"'Boston Strong' emerges as rallying cry, from stadiums to tweets"

From MLB.com, ESPN.com and NBC News

Warning: the following video is not edited and contains inappropriate language

Analysis by Kelly Johanson in SRM 334 (section 1)

After the horrific bombings at the Boston Marathon in April, it’s like a fairy tale ending that the Red Sox won the World Series. Just like New York in 2001, sports in Boston have provided an escape and a safe haven for the fans. People in Boston have been waiting for something to cheer them up and they finally got it. In one of the articles we read it talked about the victory parade and how the duck boats stopped at the marathon finish line. Jonny Gomes got off his boat and put the trophy on the finish line and it was closure to something that had been devastating for that city. Every article we read revolved around the phrase “Boston Strong”. These two words drove the city to recover and gave them something to rally behind. Victims of the bombings were welcomed to games and many of them threw out the first pitch at different games. The Red Sox players showed their support off the field as well. They went to visit five different hospitals and didn’t want anyone to plan it for them; they wanted to go in small groups.

The phrase and hash tag ‘BostonStrong’ has gained much more popularity than people thought it ever would. It first gained popularity on twitter, especially when 3rd baseman Will Middlebrooks shared it on twitter. It was trending on twitter almost every time the Red Sox played. Now the phrase is on clothing, it’s used during news reports, on the radio and is recognizable around the world. What makes this phrase so popular is that it is short, you can say it pretty much along any lines and it will fit in any situation that surrounds Boston. It clearly describes Boston as being a resilient city that can make it through anything and that has been transferred to all of Boston’s sports. At the very end of the Bruins season they said it for them but it really has been the Red Sox’ mantra for the last 7 months. The marathon bombings and all the people injured have really given the Red Sox a chance to get major media attention. Whether the players wanted the attention for visiting victims in the hospitals or not, they got it. Everything that this team has done has been under the microscope and the people of Boston are looking at them for what they should do. People use sports to rally and that’s definitely what happened in Boston. The media made the Red Sox into the heroes of Boston. I think that the media created so much sympathy for the team that even people who would never root for the Red Sox began to cheer for them. As a Yankee fan I’ve always been against the Red Sox but when the World Series started I found myself hoping that the Red Sox to win. People wanted them to win because of everything they’ve dealt with over the last several months and so that this story had a happy ending. The media definitely portrayed all of this and it has made an incredible story for them to write about.

This all relates to our class because one of the biggest themes we’ve talked about on our class is social media and the popularity of twitter. The use of twitter during the marathon bombings and ever since has been getting bigger and bigger. Twitter breaks so many stories and is the first place most people learn about the news. We’ve also talked about the influence that the media can have on our perceptions. Everyone feels sympathy for Boston and everything that happened to them but the media has definitely built a huge story about overcoming hardships. These elaborate stories and seeing the victims has made non-Red Sox fans want to cheer for this team.

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Analysis by Megan Verpent in SRM 334 (section 1)

The Boston Red Sox are not typically referred to as “America’s team” in fact, many still reference them as the most racist team in Major League Baseball; not only were the last team to break the race barrier and sign an African American player, but “the image of black athletes experiencing racism, especially on the Red Sox, lingers.”(Montville, 1991). Despite the external critiques and the looming curses Boston had previously faced, this year the Red Sox became America’s team. This is in large part due the media’s portrayal of the organization and its players as not only as baseball players, but hometown heroes based on the way they responded to the Boston Marathon bombings which occurred at the beginning out the 2013 season in April.

Though our presentation focused on the post-World-Series champion Red Sox, we examined an article which was published by ESPN prior to the conclusion of the World-Series. It already depicted Boston as America’s baseball team. This article about the events of marathon bombings as well as the Red Sox regular season. However, the article did not just include the recorded wins and losses by the Red Sox, it also included personal stories of people who survived the bombing. The article featured Heather Abbott’s backstory. She survived the bombing, but lost a portion of her leg and was forced to relearn hot to walk. She threw out the first pitch of one of Boston’s home games at Fenway Park. The article concludes with how the Red Sox organization has helped in the recovery of the individuals affected by the marathon bombings as well as Boston as a community.

