From NBC Sports
Analysis by Josh Wells in SRM 435 (section 1)
On March 27th college football may have been changed forever with a revolutionary pro day put on in College station by the one and only Johnny Manziel. Pro day gives athletes with a dream to play in the NFL a chance to show their talents to scouts and coaches. In Manziel’s case he had seven head coaches, George H Bush and Barbara Bush, and many scouts. Many first came from this proday such as; Johnny addressed scouts prior to workout, mixtapes playing throughout, and most of all wore shoulder pads and helmet. Manziel put on a show completing 61 passes out of 65 with 2 drops, leaving scouts with their mouths wide open at the end of the day. As soon as Manziel was done working out, Nike was sure to use this as an opportunity to tell everyone they also had the chance to dress and compete in the same gear as Manziel. Johnny football being endorsed by Nike gives them the chance to use him as much as possible and in my opinion is what his pro day was all about. Being criticized is something that Johnny Manziel is used to and learns to embraced, but I feel he is being push into a certain direction by Nike while he should be focused on his career. When asked about his decision on wear shoulder pads and a helmet, he replied “the game isn’t played in shorts and a tshirt.” Perhaps now we have a real answer to the question; because Nike had a helmet to market. While all the endorsement hype surrounds Manziel, his future employers and coaches have been quoted by saying his performance was a “sideshow and “Circus.” Money is important and I will be the first to say this, but being so young and growing up with one dream to play in the NFL, I feel he has been sidetracked by companies who want to use him. From here on out I believe he needs to focus on himself and try to fly under the radar. While also showing teams he can control and maintain focus with many distractions.
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Analysis by A.J. Scott in SRM 435 (section 1)
They don’t call Johnny Manziel “Johnny Football” for no reason at all. During this past 2013 season, Johnny Manziel was one of the most known, if not the number one, name in college football. Only a 21 year old starting quarterback for Texas A&M, Manziel didn’t waste time showing his talent through his schools football team, completing over 60 passes last season and receiving the Heisman Trophy award.
With all of this recognition, it is no surprise that a high profile athletic brand would want someone like Manziel promoting them. Of course, Nike was the lucky winner. Not only does Manziel wear their brand from head to toe, Nike also took it upon themselves to dedicate a whole ‘Manziel Pro Day Collection’ to him. This collection included all the works you could imagine from the shirt all the way down to the shoes and socks.
Why would Nike want to invest all this money into Johnny Manziel? Well, not only will Manziel more than likely be one of the first 10 that are picked in the NFL draft this year, he will also get a lot of attention once he does get drafted to a team. Manziel left observers speechless at his pro day on March 27th and will only continue to impress America with his talent.
From Advertising Age
Analysis by Kristina Mohler in KIN 501
This article talks about how sporting goods retailer Dick’s Sporting Goods is launching a new brand campaign that focuses on amateur/youth sports, as opposed to professional. Additionally, Dick’s is supporting youth sports with a “Sports Matter” program where they plan to award up to $2 million in grants to disbanded or financially challenged youth sports teams. The article states that “an estimated $3.5 billion was cut from school sports budgets between 2009 and 2011… and one study predicts that by 2020, 27% of U.S. public schools will not offer sports programs”. Dick’s plan is to help fund between 75 and 100 teams, but the teams must help pull their own weight as well. The teams must raise half the money they need themselves utilizing marketing, public relations, and counseling support from Dick’s. Dick’s will then match the other half of their funding needed.
Lauren Hobart, Chief Marketing Officer at Dick’s, says that is very important that the teams also learn to fundraise, so they can continue funding their team in the future. I completely agree with this. I did some fundraising in high school, and I definitely did some with recreational teams. We were pretty well off in high school with our sports programs, so I could see how kids could be comfortable and expect to just have things handed to you. Fundraising is a more practical approach with great lessons on kids having to learn how to support themselves. Lauren Hobart also stated that she did not know if Dick’s would continue this as a reoccurring program or if it will just last for this campaign. If it is successful, I think Dick’s should look into continuing the program. It gets their name out there and is also a positive promotion with funding youth sports and getting them involved in the community.
This article really opened my eyes to the struggling budgets for youth sports, especially in public school systems. I feel very fortunate to have been able to participate in sports throughout my childhood and collegiate years. From my perspective I felt we had enough money to cover anything we needed. I do know we did a few fundraising events though, including car washes and candle sales. Only items we got to keep, like our megaphone, we had to pay for ourselves. Uniforms and equipment were supplied for us. I could not imagine attending a public school and not having a sports program to participate in.
If public schools have to start eliminating sports programs, this would have many negative impacts. Most importantly, our country has an overweight problem. Not being able to promote active, healthy activities will certainly contribute to childhood obesity. Also, this could affect the likelihood of some student-athletes receiving scholarship offers, unless they can afford travel and all-area teams. Overall, kids will be missing out on developmental growth such as teamwork, competition, and overcoming adversity. I also think the school boards and athletic associations need to look at other ways to generate revenue as well.
From Yahoo! Sports
Analysis by Madison McMillen in SRM 334
Indianapolis Colts Owner Jim Irsay was arrested on Monday March 17th for driving while intoxicated and possession of a controlled substance. Irsay failed many field-sobriety tests when he was stopped late Sunday night for driving slow, stopping in the middle of the road, and not using his turn signal. When police searched his car they found many prescription drugs that did not match any of the labels they found on the pill bottles. After being processed at the Hamilton County Jail in Camel, Indiana Irsay was able to post bond and be released Monday afternoon. In a later article, Irsay is said to have checked himself in to a health care facility and is ready to get the help and care he needs.
Jim Irsay is said to be worth 1.6 billion dollars and as the Colt’s owner I would say he is a pretty important guy. The news of his arrest is a hot topic but I don’t believe the amount of publicity he’s getting is necessary. The media has given so much attention to Irsay over his negative actions when many people who are not so well known make these same choices and get arrested every day. He also publically announced his admittance into a health care facility which makes me wonder if he really wants to get help for himself or if people have forced him to do this because of how wide spread this news has gotten. While it is human nature for people to be curious over scandals of famous people or people in positions of power I believe a certain degree of restraint should be in place as these individuals are human and have family members who may be impacted by all of the negative media publicity. It is my opinion that personal issues should be left to the individual and their families to resolve on their own.
I think this is an important topic for our class to discuss because in our future jobs we will run into these sorts of issues whether it be an owner, coach, or athlete. By seeing how much media attention is given to an Owner for making a bad decision can help us understand how to handle the situation when something like this become an issue for whichever team we will end up working for. It also is a great example to use and learn from to help educate members of staff and players about having their personal issues being broadcasted because of their decisions.
