From NFL.com and a NFL press release Review by Amber Bolen in KIN 332 (section 1) The NFL teamed up with the American Cancer Society four years ago to create “The Crucial Catch Campaign.” From then on, it has done nothing but expand to other brands and not only the NFL but colleges as well. This campaign shows that it is perfectly acceptable for men to wear pink to support a great cause.
During the month of October, we see athletes wearing pink to accentuate their normal game-day attire. Personally, I thought they just wore the pink for the cause and support. I did not know that it was an actual campaign that raised a lot of money. The following brands assist in taking Breast Cancer Awareness month and the Crucial Catch Campaign to a whole other level. Barclays has an NFL Extra Point credit card and during the month of October, depending on how much people use their Extra Point card, they will donate up to $100,000. Ticket Master is donating ten cents on every game ticket sold in the month of October including printing pink tickets of these games to raise awareness. Gatorade is sponsoring the pink sideline towels at every “A Crucial Catch” game as well as created “A Crucial Catch” G Series special edition bottles sold at Kroger throughout October 12th. The following brands are the brands that are sponsoring the athletic pink apparel for the athletes: New Era (Breast Cancer Awareness hats), Under Armour (gloves), Nike (cleats and gloves), Riddell (pink helmet chin cups), Wilson (Breast Cancer Awareness footballs and quarterback towels), and Pro Specialties Group (pink shoelaces and Breast Cancer Awareness pins.)
I think the idea of many different brands to partner up and make the month of October something special for not only people that are battling this horrific disease but for families who have lost someone or have someone fighting breast cancer is such an amazing idea. My grandmother is a survivor of breast cancer and to see how many people can come together to find a cause truly warms my heart. I could only imagine how people that have lost someone and read this article felt. As a James Madison University student, I saw it carry over into a football game of our own. October 6th James Madison athletes dressed out wearing certain assets pink instead of the normal purple and gold. And the fans decked out in JMU apparel that was pink that also sponsored Breast Cancer Awareness. The NFL is a huge corporation and it shows how one small idea of creating a campaign to raise money for a cause can become a world-wide program.
Overall, the article touched me in ways I never thought a simple article could. It showed that even though these brands bring in millions of money, they are more than willing to reach out a helping hand. Not only did it show what brands helped in making Breast Cancer Awareness month more known, it showed that wearing pink was not just a show. It was a campaign that not only raised awareness but raised money to help find a cure for a deadly, world-wide issue.
I’m not the type of person to buy clothing or anything else really based on whose clothes line it is or who advertises the product, however I still think it is smart for athletes to do this. Not only does it provide another source of income for them, but it expands an athlete’s fan base allowing them to become more popular. This growth in popularity also will lead to more opportunities for income because popularity directly relates to the endorsement deals an athlete or person can receive. Cam Newton is an athlete continually growing in popularity, in a sport with continually growing popularity, so why not put out a clothing line that can only enhance his fame. He isn’t the first athlete to begin a clothing line, but few go beyond designing shoes and apparel like Cam Newton has. I especially think it’s smart to get involved in children’s clothing because kids look at athletes as if they are superheroes, and I think his clothing line MADE will be a huge hit with the kids. I think this is even more true in today’s day and age where looks and being cool is becoming more and more important to younger kids. I believe if an athlete or person of prominence has a passion for fashion, then they should pursue something along the lines of their own clothes line like Cam Newton has. He was very involved in the design of his line and with the help of Belk’s Inc., MADE by Cam Newton will be being worn by a lot of people in the coming years.
Review by Beau Banglesdorf in KIN 332 (section 2) TBS is averaging four percent higher overnight Nielsen ratings through its first eight playoff games compared to last year and has seen an increase in 25-54 year old male viewers by fifteen percent. Certain games are even obtaining higher ratings than usual even though NFL games are on television at the same time. Through the first three days, TBS is averaging a 2.3 US rating and 3.6 million viewers which are up fifteen percent and fourteen percent respectively. In terms of viewers and US rating from last year on the third day of playoff coverage, both are up eleven percent. D.C. has had its best rating since the Nationals came to town in 2005 and the Orioles have had their highest rating since the were last in the playoffs in 1997. The Major League Baseball Network (MLBN) averaged 1.3 million viewers for the Athletics vs. Tigers game, which was the networks highest ever. Some fans and writers feeling like the MLBN’s handling of its coverage is greedy however. The MLBN is not allowing local markets to air the games it airs.
I believe baseball is doing a great job making a comeback and becoming relevant to television ratings and audiences once again. Football and basketball had taken over for a while and I feel like it is nice to see baseball making marketing changes to bring audiences back in. The MLB has seen how effective the NFL and NBA have been with commercials geared towards their fans and now the MLB is airing similar commercials and the effectiveness of such commercials is being seen with the increased ratings. It does not hurt however, that some new teams have made the playoffs and it is not just the same teams this year that it usually is.