Most articles which are featured on ESPN.com and in ESPN the Magazine focus on sport. However, this article, “'Boston Strong' ... Sox have lived it” the game of baseball is a backstory. The victims of the Boston Marathon bombing and the way the Red Sox organization responded was the focal point. David Ortiz was no longer a designated hitter, the media solidified him as a symbol of the reuniting of Boston. The timing of this article’s publication, pre-championship, conveys the message that the media wanted America to understand which was, root for the Red Sox because a World-Series win would be bigger than baseball. There was no mention of the St. Louis Cardinals or the playoffs during this article which explains once again that the 2013 World-Series was not about baseball. ESPN, as well as other media outlets, focused on the victims recovering from injuries suffered in the attacks and the players of the Red Sox visiting or helping them. This was a way to garner non-baseball fans and engage them in the baseball season. Essentially, they used this angle to sympathize with the city of Boston and the victims to gain more viewers and fans.

Sport is directly linked to our everyday lives. Often when there is a tragedy, such as September 11, 2001, or the Boston Marathon bombing, people use sports as a way to escape. This is an example of how sport media outlets, including this article by ESPN reached beyond the average fan. Sport media does not only affect the way in which we watch sports, but also in the way which we relate to events in everyday life.

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"Pinkwash? For Every $100 Of NFL Pink Merchandise Sales, Only $3.54 Goes Toward Cancer Research"

From SportsGrid.com

Analysis by Ryan Murakami in SRM 435 (section 1)

‘A Crucial Catch’ is a merchandising campaign that the NFL is apart of during the month of October. The purpose of the campaign is to support breast cancer research. In the article, the author debates how much this campaign actually benefits cancer research. According to Business Insiders, the NFL of keeping about 90 percent of the sales for the Breast Cancer Awareness gear, even though they claim to only keep 45 percent. Of the 10 percent of money that the American Cancer Society does receive, less than 80 percent actually goes toward the funding of research. So the bottom line is, is the NFL really helping a good cause or are they taking advantage of an opportunity to “look good” just to create more revenue?

From a marketing standpoint, this campaign creates a great opportunity for the NFL to market to different audiences and focus on female spectators, who are about 45 percent of the NFL fan base. Over the first four years the campaign has been in existence, it has brought in 4.5 million in revenue. On the outside the league will get positive publicity from the general public by teaming up with the American Cancer Society. If fans truly look into the actual numbers though they will figure out that it is not as beneficial for the cancer research. The NFL can push the Breast Cancer Awareness gear since it is only available for a certain time of year and target a specific market, with their female audience. This is a wonderful marketing tool for the NFL to look like they are “helping” a cause and gives the fans a chance to buy different apparel items that are not available year round. This article can definitely relate to what we have learned in class this semester I believe the NFL has a product that people want with the Breast Cancer Awareness gear. The league will use the campaign to show fans they are involved with the American Cancer Society, which will also prompt more fans to buy the gear. From a sales standpoint, Ticketmaster also gives a small percentage to cancer research during October. This could potentially encourage fans and people involved with breast cancer research to support the league this particular month. The NFL seems to be the only party benefiting from this partnership and I believe this needs to change very soon.

