Woah, Did You See That Catch?

Elena Oertel

“Replay it.”

This concept of replaying, pausing, fast-forwarding, rewinding, sharing, learning, and teaching about how to improve your game just got easier due to a new social media website geared towards sports. Hudl is the newest form of social media that allows people to upload videos of their game performances and has created a new space for “performance analysis for sports at every level.” Teams use it to upload and analyze games to study plays, edit and share highlights, flag sections, insert notes, and learn where they need to improve on.

Here’s a short clip of how Hudl works: https://vimeo.com/228279074.

This new form of social media is changing the sports world by trading in whiteboards and markers with 21st century technology of flat screens, tools, and subscriptions to Hudl. Hudl has been integrated into huge divisions including the NFL, NHL, and the NBA. The subscriptions have even reached the international level with teams like FC Barcelona, New Zealand All Blacks national rugby team, and English Premier League clubs. Recently, over 22,000 schools and colleges began using Hudl as a foundational coaching tool and a way to recruit new players.

Not only did Hudl make coaching and sharing easier, it changed the way that sports organizations operate. Revolutionizing sports with technology has allowed a world where shareable and editable replays are possible. Hudl is becoming a huge player in our capitalistic economy and has began expand its market by buying up smaller businesses. Recently Hudl has paired with Nike to create a new Hudl Combine app that lets players uploads stats to share with potential recruiters.

Its clear that Hudl has become a new space for sharing ideas, clips, and sports tips revolutionizing sports as a whole. This seems to only be the beginning. As technology continues to advance, sports will directly be affected; making me wonder if we will still be able to replay it.

Sources:

Hudl (2017). Hudl for Soccer Video.

Shaer, M. (2016). How hudl’s mobile-video software is transforming sports. Fast Company.

Vivian, J. (2017). The media of mass communication (12th ed.). New York, NY: Pearson Education.

November 1, 2017 4

How college creates sports entertainment

Grace Pollak

Sports in College as Entertainment

Sports are a big source of entertainment in the US, whether it’s Friday night lights high school football, Sunday afternoon NFL, the NBA, the PGA, or college sports – we can’t get enough of it. Sports has such mass appeal because the general public takes such pride in the game and cheering on their team. Certain colleges and universities build million dollar stadiums for fans to enjoy watching sports. In the past, most college sports shared stadiums. Now there is a stadium for every sport from football, to soccer, to baseball. Surrounding the sports venues are restaurants, retail, and other events to get you to stay longer and spend more money.

One of the main sources of sports entertainment comes from colleges and universities. Universities see sports as both an attraction and a differentiator for their schools. Some schools even use it as a recruitment strategy. So, it made me wonder, does the atmosphere and team spirit at an individual university provide a different or unique type of college experience? If so, what impact does sports entertainment have on the overall college experience?

Harrison Pollak: University of Alabama — 2015.

“In the South, college football is not just a sport; it’s a way of life. It’s not just a day at the game, it’s the whole experience from tailgating, to partying, to being surrounded by over 100,000 other fans in Bryant-Denny Stadium cheering on the Crimson Tide. I decided to attend the University of Alabama in part because I fell in love with SEC football and the experience surrounding game day and the history of the team. Even though I’ve graduated, it’s still part of my life. I follow the team, travel to games and meet up with friends to watch at local bars. For fans of Alabama football, we eat, sleep, and breath it all the time. This is truly sports entertainment at its finest.”

Gray Selby: Davidson College

“Sports for a long time was not a big deal here at Davidson, but now that the best player in the NBA, Steph Curry, played at Davidson, everyone is a fan. We watch all his games, follow his career. Sometimes it just takes a winner to get you hooked.” college in the US

ESPN’s college Game Day is when the network goes on the road and films all of the pre-game hype from the college campus of the week’s biggest game. Everyone in the audience gets to provide their opinion, and they do it through signs. It’s become one of the best parts of game day. This video below tells the story of the Game Day sign spectacle. This is a great example of soft news, delivering information in an entertaining, fun, yet informative way.

I think what Harrison Pollak says about life at Alabama shows that following sports can create a unique and personal entertainment experience. Gray Selby’s comment shows us that even at a small school, one can still have a sense of school spirit around sports.

Sports entertainment is a billion-dollar industry. The fans drive demand and are willing to spend big bucks to follow their teams and marketing companies know it. That’s why universities want to provide a great experience, team owners build beautiful stadiums surrounded by great restaurants, and TV networks capture every second of it.

sources:

The Explosion of the Business of Sports in the United States.

Soft News

“history of gameday signs” Youtube

The 10 stadiums with the best atmosphere in college football.

November 1, 2017 2

Should the NFL stop thinking pink?

Mira Brody

Image

Its for a good cause! What’s the harm in bringing awareness to breast cancer?

