"Female Olympians count their post-Games winnings"

From UPI.com

Review by Ali Noel in KIN 332 (section 2)

The article “Female Olympians Count their Post-Games Winnings” dealt with issues between male and female endorsed athletes and how the gender gap is gradually becoming thinner. As the Olympic games came to their end, there has been a developing interest in certain female athletes and with that comes the possibility for lucrative sponsorship opportunities. In the past, male athletes have earned, on average, twice the amount that female athletes get paid in sponsorships. Although top male athletes will always attract the most attention, thus leading to higher paychecks, female athletes have certainly become more marketable and involved in high-paying endorsement deals in the recent times. Social networking sites are partly accountable for this increase in salary and endorsement deals for female athletes. These athletes have immense followings on social media sites which means they are able to influence and relate to fans and consumers. This article used Olympic gold medalist, Gabby Douglas, as a prime example. She has nearly 750,000 followers on Twitter, which means the products she endorses are being seen through her promotional tweets regarding that company’s product. For example, on October 8, 2012 she tweeted, “Best cereal in the WORLD!! Thanks Kellogg’s!” This tweet had a picture of Kellogg’s new cereal “Krave” and many people retweeted and favored this specific tweet. People are becoming aware of products through these athletes and it is increasing the company’s profits in the long run. Her expected earnings through this deal with Kellogg’s will bring Gabby almost $3 million. The article also discussed how high school Olympian swimmer Missy Franklin has given up some profitable offers ($2 million in endorsements to be exact) in order to remain eligible to play college sports. Some companies, including Pantene, have used multiple female athletes to mass-market their products. This is beneficial because Pantene’s mission is to raise awareness for the relationship between sports and health. Although some of these female athletes are earning millions in endorsement deals, they still have a long way to go before catching up to the leading men in the industry. Last year’s Sports Illustrated magazine reported 50 of the highest earning athletes, and not a single woman made the cut. This is partly due to the fact that outside of the Olympics, female athletes are not recognized nearly as much as males. Another reason is that females are usually portrayed strategically by sexualizing them and the target market (other females) do not respond favorably to this. These female athletes are far behind their male counterparts earnings-wise, but hopefully that will be changing in the near future. 

"WKU Athletic Department Says Beer is a 'Positive' at Football Games"

From WBKO.com

Review by Derek Orndorff in KIN 332 (section 1)

It seems as if Western Kentucky University has successfully found a new way to generate money and happiness at their home football games. Beer. At the start of the current football season, WKU switched up their scheme. By allowing alcohol sales at football games, the fans are showing up in larger numbers. Could it be that beer is what caused the spike in attendance, or is it all because the team is playing solid?

The 3-1 Hilltoppers claim that the idea stemmed from the athletic department and gradually grew stronger as others endorsed it. The fans seem to love the new option of buying five-dollar beers, but then again who wouldn’t? Western Kentucky is trying to regulate the sale of it by only allowing a person to purchase two beers at a time and they must be wearing a non-removable I.D. bracelet. In addition, beer sales end at the conclusion of the third quarter.

Now, with fans drinking heavily before the game and during the game, WKU must pay closer attention to fans and be ready to spring into action whenever conflict occurs. A drunken conflict is a worse conflict than just a simple sober confrontation. Security will continue to be increased with the increases in attendance and Western Kentucky will have to complete a much more extensive clean-up process with the new beers sales. However, Western Kentucky is among several other universities who have adopted alcohol sales at sporting events; Louisville, Louisiana-Lafayette, and South Alabama all sell alcohol.

I believe that Western Kentucky has made the correct decision in selling alcohol and I think there will continue to be positive effects on the football games. In the spring, I expect a rise in attendance at baseball games too, due to the sales that will be allowed there.

"X Games expands globally"

From ESPN.com

Review by Brandon Jones in KIN 332 (section 2)

The X Games have decided to expand to an international market in the upcoming 2013 through 2015 Summer and Winter games by adding destinations in Barcelona, Spain; Munich, Germany; and Foz do Iguacu, Brazil. ESPN and the X-Games wanted to stimulate their target youth market in these culture hotbeds in order to mainstream action sports across the globe. X Game leaders want to infuse a lifestyle with their brand in order to make their fans feel like a community. The style of sports in these action games also goes against traditional sport boundaries because these athletes are usually competing against the environment, obstacles, and challenges. This change in the “norm” of sports gives action sports an image of rebellion against societal norms.

Action Sports are becoming more marketable with the constant inventions of new thrilling activities. These activities usually push the boundaries of safety and sanity, and can result in the death of the athletes and others. However, this risk has just increased the fan-base of highly skilled athletes like Travis Pastrana, Shaun White, and Tony Hawk. This article discusses the importance of infusing these action sports within the cultures of other countries around the world.

I believe that the X-Games has a distinct advantage over traditional sports because they are limitless in creativity, which means it can evolve with the ever-changing youth of the next generation. If ESPN continues to push these sports into countries these action activities may become the new era of mainstream sports.