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Analysis by Tyler Green in SRM 435 (section 1)

The article we decided to review and discuss in class was the big controversy rising up about the National Football League and its fifth annual partnership with the American Cancer Society and their campaign titled ‘A Crucial Catch’. Even though that campaign may appear to be selfless and compassionate of the NFL, others are beginning to think that underlying motives are simply to enhance their public image among the female fan base as well as take a large cut of the profits in merchandise sales. The agreement between organizations has the NFL putting pink in just about every aspect of the sport from player equipment to merchandise sold in stores to raise funds to support the fight against breast cancer and to advertise the Crucial Catches message (women over 40 getting annually screened for breast cancer). The issue is that for every $100 of merchandise purchased in the name of breast cancer research, only $3.54 is contributed to the fight. With all the money the NFL is generating, people cannot help but become angered at the mere 1% they will be contributing to their community causes this year.

From a sales/marketing stand point with disregard to ethics and morals, I would say that this campaign is a pretty smart way to generate large quantities of revenue. They have pinpointed a target market and a topic that affects many Americans nationwide, so it is a no brainer that it will bring a lot of attention and support. In addition to the money made, they also are doing wonders for their image by acting like such a strong advocate of fighting breast cancer while keeping the profits behind closed doors. If they can attract new customers (primarily female ones) and establish a positive connection with them to retain their allegiance, the could consider this “marketing mission” accomplished.

This article relates to our class in a number of ways, the first one being advertising and publicity and the roles they play in this campaign. The NFL is obviously giving some of the profits from sales to the ACS, so as a result they are paying for a little bit of advertising by being associated with a powerful subject such as breast cancer. This then leads into publicity because it creates a positive image for the league with all the coverage that can be done on the matter without money coming out of the NFL’s pockets. In addition to these, there is also a greater behavioral response incentives put on buying the merchandise when one believes they are helping to fight breast cancer. Particularly in the affiliation/community and health/fitness portions of incentives due to the female community coming together as one, and the emphasis on being healthy and cancer free. Last but not least, a lot of sponsorship aspects can be seen for this topic with the commercial agreement/mutual benefits between the NFL and ACS, the sponsorship trends of how “everyone is doing it” for the month of October, and the many sponsorship platforms the NFL is operating out of, which is just about all of them discussed in class.

Overall the article really got Ryan and I thinking about the concepts learned in class, the strategy the NFL is using to approach this sales/marketing opportunity, and how the class could easily and openly discuss such a matter with strong opinions.

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"What happened between Richie Incognito and Jonathan Martin?"

From Laces Out, Huffington Post, ESPN.com, and Bleacher Report

Analysis by Thomas Anzalone in SRM 334 (section 1)

Over the past week a member of the Miami Dolphins organization Jonathan Martin quit the team because other team members were bullying him. Richie Incognito was the targeted bully who left a viscous voicemail on Martin’s cell phone. Once upper level management heard this voicemail they suspended Incognito indefinitely. Richie Incognito has a history of getting kicked off teams and starting fights with players. With all this said many of the players on the Dolphins have came forward to say that Incognito is a great teammate and he took Martin under his wing to show him the way. When the media released the voicemail people started to attack Incognito through social media. He later retaliated on twitter to ESPN and Adam Schefter ESPN’s reporter. Incognito has taken his tweets off of his twitter page and neither Incognito nor Martin has yet to speak publicly about the incident. There are also numerous tweets between Martin and Incognito especially the picture posted of him and Incognito on Bourbon Street. When I first heard this story it immediately seemed like Richie Incognito had bullied Jonathan Martin to the point where he had to remove himself from the team. It didn’t even cross my mind to go online and write something about this incident or even go after Incognito’s twitter. 

I believe that social media can be good in certain ways but too many people abuse or misuse it. With social media growing so rapidly people feel the freedom to write what ever they want whenever they want. I think it’s just to easy now days to sit behind your computer or mobile device and say things to someone you wouldn’t say to their face. When the media found this voicemail they immediately started to attack Incognito and now that some of his teammates are having his back they are letting off him slightly. With the ability to communicate through technology so easily, a lot of things can get taken out of context. Since the audio of the voicemail hasn’t been released yet it’s hard to understand Incognitos tone of voice throughout the message. Incognito said some unacceptable things but it’s easy take Martins side after only hearing one side of the story. This story is relevant to our class because of all the media attention this story has drawn and all the talk throughout various types of social media networks. It shows us how members of the media are handling crises like this and how people on social media can react so quickly to one-sided evidence. This story also shows how not to respond to media reporters using social media and that things can easily be taken out of context through social networking.

