TOUCHDOWN or FUMBLE? A case study for the Olympics

Judging the Vancouver 2010 Games on Style and Performance.

To take a page out of the Veritas Communications handbook, this will be my first edition of touchdown or fumble. In this case, the culprit: The 2010 Vancouver Olympic Winter Games (copyright, double copyright, re-use and redistribution restricted, all rights reserved, black magic swallow the key, etc).

FUMBLE

The Olympic Committee decided, as they have in the past, to establish an official website. Great. Now the public has the opportunity to become a 'facebook fan' right away! Currently on their facebook page, the Olympics have approximately half a million fans. On their official twitter page- only 9,976. With the obvious emergence and I would argue necessity of social media, why are the Olympics failing to bring in worldwide youth via internet networks? I couldn't tell you how many people watch the Olympics but I bet it's a WHOLE BUNCH! Maybe a billion? Anyways, the less popular "winter" aspect may not prove to be as interesting but as we know, the most developed nations with high internet connections are all located in the cold. Why are we not utilizing our capabilities to watch the Games on the internet or to socialize about them on 'fb'?

I can (try) to answer that.

There is a lack of communication between the Olympics and the public. While watching the Superbowl, I noticed that CTV shoved the Olympics down the view ship's throat every commercial break. (If I hear that 'I Believe' song one more time...) There was a serious failure to mention to audiences about the capabilities of the website. The website itself is actually quite impressive. They have up-to-date medal coverage, videos, news, alerts, podcasts and you can even watch the coverage live. Too bad few will ever see it.

TOUCHDOWN

As a huge fan of crisis management, I BELIEVE the Olympics dealt appropriately with the death of young luger (pronounced loo-zh-er, not loser) Nodar Kumaritashvili, from Georgia. They immediately checked the track, made modifications such as not racing immediately, testing the track, deciding on appropriate start and finish distances. Officials also talked to the media explaining the science behind what happened in terms of trajectory and other physical components. They were incredibly professional and posted information on the website appropriately. It has been so successful (as of writing this) that the Olympic games have continued on without any further discussion regarding the tragic accident.

Touchdown - Wayne Gretzky lighting the torch

Fumble - Not-so cute characters as mascots

Touchdown - Remembering to put everything in both French and English

Touchdown - Aboriginal participation in the games (also included on the website

Fumble - CTV seems amateur to NBC

Undecided - Cassie Campbell still a hockey analyst

Touchdown - Dealing with weather conditions, global warming and not letting Al Gore attend the Games
Fumble - Olympic theme song - no question about that.

The Vancouver 2010 Games win the Bronze, not Gold, in Social Media.

A PR SUCKER PUNCH: Mayweather-Mosley Mayhem May 1

Mayweather-Mosley Mayhem on May 1st Might be a Mega Miss-Match.

Ignore the alliteration-please! For after years of name calling, fight ducking and more name calling, Sugar Shane Mosley will fight Pretty Boy (actually he goes by 'Money' now) Floyd Mayweather Jr. on May Day. If you remember, yet hopefully you forgot, Mayweather was supposed to fight Manny Pacquiao but after the dramatic 'blood test' incident the fight was canceled and instead a lawsuit began. Both fighters were looking at making minimum $40-million a piece.
Mayweather unfortunately has settled to tangle with a 'past-the-due-date' Mosley. All brought about by the earthquake in Haiti, Mosley was sent to fight 'up and comer' Andre Berto. Mosley is lucky to fight Mayweather out of this because a loss to Berto, which I believe would have been the outcome, could not give Sugar Shane the opportunity he has now.

 My prediction is that Mayweather wins by score cards.

Rather than trying to hype the fight up to what it isn't (by holding it in Cowboys stadium à la Pacquiao), the Mayweather-Mosley fight is using the proper technique of creating a sold out crowd at the famous MGM Grand Garden Arena.
This is great PR. Strike that- AMAZING PR! Hold a fight, though it has the possibility to be a snore, in a historical arena where some of the biggest names have upset and been upset through the past century. The outcome of the fight is more interesting than the fight itself since both boxers will probably counter-punch each other until the crowd falls asleep and one of them gets bored.

A nightmare for Mosley's PR team is his former EPO use and the constant heckling he gets for his alleged steroid use. Guess we know what the 'Sugar' stands for. Such an up-hill battle will take most of his energy before the fight and watch for Mosley to be yawning during the fight like the rest of us. Of course with Mayweather's strategic use of urine and blood samples prior to the date, this fight may bear witness to two of the cleanest athletes in all of professional sports.

