten due to delays. I have been a season ticketholder for 20 years and I find myself dreading primetime games because I know i'll be sitting in my seat staring at the guy with the red had for a frustratingly long amount of time. If they can pack the stadium and jerseys with adds ala the BPL but make each half uninerupted by tv adds count me in.
The NBA doesn't need to be desperate since they just signed a gigantic TV deal. I could see if this was done by the NHL to help struggling teams like Arizona, Florida and Carolina, but the NBA has no reason to do this besides pre greed.
Pros: nothing
Cons: everything
loll never? We've had a corporate logo on uniforms every year except one (in between contracts) as far back as i can remember. I mean what do you call nike/adidas
But that's the jersey manufacturer. That's a little different than say, an ad for Domino's.
I've always liked that the U.S. sports leagues avoided the temptation to make their players walking billboards. I'll be sad to see that come to an end.
NO NO NO NO NO and did I mention NO!
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You'll buy a shoe with a Nike swoosh on it, but would you buy a shoe covered in random ads? Assuming you're not getting the shoes for free or anything, just like there's no benefit for the fans in this.
I wear homemade moccasins, BRO!
Here's my take: I fucking hate this. Please, can we have just one surface in sports that isn't fucking for sale/rent? If I had my way, all the goddamn ads would come off hockey boards as well. Enough is enough.
But I grew up in the south going to NASCAR races, so that might have something to do with it.
I understand and agree with the idea that college sport is different, but when it comes to pro, I am rather dubious to the idea that there's something sacred or pure worth preserving. It's entertainment, first and foremost. Ads just aren't offensive to me.
With $10 hot dogs and $15 beers I'd be fine with advertising if it made going to an event a reasonable cost. But since they aren't happy enough with a license to print money and they require more of it then my opinion is no thanks.
pro: more money, at least in the short run
con: we don't need the money, it looks ridiculous, and it sounds like the sort of thing Dave Brandon would think up in one of his less lucid moments