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Analysis by Wyatt Johnson in SRM 334 (section 1)

My current event was based on the Richie Incognito and Jonathan Martin situation that occurred over the past couple of weeks. Practical jokes and pranks are part of the culture in NFL locker rooms, but it seems that it went over board for the Miami Dolphins. They suspended guard Richie Incognito for conduct detrimental to the team for his alleged treatment of teammate second year player Jonathan Martin. It’s being portrayed that Incognito was bullying Martin but it went to another level once Fox Sports reported that the Dolphins and the NFL Player Association were informed that Incognito sent racial slurred text messages and left threatening voicemails to Jonathan Martin. Incognito allegedly made references to harming Martin’s family, calling him a half n****, and defecating in Martin’s mouth. It appears that Martin was fed up with a prank that occurred in the lunchroom. There were also reports of Incognito pressuring Martin to contribute $15,000 for player trip to Vegas which Martin did not attend. The Dolphins confirmed that they have reached out to the NFL to conduct a thorough review of this situation. It is uncertain if and when Martin will return to the team and Incognito’s future is up in air right now with the Dolphins Franchise.

I find this story puzzling, because both players seemed fairly close just from observing both their twitter accounts that have pics of them together doing numerous activities. I know when I first saw this story I was really shocked that this could even happen in the NFL. I feel like the media is bashing Incognito and I mean they have the right to. There is evidence of Incognito using words that he shouldn’t and his background is very sketchy from college to now. I do think that the media needs to pay more attention Jonathan Martin because obviously he has some self-esteem issues and may need some physiological help. Obviously Jonathan Martin didn’t feel he could trust anyone in the Dolphins organization to talk about the internal issues he was having. This story just shows how much impact the media can have on a particular situation. It’s all over the media markets and now people are starting to discuss the topic of bullying and how it can be stopped. I mean that is the basic overall take of this is the bullying and hazing being a critical factor in sports and society.

"9/11 golf course promotion backfires"

From ESPN.com

Analysis by Trent Cundiff in SRM 435 (section 1)

I reviewed an article done by ESPN.com and Darren Rovell based on the Tumbledown Trails Golf Course’s 9/11 Golf Promotion fail. This golf course located near Madison, Wisconsin tried a very risky marketing promotion that ended up miserably. They offered a special for 18 holes of golf just for $9.11 on September 11, 2013. They believed that they would be honoring the people that were lost on that day but it turned into a major problem once their ad hit social media. The public was disgusted with the golf course trying to take advantage of a tragic day by spinning it off into a marketing promotion. Instead of the management for Tumbledown Trails realizing that a big mistake had been made by them intentionally or unintentionally, they posted on their Facebook that they have done it before and it is only meant for honoring the day. They even went on to say that they were “hurt” by the comments left from the public. This caused more backlashes from the public, including death threats left on the golf course’s voicemail. After the second wave of terrible responses, the management decided to donate the day’s earning to the 9/11 Memorial.

When studying this story the major thought that kept coming to my head was, “How many people did this go through to get approved?” I know a golf course management team is not close to numbers compared to an NBA marketing team but I believe red flags should have been thrown up from the start. They made one of the biggest tragedies in our American history into almost like a car dealership trying to have “An Independence Sale”. The actual idea going from the planning stage to the action stage makes me very confused to how it went through those channels without someone stopping it. Even more confusing to me was how when the promotion became negative, the golf course handled their crisis management very poorly. If you are going to take that big of a risk about doing a promotion based off 9/11, the golf course should have at least had a plan if things went “bad”. Instead of mending the public’s feelings, they became defensive that people had a negative outlook on the promotion. The first thing management should have done is tried to figure how to make this right to the public because their reputation is on the line. They may have been one of the more popular golf courses in their area and now they made national news for having one of “worst advertisements in human history”. I understand management believed they were doing a good thing and they could possibly get more attraction to the course. They saw it as a win-win from doing the promotion. However you have to scale the risk-reward ratio more than they did to see it might not be a win-win. 

