From Yahoo! Sports Review by Timothy Allen in SRM 334 (section 3)
Hayden Dyer and I selected the Qatar bid for the 2022 world cup as our current event presentation for many reasons. Both of us are interested in the sport, and we found it unique that a country such as Qatar would be able to host one of the biggest events in the world of sport.
Qatar is a small country in the Middle East, bordered only by Saudi Arabia (although in close proximity of Bahrain and United Arab Emirates). The economy of Qatar is essentially run by oil, and many surrounding countries have had much prosperity because of this product. The city of Dubai in UAE has expanded to one of the largest cities in the world, and is growing exponentially. Some of the projects that are happening there are remarkable and they have high hopes that they will be one of the most visited cities in the world in the next few years.
Qatar itself has made a lot of promises up to this point. They have planned on building 8 (almost brand new) stadiums to attract attention and a World Cup bid. These stadiums offer built in air conditioning to keep players and fans cool in the 100+ degree conditions during the summer. This will be the most expensive World Cup in history by a long shot. The selection process for Qatar to get this world cup was a long and arduous one; they had to produce a bid evaluation report which covers hotel accommodations to transportation for players and fans. The struggle to get this attention was hard as well, 2002 was the first time a world cup wasn’t held in the Americas or Europe, and 2010 was the first time the world cup was held in Africa. FIFA President Sepp Blatter said it was his goal to bring the World Cup to countries that would never have a chance to see it years ago, but that leaves a lot of pressure for these countries to prepare for it.
Although Qatar is a safe country itself, it’s hard to ignore the safety concerns in hosting such a large event in the Middle East, and being a Muslim country there is still much hostility towards other nationalities and religions. For example, Qatar is a dry country, meaning alcohol is forbidden and against the law to possess, but for the World Cup, alcohol will be permitted and there will be designated alcohol zones where it can be purchased and consumed. Another difficulty in Qatar’s bid was Israel, although they aren’t a powerhouse in the sport, there is a strong possibility they will be included in the tournament, and although Qatar doesn’t recognize Israel as a country, they will still be able to compete.
Overall, Qatar is drawn out to be a success on paper. They have a lot of time to prepare for the tournament and unlike South Africa they plan on being done with stadium renovations years before the tournament will take place. There is a lot that can go wrong in the next 10 years, but with careful preparation I can see this World Cup being a success for the Middle East’s exposure and for other hopeful countries to come.
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Review by Hayden Dyer in SRM 334 (section 3)
For our current event presentation, we decided on the topic of the 2022 World Cup in Qatar, and the controversies, bid campaign, and media involvement that come along with it. Qatar was selected to host the 2022 FIFA World Cup, in a bid campaign that also included countries such as, USA, Japan, and Australian, to name a few. One of the major controversies surrounding FIFA’s choice to pick Qatar was how hot it gets during the summers. Temperatures can reach up to 122 degrees Fahrenheit, making medical personnel worried about the player’s safety of playing in these temperatures. One suggestion was to schedule the event during Qatar’s winter months, where the temperature would be much lower. Many people wondered knowing that it would be so hot why would FIFA choose Qatar to host such a big event. It all starts with the bid campaign where the country proposes to FIFA on why they should host the World Cup. Using media such as websites and videos, Qatar began to spread the word to gain supporters for their proposal. They aired videos showing how not only their country, but also the world would come together and enjoy such an event. They also put out videos of architectural designs of what the stadiums would look like, if they were chosen, and to silence critics about it being too hot, they said that each stadium would have an air conditioning unit that would make the stadium about 30 degrees cooler than it was outside. Seeing these proposals FIFA chose Qatar to be in the final voting with USA, who Qatar beat to host this event. Using media such as websites, and airing commercials to get their name out there Qatar grabbed the attention of many people, and impressed the FIFA committee with their state of the art facility plans, enough so to host an event as big as the FIFA World Cup.
From CDW Review by Kevin McGough in KIN 332 Since 2008 the CDW and PGA have been partners and the CDW has been one of the largest PGA sponsors. Recently, the two agreed on an extension for four years lasting until 2016. I believe this is a great sponsorship and they compliment each other extremely well. The CDW makes sure the Professional Golf Tour has great media, on-site fan experiences and the new ShotLink. ShotLink provides a virtual experience for staff, players, and fans to look at all the detail and virtual shots of each players swing throughout the TOUR.
In turn, the PGA provides a great atmosphere and cliental for the CDW to promote their technology. The CDW gives away technology IT products and services to staff and players. They also get to brand their name on the virtual score boards. This is great advertising for the CDW and the two companies can work together to better one another in business.
“Since the outset of our marketing relationship with CDW in 2008, the TOUR has taken full advantage of CDW’s expertise to improve and enhance our technological capabilities to the benefit of our staff, players and fans,” said Tom Wade, global commercial officer of the PGA TOUR. This is a great chance for the CDW to provide customer service to future cliental as well. The PGA attracts higher cliental and even business owners so it is smart to provide the best hospitality to the PGA through the CDW so it compliments them both as one.
Review by Ryan Kilmon in SRM 334 (section 1) This is a short article written by the Washington Post’s Ed Miller. After he covered the CAA championship game that the dukes won he received a lot of appreciation from readers. In his article he expresses his surprise at this reaction because he has never specifically been asked for more coverage of JMU. To please his readers again he wrote this article focusing on senior forward Rayshawn Goins and his interview after the dukes won the championship game.
I really thought this article was interesting because it showed the reaction of the author which articles don’t often do. I was a little surprised that so many people appreciated the expanded coverage of the JMU men’s basketball team. JMU is not really considered a big name school and hasn’t been to the NCAA tournament since 1994. I guess a lot of people were as excited for JMU success as I was. No one who has gone to JMU in nearly the past two decades has been a part of this or seen this unfold. The success has garnered a lot of attention in the media even making it onto SportsCenters top plays.
The course relates to this topic and article in quite a few ways. Not only was the article related to our University and the success and happiness we were experiencing at the time, but it was a first-hand reaction from a very well respected writer of the Washington Post. It relates directly to media and media coverage that has been generated over the past week. Social media has also been blowing up with comments about JMU making it to the “Big Dance.” I have seen countless tweets and Facebook posts in the last week about this experience and it has made me consider how the situation must have been different 19 years ago. I am very proud that I will be able to look back years down the road as being a part of it and the JMU nation.
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Review by Joey Townsend in SRM 334 (section 1) We decided to do our current event project on the NCAA men’s basketball tournament focusing our attention on JMU making the tournament. This is the first time since the 1994 season that the team has made it back to the tournament. James Madison last won a NCAA tournament game back in the 1983 season. Hopefully that drought will end Wednesday when they play LIU Brooklyn at the University of Dayton. Both teams are coming into the tournament as co-No. 16 seeds. The winner of the James Madison-LIU Brooklyn contest will face one of the college game’s most aristocratic programs, top-seeded Indiana, on Friday in Dayton. JMU was given little respect on Sunday when they were selected as a co-No. 16 seed. Some of the JMU players will be playing with a chip on their shoulder which could help them advance to the next round. However, many of the players are just happy to be recognized at such a competitive event. JMU has received tons of attention for making the NCAA tournament this year. If the dukes can win on Wednesday, the media coverage for the team and school will only keep going up. For the people who may be watching the tournament and don’t know about James Madison University, this could really be a chance to put JMU in consideration for many people who are choosing colleges to attend too. Also, many future college student athletes who are watching the tournament may consider attending and playing at James Madison after seeing their success this season and being able to make it to the tournament. This is not only a huge win for a men’s basketball team, but also a huge win for the University.
