From ESPN.com Review by Ryan Vince in SRM 334 (section 2) The current event article that we chose was about a 28 year old Norwegian soccer player who became famous due to his posted Youtube video. Havard Rugland never had any aspirations of becoming an NFL kicker or becoming an internet sensation, he just wanted to entertain his friends and family with a neat 4 minute video. There’s no doubt that Havard has the talent needed for the NFL, but this opportunity never would have arisen if it wasn’t for the social media in the world today.
With an increasing popularity of Havard’s video, Scott Cohen, assistant general manager for the New York Jets, sent him an e-mail showing interest in Havard’s leg. The Jet’s assistant GM was willing to give Havard a workout, to see firsthand the talents of the Norwegian youth counselor. This past Thanksgiving, Havard met with former NFL kicker, Michael Husted, to hone his kicking skills before an actual NFL tryout. “He’s definitely the most impressive nonfootball kicker that I’ve worked with,” said Husted, who believes that Havard has many similarities to that of Oakland’s kicker Sebastian Janikowski.
Although, there has been some skepticism of this Norwegian sensation from Arizona Cardinal’s kicker, Jay Feely, and New York Giants punter, Steve Weatherford. “I think he’s talented, but there’s a different dynamic when you have a video camera and 1,000 chances versus when there’s 80,000 people screaming at you,” Said Weatherford, “You only have one shot.” Although, Rugland believes he can handle the pressure.
Right now, Havard is far from playing for an NFL team any time soon, but the social media has given him the opportunity of a lifetime. Rugland didn’t pursue an NFL job; he merely works as a youth counselor for the local child protective services and one day decided to make a video kicking around a football. Twenty years ago this story wouldn’t be possible, which proves that the emergence of online sport communication and the new sport media has grown at an accelerated rate.---
Review by Tucker Koch in SRM 334 (section 2) For our current events presentation we chose to base it on an ESPN article about a Norwegian kicker who made a video on YouTube and suddenly rose to stardom. Havard Rugland is a 28 year old from Norway who has never played a single down of American football but has already had tryouts with NFL teams. It is due in large part to a video he posted to social media sites that shows him making all sorts of “trick shots” with his powerful and accurate left foot. After his video accumulated 2.3 million views (and counting) the New York Jets contacted Rugland about a possible tryout. He thought they were kidding, but given the fact that they gave a backup quarterback his own press conference after signing a multi-million dollar contract, you never know with the Jets. It turns out they were being serious, and they flew Rugland out to San Diego, California to work with a kicking specialist to see just how much talent he has. The result was just as astonishing as some of the kicks in his video. The expert, Michael Husted, said that Rugland had more talent than any non-football kicker he’s ever seen. He added that he has just as much leg power and height on his kicks as most NFL kickers, if not more power. The Jets must have been equally as impressed because they asked Rugland to come back for a second tryout in March of this upcoming year. After being also contacted by other teams including the Philadelphia Eagles, it seems very likely a pro career will come out of a YouTube video.
My initial reaction to this video was that it was unlike anything I’ve ever seen. It was just impressive trick shots like a lot of YouTube videos seem to be, but it was actual talent. Making 50 yarder after 50 yarder in the dead center of the uprights is unbelievable natural talent. But as current NFL players are saying, it will be a lot harder with 80,000 screaming fans. ---
Review by Rich Leeper in SRM 334 (section 2) The title of our current event article was “Norwegian kicker dreams of NFL after viral video.” The article is about a YouTube video called “Kickalicious.” The YouTube video was made by a soccer player from Norway, Havard Rugland, and his friends. It consists of four minutes of amazing tricks and kicks all done with a football. The video was originally posted to YouTube and Facebook so he could share it with his friends and family. After a few short weeks the video was spread over the internet and even caught the attention of some NFL scouts.
Rugland has never played football and hardly knows the rules to the game, but with the exposure he has received from Kickalicious he may end up having a shot at playing in the NFL. In November the New York Jets gave him a tryout. He met with the Jets kicking coach, Michael Husted, and spent a week working on his technique and displaying his skills. Husted has claimed Rugland is “Definitely the most impressive nonfootball kicker I’ve ever worked with” and “he hits it just as high, just as far as a lot of the NFL kickers, if not further.” There is no doubt that the Jets are extremely interested in this new prospect, but there is some skepticism. He has never played the game, not entirely sure on the rules to the game, and never experienced the tremendous pressure NFL kickers are under. Multiple NFL kickers asked what they thought about the video and they expressed similar concerns.
Rugland on the other hand, remains enthusiastic about the opportunity. After his NFL tryout with the Jets he was quoted saying, “I was under a lot of pressure during the tryout, and a lot of people would freeze up at something like that because there’s a lot of people watching you. But that went well, so I think I have good chances of handling it.”
It is amazing how fast and far this simple YouTube video has spread. The amount of technology and emphasis our society places on social media allowed a 28-year-old ex-soccer player to be given a chance to play in the NFL. It will be really interesting to see if this YouTube sensation can back up his video when it comes to the real games.