There’s no question that breast cancer is a worthy cause. It afflicts 232,000 women a year in the U.S, according to the American Cancer Society. Many spectators are not bothered by the awareness, as much as they are by the NFL’s phony philanthropic image.

While the NFL pitches its month-long campaign as a means of bringing awareness and raising money for a cure, the public is beginning to question the motives behind the NFL and Think Pink partnership. Both fans and feminists are unhappy with the league’s pink washing of such a serious issue like breast cancer.

It all comes down to the fact that the NFL is simply practicing bad PR.

Vivian outlines Ivy Lee’s principles of Public Relations. The main principle being brand transparency. How can a company expect to perform well without building a trusting and open relationship with the public? This is ultimately where the NFL dropped the ball in their philanthropic efforts. Let’s break down how they mishandled the controversy surrounding their Think Pink Campaign:

Fans like Christina Holt tweeted that “as a survivor, I find excessive pink washing offensive.” When met with numerous outraged tweets, they made no efforts to publicly apologize or even acknowledge these complaints.
In the four years of the Think Pink campaign, the NFL contributed only $4.5 million. The league donated $1.5 million, just .01 percent of the $9 billion the league made last year. A Business Insider article from last year found that for $100 in pink sales, only $3.54 goes toward research. The NFL gets $45.
When faced with the numbers, the NFL dodged the issue with the agility of it’s great athletes. NFL spokesperson, Clare Graff told sbnation.com that “We are very public about the campaign…from annual press outreach to the message banners and on-screen reads you see during NFL games in October.”

The NFL turned an opportunity to raise awareness and funding for breast cancer into a reputation-tarnishing publicity stunt. Still want to make a difference? Turn off the football game and directly make a donation to the American Cancer Society.

Think Pink? Think Again.

Sources:

“Is the NFL profiting off of breast cancer?” Business Insider

“The NFL flagged for ‘pinkwashing’ digday.com

American Cancer Society

“The conflicting truth about the NFL’s Pink campaign”sbnation.com

October 31, 2017 3

The Televised Experience

Hanna Perry

Super Bowl, March Madness, Olympics… Have you watched any of these major sporting events? Yes? Have you ever watched them in the actual stadium? No? Well you’re not alone.

Major sporting events, such as the Olympics, World Cup, and the Super Bowl, have been called holidays by many because they are some of the biggest media events in American culture. People revolve their schedules and plan parties around watching these games with friends and family. According to Vivian, the Super Bowl has become the most-watched television program ever (Vivian, 128). Almost 112 million people watched Super Bowl 50. Now you might ask…

https://camdenblogs.files.wordpress.com/2015/11/cam2.jpg

…Why do we watch sports on television?

It has been shown that watching your favorite team win can actually lead to dopamine surges. The excitement and camaraderie around watching sports can be an unmatched feeling, even if the site of the event is your living room. Televised sports are live and unscripted drama that keep the audience on their feet and in more excitement than most reality television. The element of watching these events in your home with all of your friends provides comfort and bonding that stadiums and arenas cannot.

How about sports bars?

Buffalo Wild Wings, Bar Louie, Dave and Buster’s, and Hooters are just a few restaurants in the multitude of sports bar chains. These restaurants rely on television, especially sporting events on television.

Why watch a game at a bar instead of in the stadium or your home?

Number of televisions: watch a multitude of games at the same time
Amps up levels of spirit and enjoyment
Array of food and drinks not available in your home

Sports Bars play into the psychological factor of watching sports; they are fun, rowdy, and entertaining. Televisions circulate the entire restaurant, so you can see a TV at every single angle.

http://www.myrtlebeachlife.com/uncategorized/best-sports-bars-in-myrtle-beach-and-on-the-grand-strand-399800

Televised sporting is an aspect of American society that is not going to diminish anytime soon.

Sources:

MediaSport

Science Shows Something Surprising About People Who Love Watching Sports

Why do we care about sports so much?

The 18 Coolest Chain Restaurants to Watch a Bowl Game In

Vivian, J. (2017). The media of mass communication (12th ed.). New York, NY: Pearson Education.

October 26, 2017 2

Pro athletes are advertising all the wrong foods.

Written by: Nicole Mack

You’re sitting with your kid and your son screams “Mom I want to be just like him!” as he see Lebron James advertising Sprite on television. You hear a lot of kids say this while growing up when they see their favorite pro athlete on the TV screen. Although the comment seems so innocent, parents often wonder, “That’s such an unhealthy drink? Is my son going to drink Sprite all the time now?”

Does advertising with star athletes have a big impact on kids and their habits? Or is it just another commercial that goes over their heads? Think of how you feel after watching James Sprite commercial, if you were a little kid.

It’s no secret that the United States has the biggest advertising market in the world, with sports being one of the main components. Way back when professional sports first came out on television they had to agree to have commercial breaks in attempt to make the games more dramatic and exciting for the audiences.

