Lockout over - now the 'players' must perform

With the news that the NFL lockout is over and the season will go ahead ‘unaffected’, spare a thought for the staff who weren’t locked out, the ones who have been ploughing ahead regardless getting ready for the season to start.  (Spare even more of a thought for the 300 or so NBA employees who have recently been ‘culled’ in advance of a more likely more impactful Lockout).

Whilst there must have been an assumption that the season ‘would’ go ahead - life must have been tough for the back office staff.

Now the season is ‘go, go, go’ - there will be many loose ends to get cracking on, many issues to tidy up.  The back office team will have to act like a ‘team’, and perform wonders together as ‘players’ to deliver.  Check out the perfect team below......

Captain America vs Harry Potter

If you believe in the super powers of each of these two current stars of screen - then this would be an interesting match up - Super Human Muscles and Strength (combined with Shield  of valor and devastation) vs “Superhero Expelliarmus”.

As things stand Cap’n America has just overtaken the little wizard at the top of the Weekly Box Office charts but still lags way behind the bespectacled magician’s total receipts (and will remain so - so say all the experts because Captain America’s appeal is likely to be US based).

For me though, the two offer a (handily timely) chance for a quirky look at the way that Globalization works in the sporting world.....

Show me the Money

Putting aside the obvious need to play in a good facility, to have a strong team populated by a mix of local ‘stars of the future’ and overseas ‘superstars’, to maintain a tight control over your finances to ensure stability and prosperity, to have a fluid marketing and communication strategy that builds an expanding supporter base, and countless other ‘must do’s’ - the #1 requirement for any sports club is to generate as much income as possible......

Right???

Well - simple answer - YES - because we know that we need money coming in to pay for our existing costs, and we all have ambition so that we can improve the team - so we will need more and more cash to pay for all these exciting new innovations.

So “YES” makes sense.

It's a bit late for Moneyball

If we use the (admittedly only recently introduced) ‘Hollywood-Cartwright’ ‘Sports in Movies’ Scale, then what sports clubs should be looking for - when they are searching for a competitive advantage, vs their nearest competitors - should be something that sets them apart, something new (yet effective), something the world is not ready for (yet accepts fully in its appearance).....

Think along the lines of ‘The Swahshank Redemption’ (initially skeptical audience now totally in love with its effectiveness), or “There’s Something about Mary” (no real fanfare on launch, followed by plenty of fanfare - and subsequent copying)....

What qualifies as a high scorer on the HCSIM Scale (see above for acronym detail) is one that is new / initially relatively unheard of / no major promotion - yet delivery outstanding results....

Are you ready to rumble.....?

For the first time in a while - I won’t be getting ready for a new season as the autumn approaches....  For the past 10-100 years I have been spending my spring/summer (and many months before - more on that later) - preparing a sports club for a new start...  Each new season brings new hope, new expectation, new demands....

Much like each week sees a new game - and a new focus, so does each new season wipe the slate clean (just about) - and you should approach each one with excitement.....

Provided you have done (and are continuing to do) all the work required.....  It may surprise some that the ‘off season’ is more often than not the busiest time of your season (certainly for the back office folk) - with a review of the season just gone, an assessment of existing partners and ideas, and then planning and implementing the new changes (and same olf stuff) for the new season.....

When do you take a holiday then??  Quite......

The Beauty & the Best

Having previously compared Social Media to the Wicked Witch - I have been feeling the need to offer the ‘flip side’ to that coin (feeling sorry for Social media).  

Yes, there is ample scope for Social Media to be used in a fashion that brings nothing but ‘evil’ (Heat magazine definition as well as mad dictator type) to the world.......  But there is also a huge scope for Social Media to be an immensely powerful tool to better the world, to better your sports club, and dare we say it - to better one-selves...

So in the spirit of fair play - given that a ‘Cartoon style fairytale theme’ had been used in my earlier ‘witch-hunt’ - the same path is here for all as we unveil the “Beauty and the Best”.... 

It's not always just about the Sport

Having spent a July 4th in New York for the first time, my eyes have been opened to some new cultures....  Independence Day sees a huge amount of activities undertaken to celebrate......  Not least the annual Hot Dog eating championships on Coney Island...

Now whilst over 80% of ESPN voters let us know that this ‘was not a sport’ (and I tend to agree) - there were still a few lessons to be learnt by sports marketeers.....

Joey Chestnut (the now 5 time champion) was billed as the star attraction, and certainly was presented in the right light (albeit set against the backdrop that his skill-set is a dubious one).....  The ‘pre match’ build up was perfectly pitched - with excitement rising through the introduction of the ‘combatants’....