From CBSSports.com Review by Matt Butta in SRM 334 (section 1) The current event that my group presented on was written by Will Brinson who wrote a response to a negatively written article about the Houston Texans. Dan Shaughnessy, a columnist for the Boston Globe wrote that the Texans were a terrible team and had no chance to beat the New England Patriots during Sunday’s divisional playoff game. Shaughnessy said that this was the first time the Patriots had two straight bye weeks because of how easy of a win the Texans game would be. Shaughnessy also had several insults about the Texans including calling them “fraudulent” as well as other things (Brinson, 2013). The article that we used talks about how Arian Foster, starting running back for the Texans, changed his avatar on Twitter to a picture of the article written by Shaughnessy and about how the article is not accurate. I agree with Brinson’s article completely. He talks about how the Texans are a good team with excellent players and how they have a chance to win the game on Sunday. He also talks about how they are not favored to win but should be taken seriously as a contender in this weekend’s game. This article is relevant to the course because it shows how professional athletes use social media to gain motivation for their games. It also shows how athletes use social media to display their response to criticism whether the criticism is positive or negative. Four years ago if something like this occurred chances are Arian Foster would have used a different approach to handle the situation because social media was not used as often as it is now. Now players use social media not only as a way to connect with fans but to also to motivate their teammates and themselves. With all the changes in social media it will be interesting to see how athletes will use social media in the future.
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Review by Forrest Lodge in SRM 334 (section 1)
This article brings up the controversy of Dan Shaughnessy’s column in the Boston Globe about how much of a blessing it was for the Patriots to draw the Texans in the second round of the NFL Playoffs. The main thing in this article however is how Texans running-back Arian Foster acknowledged Shaughnessy’s column and even took a screenshot of it and made his Twitter avatar. The Twitter world nowadays is huge and it spits out news and information like wildfire, so once Foster changed his Twitter avatar to the picture of the article, everyone and their mother’s found out about this article. It is not uncommon for players to find out about harsh comments and opinions of sports analysts and other critics, however Foster took it to the next level by putting the word out through social media. What we did notice through the YouTube video that we found was that Foster never actually commented on the article at all, and that the only thing he did was put the picture of the article as his Twitter picture. I feel like this was a proper way to handle the situation because it is a form of motivation for not only himself but for players, coaches, and fans of the Texans. Ultimately I think it is a prime example of how social media plays a major factor within sports today because of the endless access and availability that it provides to everyone in this world with a computer or smart phone. Twitter allows anyone with an account to connect directly with athletes and celebrities who also have accounts and that is something that we haven’t been able to do for all that long and I feel that it has changed the way athletes handle the public because they can also connect back with anyone they want through social media.
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Review by Sean Petrizzi in SRM 334 (section 1)
After the Houston Texans advanced passed the Wild Card Round to face the New England Patriots Boston Globe columnist Dan Shaughnessy wrote an article claiming the Patriots were the “first team in NFL history to get back-to-back byes before advancing to the conference championship game.” This was in reference to the Week 14 matchup where the Patriots outplayed the Texans to the tune of 42 to 14. Texans running back Arian Foster posted three paragraphs of the article as his Twitter avatar without comment. It was seen by many as a move to post bulletin board material for all to see.
I feel that Arian Foster handled this situation perfectly. By leaving out any commentary on the article Foster showed he took offense from the article but did not complain which would have opened him up to criticism of being overly sensitive to the media. He brought the article to the attention to people outside of New England and possibly was trying to bring it to the attention of his teammates to help motivate them. My criticism would be of Shaughnessy. Football fans will know that the New England Patriots Head Coach Bill Belichick is very reserved with his comments and is very calculated in what he says as to not provide the typical “bulletin board material” that may help other teams be motivated to win more than they already are in the ultra-competitive NFL. By writing this article, Shaughnessy flies right in the face of that train of thought. As someone who has covered Belichick and will continue to do so, I wonder whether Shaughnessy’s relationship with Belichick will be slightly strained now.
This article shows that changing forms of media are affecting the interaction between sports reporters and athletes. It is now much easier for athletes to respond to criticism from sports reporters and these responses can be seen by almost anyone at any time.
The 2013 BCS National Championship Game was held in South Florida this past Monday, and as always it came with a lot of hype. Coaches and players are interviewed, analysts pick apart the teams and choose their winner, bets are placed and people around the country tune in to see the spectacle. However, one major part of any event like this that skates somewhat under the radar is the economic impact it has on both the schools and the local area where it is held. SunSentinel.com reports that total retail sales for the game between Alabama and Notre Dame could reach as high as $40 million. South Florida could also be seeing as much as $10 million of that, which is the average 25% of total retail sales that the region gets for a BCS National Championship Game. Without the impact of sports marketing, the teams and the local features and attractions would not be known to the fans and a large chunk of these earnings would go down the drain.
The local community and the schools playing in the National Championship might see some big numbers, but they aren’t the only ones. The Highland Mint, a collectibles manufacturer and distributor, makes anywhere from 30-40% of their annual earnings off big games like this including the Super Bowl and the NBA Championship Game. Without big venues like this stores like The Highland Mint would quickly be out of business. They too not only rely on the teams marketing themselves and making their brand desirable, but stores like these must also market themselves and show the consumer that they make a quality product that is superior to knockoffs and especially competitors.
Unfortunately, when there is such a large market for sports memorabilia like this people will find any way they can to make a quick buck from it and when they do no money goes back to the local economy or to the schools. After the games is when many of the counterfeiters come out to sell and the Collegiate Licensing Committee estimates that after BCS games around 5,000 items are confiscated outside the host stadium. Even though the internet has become the main culprit in counterfeit sales and forged items, people can still be tricked on the street and it is absolutely crucial to check out items before buying them and make sure that they are CLC certified and are completely legitimate. Whether fake or real, people will try to sell their memorabilia and it can be tempting to go with a counterfeit that is much cheaper. Even though it may cost a little extra, making sure that the items that are being advertised are real not only gets the customer a higher quality product, but also ensures that money goes to the right places so the teams and locations can market themselves again in the future.