Timeouts, the end of quarters, halftimes, and between innings have become standard times to air commercials. This is a concern because kids from the ages of twelve and seventeen are the ones that are viewing commercials the most. This is a perfect example of the hypodermic needle theory. These commercials are directly affect these kids in a personal level. They see their role models on TV promoting various brands, and they want to be just like them so they go out and buy those brands that are being advertised.

Nowadays it’s nearly impossible to watch a sporting event without commercials featuring star athletes like Peyton Manning or Lebron James. In a study done by American Academy of Pediatrics it shows that many of the food commercials that athletes are promoting are unhealthy. Researchers looked at 512 different brands endorsed by 100 different athletes in 2010. They found that food and beverage were second when it came to products that athletes pitched (23.8 percent).

Forty-four food and beverage brands were endorsed by athletes, of these, 62 are food products and 46 are beverages. Out of these, 79 percent of food items were high in calories, and low in nutrients. For beverages, 93.4 percent had 100 percent of their calories from sugar. Lebron James and Peyton Manning were promotional leaders amongst unhealthy foods.

Peyton Manning sponsoring Papa Johns and Lebron James sponsoring Sprite

These statistics are worrisome since previous studies have showed that consumers feel that food products prompted by pro athletes are generally healthier. So what should parents do about this problem?

The main way for parents to protect their kids against these negative messages is by educating them. Teaching kids the correct eating habits and how advertising works, but also explaining that thier role models are good role models to follow just outside of the advertising world.

Sources:

CBS: Kids highly influenced

American Pediatrics: Athlete Endorsements in Food Marketing

U.S. Advertising Industry: Facts

Vivian, J. (2017). The media of mass communication. NY, NY: Pearson.

October 25, 2017 4

Are Politics Finding Their Way into Sports?

By Joanna Cotter

Being from Orlando, my family bled blue. My parents were married in 1989 and as a wedding present, they became season ticket holders for the NBA Orlando Magic. Growing up, this was a huge part of my childhood. For some reason I’ve always been drawn to the opening ceremony; the way the lights dim, all eyes focus in on the American flag, and everyone around you joins together to sing the national anthem. I’ve always been captivated by the way sports bring people together.

Unfortunately, in the past couple of months, sports in America have been tearing people apart.

Starting in 2016, professional athletes associated with the NFL have been silently protesting against racial inequalities. It began after a San Francisco 49ers quarterback, Colin Kaepernick, sat and later kneeled during the playing of the national anthem before his team’s 2016 preseason games. Throughout the regular season, various professional athletes joined in similar silent, nonviolent protests. On September 24, 2017, President Trump used Twitter as a platform to demand NFL owners to fire all players protesting because he thought of it as “disrespectful to our Flag and Country.”

There’s so much depth associated with protests involving the national anthem, the NFL, and President Trump; but, before digging deeper, it’s important to first understand why we place so much value in singing the national anthem before every sporting event in America.

So, why do we sing?

In England, the equivalent of the NFL is the English Premier League, the highest level of professional soccer in England. It is considered to be the most followed and the best-known league in the world. In a league generating the highest fans and revenue, I find it interesting that they don’t sing “God Saved the Queen,” their version of our “Star Spangled Banner,” before matches. On September 19, 2011, ESPN released an article about the history of our national anthem in sports. To sum up the article’s main point: “Our nation honors war. Our nation loves sports. Our nation glorifies winning. Our national anthem strikes all three chords at the same time.” I strongly urge you to take a read.

Overall, Americans hold one of two meanings behind the national anthem:

some believe it honors fallen soldiers and police officers who fight for our freedom
others believe it honors the “entirety of the American experience.”

Why did professional athletes, like Colin Kaepernick and Eric Reid, decide to kneel during the national anthem at their sporting event?

(Colin Kaepernick and Eric Reid)

When leaning into a social issue, Colin Kaepernick and Eric Reid explained why they used kneeling as a means of protest. They stated that they chose to kneel as a respectful gesture and compared their posture to “a flag flown at half-mast to mark a tragedy.” They wanted to use their platform of being professional athletes in the NFL to speak for those who are voiceless.

Mass media in sports provides athletes with a platform to make a difference, whether on the field or through peaceful protests. The question is: How do we, as fans, respond?

Sources:

Eric Reid: Why Colin Kaepernick and I Decided to Take a Knee

The song remains the same

@realDonaldTrump

Kneeling But Still Singing

October 25, 2017 2

Are Feminists taking an “L” for the Legends Football League?

written by: Mira Brody

Wait. Is there really a women’s football league?

Yes! Up until 2009, there was no nationally accredited women’s football league. It took many years for one of the most dangerous american contact sports to pave the way for it’s female competitors. This league was originally founded under the name “Lingerie Football League” which quickly turned an opportunity for female athletes to gain respect into yet another sexist display.

