In it for the long haul...

I have a few mates who are Chelsea fans - so they won’t like me using their unfortunate result over the weekend as the seed of this blog.  And I am not picking on Chelsea because they have loads of money and a CHairman who is addicted to immediate success (well at least he was - let’s see how AVP goes before we make rash judgements on Roman now).

No - the reason I wanted to highlight that result was because it merely highlights Arsenal’s resurgence - a win at Stamford Bridge is a rare win indeed.

And for me it highlights what is a core part of delivering success to a SPorts franchise.

You always got to plan for the long term.  Longevity rules.

Listen up Rugby - here’s some ideas....

As a follow up to my Blog on the Rugby World Cup and Rugby’s future - I was asked by Bill Lothian (from Edinburgh’s Evening News) for some suggestions.  No doubt it is only fair to ask for some answers to the questions that I posed - so here we go....

Some of these may seem out of reach, or unlikely to happen - but if you look at sports over a longer time frame than the immediate (as most tend NOT to do) - then just about anything is possible....  Who foresaw UFC’s growth vs Boxing in the past 10 years, who would have predicted that Man City would be the likely pre-eminent club in Manchester into the next decade - you get the picture.  Life’s what you make it - someone once said - after all....

Does money really make the ball go round....

Manchester was rocked by a sports result of unheralded proportions today - as United (arguably the world’s largest sporting brand) was swept aside by City (unarguably the world’s wealthiest club).  City dominating United 6 goals to 1.

Whilst it would be foolish to read too much into one result - and no doubt Sir Alex Ferguson will have plugged the hair-dryer in to get the best reaction from his players - for me this result was indicative of the way that the Premier League has been run since its inception and was a result that highlights some of the problems that sports has to deal with.

So - the result.  No one saw it coming but the #1 reason for City’s win is Cash - and lots of it.  Roberto Mancini appears to be a fine fellow, City have bought some great players, and the club seem to organizing themselves really well.  But without the cash - they would be nowhere.

Swim, Bike and Run your way through Social Media

It is often said (“who by NIc?”) that navigating the world of Social Media is a lot like the world of professional sports.  Whilst I would have serious issues with whoever these people are who are saying this (e.g. - I don’t get changed into a uniform before I write this blog), I guess for the purposes of this piece - “if you can’t beat ‘em, join ‘em”....

So here - in a hastily put together analogy using one of the world’s fastest growing professional sports (and one that I actually really enjoy myself - though far from the professional arena) - is my call as to “Why getting started in Social Media is like doing a triathlon”......

Prep work - getting ready.  You have no real idea of what you are letting yourself in for.  You have all the basics covered (swimming, riding a bike, running, knowledge of Facebook/Twitter/etc) - but it also looks like it will be really painful to master..... 

Rugby World Cup's Future

Rugby Union ‘sells’ its World Cup on the headline that it is the 3rd biggest sporting event on the calendar.  The Olympics, the Soccer World Cup, and then the Rugby World Cup - so the story goes....

I am still not sold on this myself - even though my allegiances lie with the Rugby field - it just does not seem to do the game justice, nor drive the game forward.  Now I know that the game has hurtled forward at a rate of knots since professionalism - so it appears as though I am talking from the bottom of a huge maul (unsighted and struggling to see teh bigger picture) - but it is not an event that I can get excited about.

Think about it...

How Baseball showed me the way forward in life....

You know the drill.  On the USA side of the pond, 30 something teams play each other day after day for about 8 years hoping to get into the play offs and then one of them is crowned World Champion.  Everywhere else no one has a clue or actually cares.

Baseball is a sport that polarizes more than just about any other - with those who love it, loving it, and just about everyone else hating it - even those who have never seen a game.

Now here I am - splat down in the middle of the Play off series (catchily titled the ALDS, NLDS, ALCS, NLCS - never let it be said that my American neighbors don’t love acronyms) - and I am learning a lot.

The Golden Age Approaches

Tough times right across the world.  The past two years have been a shock to the global system and there seems to be no end in sight.  Damn those bankers eh!!  I have no doubt that there is a huge amount of financial pain and suffering (and subsequent impact) going on.

However - I believe that despite this - the sports industry has every right to feel bullish about the next few years.  You think I am mad - read on......