The relevance of this story to sports marketing students is that sometimes you and your team or peers might think an idea is good for a marketing promotion but you have look at the glass half-full. If this group would have just weighed out the backlashes it could create, maybe they would have not decided on this promotion. I also believe research should have been done before you try this idea. When I researched 9/11 promotions, other companies had tried similar promotions in other industries and negative thoughts were produced from their promotions. Either way, lessons should be learned from a major mistake done by Tumbledown Trials, which is that don’t do promotions on national tragedies or possible “sour situations”.

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Analysis by Ryan Kilmon in SRM 435 (section 1)

Tumbledown Trails Golf Course royally messed up with this advertising campaign. They ran n advertisement promoting discounted golf on 9/11 that went sour fast. I personally feel that they represented a day of tragedy unfairly and with little remorse. Sure, intentions may have not been negative intentionally, but the way they went about this was totally ignorant. The terrorist attacks on the US will forever be a tragedy to this country and this golf course simply neglected that by promoting and taking action with this marketing plan. From the get go they should have marketed differently.

Proceeds for the day should have been donated upfront before any threats started that the golf course soon received once the advertisement hit social media. Instead, I viewed this act by Tumbledown Trails as brutally selfish. I feel that they used the remembrance of 9/11 as a way to try to make money for the course rather than actually marketing and promoting a day to remember the victims that fell in the attacks. They could have promoted discounted golf in a way that would still draw a crowd, but instead they chose to use an actual price of $9.11 which I feel was unnecessary and crossed the line.

This marketing plan was clearly not thought all the way through before it was launched. National attention was made out of this occurrence and the name and image of the course also became tarnished, especially when the course tried to get defensive to the criticism being thrown at them. Marketing and promoting on a day with such emphasis to this country has advantages and disadvantages. Clearly the way this advertisement was pitched was wrong and should have never been followed through with.

This article relates very strongly to this course. I feel that this is an excellent learning tool to learn what not to do when promoting or marketing for an organization. All stakeholders must be considered within a marketing plan and I feel that Tumbledown Trails Golf Course neglected to take this into consideration. People all over the country reacted to this and I certainly hope this establishment will do a more intensive brainstorming before they launch any more marketing advertisements.

"Drake named Raptors' ambassador"

From ESPN.com

Analysis by Dru Henderson in SRM 435 (section 1)

In this article ESPN covers the groundbreaking news that the Toronto Raptors hired the well-known rapper Drake as an ambassador for the team. A celebrity in the NBA is no new trend. Jay-Z was a minority owner in the Nets (he recently sold his stock to Jason Kidd), Will and Jada Pinkett Smith are minority owners of the Sixers, and its no shock to catch Jack Nicholson and Spike Lee front row of a Lakers-Knicks game. However, this is the first time a celebrity has been such a vital part of an organization.

So what can Drake, who has no professional experience in the sport industry, bring to the Raptors? A lot actually. The rapper is one of the premier artists in the music industry today. He has a huge following, which is shown by his 13,000,000+ Twitter followers. He can attract an audience that otherwise would not attend a Raptors game. Fans of the musician may not be basketball fans, but if Drake endorses the team its safe to say they will follow close behind. As a native of Toronto, Drake’s fame has made him an icon in the territory. If he attends games regularly he can pull the hometown crowd out to the game by just his presence. He more than likely won’t be the only celebrity in the crowd. Fame has made the rapper an acquaintance of several A-List celebrities. This season you may flip the channel to TNT and catch Drake and Lil Wayne front row of a Raptors game. Celebrity appearances do wonders for the marketing department of an organization as fans get the chance to see celebrities in the same crowd as themselves.