Well, how sexist is it?

You tell me. Before I jump to conclusions and label the LFL as totally sexist, let’s take a look at what we know about this league so far.

originally named the “Lingerie Football League”
arrived fairly late to the so-called equality party, founded in only 2009. (better late than never)
has the official slogan “True Fantasy Football”

That last bullet doesn’t sound all that offensive until you realize what these athletes had to wear on the field.

https://lfl2010.files.wordpress.com/2012/04/cropped-lfl.jpg

A bikini-style top and bottom trimmed in lace, garters and bows—plus socks, kneepads and minimalist shoulder pads, cut to show cleavage. Once I saw the uniforms, I couldn’t help but hear the slogan “True Fantasy Football” in my head uttered in a sleazy, middle-aged man’s voice. (picture Quagmire from Family Guy)

In hopes of finding some sort of feminist support for the LFL, I turned to an interview with one of the League’s first players, Melissa Margulies. Marguiles told Vice Sports that she was, “comfortable with the uniform” as it wasn’t any more revealing than her beach volleyball uniform. She did feel uncomfortable with cameras now taking,”boob and butt shots” of her while out on the field.

While all of this sounds disheartening for both feminists and athletes, recent changes to the LFL offer hope to those who simply wish to see female football players embraced for their athleticism over their aesthetics. As the Women’s Media Center reports, the LFL now goes by the “Legends Football League” with a more empowering slogan “Women of the Gridiron.”

As for the uniform alterations…

http://www.businessinsider.com/the-new-lingerie-football-league-uniforms-2013-1

I can’t tell much of a difference from the original uniforms. But the removal of overtly feminine lace and bows is at least a step in the right direction. The mere foundation of a reputable team like the LFL is an incredible step forward in the name of female athletes, but I’d say that the league has a few more touchdowns to make before claiming a “W” from the outspoken feminist community.

sources:

Hallinan | Chloe Hallinan | Education, Feminism, Misogyny, Sports, Chloe . “Women’s Football: Feminist or Sexist?” Women’s Media Center, 7 Jan. 2014, www.womensmediacenter.com/fbomb/womens-football-feminist-or-sexist.

Schalter, Ty. “The Truth Is Not Always Sexy”: Inside the Legends Football League.” Vice Sports, 29 Sept. 2015, sports.vice.com/en_us/article/3d93a8/the-truth-is-not-always-sexy-inside-the-legends-football-league.

Goldman , Leah. “The New Uniforms For Legends Football League Are Still Basically Lingerie.” Business Insider, 24 Jan. 2013, www.businessinsider.com/the-new-lingerie-football-league-uniforms-2013-1.

October 25, 2017 2

sports entertainment

Grace Pollak

Sports Entertainment – Continuously Evolving:

Sports date back to ancient Greek times when the Olympic Games and then the Circus Maximus were the pinnacle of sports entertainment. Today the most watched sport is football and/or soccer, depending on the country. There are many types of entertainment; music, literature, TV, movies, and sports.

Oldschool Football

Sports is considered to be “mass” communication. Author, John Vivian, elaborates on this in his book titled, The Media of Mass Communication. In his book, he talks about the idea of mediated performance. “Mediated performance is (sport) modified and adjusted for delivery to an audience by mass media.” Today, sports on TV is no longer just a leisurely activity but is directed to the viewer’s eye and mindset to make them feel like they are at the game. A few examples are:

Instant replays.
Microphones on the refs and the coaches so the audience can hear live footage of the game.
Specific camera angles are used so the viewer can feel as if they are at the game or have a view of what the players, coaches, and referees see.
When TV reporters “draw” on the field this allows the audience to get a better understanding of what a player’s next move might be.

Additionally, multiple media sources such as television, streaming services, and social media are converging together to allow fans to connect with their sports teams anywhere and anytime.

Recent News in Sports Entertainment:

Kansas State and Missouri State recently met on the basketball court to play an exhibition game to raise money for hurricane relief. The teams had not played each other since 2012. The game was not televised so fans had to pay $40 to stream it online. Knowing the dedication of fans and due to the love and demand of sports entertainment, the game was able to raise 1.8 million for hurricane relief.

Mixed Martial Arts (MMA) and boxing are two highly anticipated events in “sports entertainment.” In August 2017, a match took place between Conor McGregor and Floyd Mayweather pitting the best boxer against the best MMA fighter. For years, each fighter bragged that they were the best, and the other had no chance of winning if they were to ever fight. Finally, on August 26, 2017, it finally happened. Mayweather said, “The fans wanted this fight so I had to give the fans what they wanted.” The hype had grown so large that the fight brought in millions of dollars. The fight was watched by over 50 million people in the United States who shelled out $99 each to watch on pay-per-view.