The Raptors have struggled in recent years resulting in relatively poor fan attendance. In 2012 they ranked 17th in the league with an average attendance of 16,835. Through two games this season the organization has attracted an average of 19,312 fans, which is seventh best in the NBA. Has Drake’s presence already made an impact? It’s a little early to know that, but it will be interesting to follow throughout the season. 

Drake’s role won’t be solely focused on fan attendance. The recent trend in the NBA is super stars joining forces during free agency. Drake has become close with several NBA stars including LeBron James. He holds the potential to open up opportunities for stars to team up in Toronto through his networking skills, and his ability to attract the athletes simply by his celebrity status.

Overall I think this was a brilliant move by the Toronto Raptors. Unless Drake has a social mishap that would represent the organization in a less than desirable way I don’t see where this situation could end badly for the Raptors. 

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Analysis by Aaron Jason in SRM 435 (section 1)

The article summarizes the initiation of Drake as the new global ambassador of the Toronto Raptors of the NBA. Drake, a rapper from Toronto, has been a long time sports fan and specifically a supporter of the Raptors. On top of the amount of brand recognition Drake will bring to the franchise with just his name, he brings much more to the table than that alone.

Drake possesses a sort of intellect that many rappers do not seem to possess; he shows true, relatable emotion in his songs and strikes true in the heart of many people through his role on Degrassi as an ex-basketball player with a debilitating gunshot injury. His intelligence will be on full display as an ambassador. He is not focused on creating personal name recognition, he more cares about the revival of a franchise who so desperately needs it. He has shown he understands the fundamentals of a successful ambassador. He connects well with people through his messages on a deeper level than most artists. Not only does he have many music fans, he has many fans of him as a person. From a marketing standpoint, this will be absolutely essential to his success. Fans of his music, fans of the Raptors, and people who simply support him as an individual will all unite into a new demographic of fanhood, similar to what Jay-Z constructed in Brooklyn with the Nets. Beyond the fan connection, Drake’s name will bring more non-basketball fans into attendance of what is going on with the Raptors. Whether people follow him on Twitter or read about him in the news, they will now have a steady stream of information relating to the Raptors show up on their feeds or web searches. Drake also brings a hip factor into the equation. While it is not good to completely stray from the traditional values of an NBA franchise, a little infusion of youth and excitement will only increase sales and awareness of the organization.

Another interesting factor in this equation is his upbringing in Toronto. It is more than ideal that a global representative of a team should be from that area. If anyone knows what the city yearns for most from a fan standpoint, it would be Drake who was submerged in the culture of Toronto and specifically the Raptors. His connection on a cultural level will do wonders for his ability to connect with the outside world and promote his product, the Toronto Raptors. Overall, it seems highly inevitable that Drake will bring large brand recognition and excitement with the Raptors as a new partner of his. Even if the team does not immediately win, the culture and understanding of the city Drake possesses will help him connect to a fan base better than many professional ambassadors could attempt to do. Between high class celebrities, the enticement of star free agents, and the money revenue generated from his name, Drake is bringing a potential storm of success through the city of Toronto and he has the real possibility to turn this project into a serious success not only in the town but across the game of basketball in and beyond our country.

"Tribe seeks to force NFL Redskins name change"

From CNN.com

Analysis by Kyle Linn in SRM 435 (section 2)

This article is pertaining to the fact that a group of Native Americans, the Oneida Nation, is uncomfortable with the Washington Redskins using “Redskins” as their mascot. Both sides bring up valid points as to why they deem it offensive and why it is a cultured history of the Redskins franchise. Supporters of the name change feel that now is the time to change the name because this year marks the 81st year of the franchise since their move from Boston in 1932. Others like Dan Snyder for instance said that, “he will NEVER change his team’s name, even if they lose an ongoing federal trademark lawsuit that would stop the NFL team from exclusively profiting from the Redskins name” (Todd, Steinhauser 2013). 

The article states that two-thirds of Redskins fans in the D.C. area do not want the team to change their name. Although, eight out of ten said that they felt a name change would not matter to them. I value the two-thirds of Redskins fans who do not want the name change. My next question is then if the team name is changed, can you not as a fan wear clothing or other things to the stadium that say “Redskins” on it? I looked up the Oneida Native American Nation, and while the Oneida Native Americans make up about 45,000 of the population, there are only about 1000+ in the actual group from New York that is upset with the name. I greatly appreciate the fact that there is a group offended here, but the name is being used in greatness and jubilee as fans chant, “Hail to the Redskins!” at football games. This in terms of sales and merchandises makes up only a fraction of the entire Washington Redskins nation.

Promotionally is where I feel this is a big area of concern. Supporters of the name change could possibly boycott or continue to slander the Washington Redskin organization for its use of a “racial slur” to some. You could have protests in front of the stadium during game days and it makes for negative attention from the organizations point of view, especially in terms of sponsorships. Then, you have fans who have been fans all their lives and now suddenly, they have to call their team something different because we all now have to be politically correct in our society which hinders free speech and expression, in my opinion. Being a fan, I have never considered the name offensive and many of the Oneida Native Americans do not have a problem with Washington’s mascot. If you do change the name, you then have made a small group of people happy and now your fans can possibly become unhappy, possibly boycott games, and/or protest the name change, all of which again bring about negative publicity to the franchise. Why has it taken 80 years for there to be buzz about the name change now?Dan Snyder has an important decision to make. Either way, he is going to come out winning and losing. This pertains to our class and major because you have an ethical dilemma, a promotional/publicity crisis, and a managerial decision to make. If I were Snyder, I would not change the name (and no not because I am a fan). I think if you look at it from a promotional point of view, you don’t have to stop production and design of now and future Redskins merchandise and memorabilia, ask fans to not wear clothing that says “Redskins” on it, etc. Ethically it should be changed, without question. However, you are always going to have supporters and people who disagree and in this situation with a multi-billion dollar organization on the line, I would not risk upsetting the fan base that is the “lifeblood” of the Washington Redskins versus a group that in terms of geography makes up a small portion of the population. I do stand behind Mr. Snyder and his decision to not (at this point) change the name. 

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Analysis by Steve Mashinski in SRM 435 (section 2)

"I want to say this to Redskins fans. No one blames you for having used a name that was always used as this team. They will only blame you if you continue to use it and if you use it will impunity," I think this was the perfect quote to be placed into the end of this article. It basically says you are either going to have to change your team name or you will have an ongoing battle with the ones you are offending and the media. One of the major problems is some of these Redskins fans have been supporting this organization for potentially 80 years, but the group it is offending is making it known that there is not another option other than to stop using a racial slur to gain revenue for an organization. From a promotions and marketing stand point if the Redskins happened to change their name it would open doors to ultimately give them a fresh start. The Redskins haven’t had a promising season for a while now so maybe a new look will give them that extra push to excite people and make them want to go out and buy the new gear or come to games to be a part of history. The organization would be looked at positively in the media’s eyes for respecting a group of individuals therefore could gain more supporters. Unfortunately, on the other side of the table you will have the long standing supporters of the redskins that will boycott the new name. This will lead to protests to get the Redskins name back and fans that are unwilling to support the new organization. This side of the tables major argument is that they are not putting the name redskins down in any way they are honoring the name and don’t support them for any other reason besides the fact that they are a good football team This topic directly relates to what we have covered in class especially the effect of ticket sales from this major decision. Personally I believe ticket sales will go down because a team being around for 80 years brings in tons of loyal supports and for most of them Washington Redskins football is all they know.