May 1st conveniently happens to be the same day as UFC 113- take that Dana White! (despite you're wonderful business sense)

As for 'Punch Drunk Pacquiao' versus Joshua Clottey - the boxing community's: "whoever that is" - he'll win but I guarantee there will be empty seats. Out of 100,000, there will be 60,000 empty seats. Mayweather-Pacquiao could be and should have been the biggest fight ever, in terms of profit, pride and punches- truly a boxer's public relations wet dream.
Apparently the winner is set to fight Pacquaio, says Freddie Roach.

Re-coining the term: 'Rope-a-Dope' as Mosley's nickname

STRIKE THREE: Roberto Alomar

The Spit Heard 'Round the World

It's not Cooperstown, but at least Roberto Alomar made it into some sort of baseball hall of fame. The Canadian Baseball Hall of Fame inducted Alomar today, but, really, who cares. Our Baseball Hall of Fame should really be called the 'Toronto Blue Jays Hall of Fame' and I don't need to explain that one. Although considered one of the best second basemen in MLB history, the memory that sticks out the most is Alomar's famous blunder: Spitting in umpire John Hirschbeck's face. Every time a player comes rushing at an umpire, Indians fans' subconscious screams Alomar! Apparently they are friends today. Kids, spitting will earn you a poor reputation and despite your numbers, you won't make it into the REAL Baseball Hall of Fame by eights votes.
'Spitter': Strike One.

Even great communications can't fix what he did but there are things that he can do to make sure his reputation isn't tarnished forever. PR to the rescue: It is essential for Alomar to put pressure on his new relationship with Hirschbeck to convince the rest of the baseball community that he was penalized, everyone makes mistakes and he is sorry.
'Failure': Strike Two.

On a side note, Alomar also quit the Jays a week earlier than his contract ended since he was worried his batting average would go under .300.
'Quitter': Strike Three.

What a team player.

DOWN FOR THE COUNT: Why Brett Favre should just stay down

                         What Were You Thinking? 

Do yourself a Favre...

I hate to say it: Brett Favre has reached his expiry date.
Someone had to say it. But it is the truth. He was on the ropes for a while, too. Fighting back from a flurry of small injuries, the 40 year old is still punching his way through an addiction to painkillers. Yet, after Sunday'game of 'butterball', Favre should be handed a pink slip. If you don't  know what I mean- check out the interception or read about it. Two picks and a botched handoff to Adrian Peterson, who didn't play his best either. This blunder will be the end of his career. Reputation down for the count! The CBS announcers didn't hold back either. Troy Aikman basically explained to listeners that Favre made "a huge mistake", stating that he shouldn't have thrown the ball. "Throwing across his body into the middle of the field is the first thing they teach you not to do". I wish I could put that as my ring-tone.

I know, I know- Through the season he demonstrated the power and ability a player 'over the hill' can have, yadda, yadda, yadda. Don't  get my wrong, growing up-I loved watching him play! Even this season I jumped on the Vikings band wagon. The locker room antics were hilarious too!

Here's where the PR team comes in. Favre, who has lost his touch, needs to throw in the towel. Here's an idea: Become a quarterback coach. Give up playing! Make money in other ways; diversify your bonds. Your body will thank you in the long run and those cortisone shots will stop giving you nightmares. If all else fails, be like Emmit Smith and act in Just For Men commercials.
 He was a gladiator but even Russell Crowe died in the end of the movie.
What was all this buzz worth? Not even an NFC Championship Ring. Any publicity is good publicity? Nope.

Technical Knock Out, Round: 18.

FIRST PERIOD: OPEN HEARTS, OPEN DOORS

In November 2009, myself and 4 other students enrolled in Corporate Communications and Public Relations at Centennial College held a fundraiser at Myth Restaurant on the Danforth. The event was called Open Hearts, Open Doors and aimed at raising money for Covenant House Toronto. With the help of a great auctioneer, Andrew Gillespie, our team kept the bidders interested. The event included a live and silent auction in front of nearly one hundred people, music by DJ Hussey, free appetizers, a cash bar and more than 30 prizes ranging from $30-$500 in value.
But, how is this all related to sports?
Some of the prizes included:
- Signed and framed Andrea Bargnani Toronto Raptors jersey
- 18 holes of golf for 4 at Tam o'Shanter golf course
- Two pairs of Maple Leafs tickets
- Golf lesson over 9 holes with CPGA golf pro at Muskoka Bay Club
- Pair of Raptors tickets
After raising over $4,000 for Covenant House, I realized there is a great opportunity for athletes in fund-raising. Here are some components:

• Exposure -Donating your jersey will provide a new item to an (hopefully) endless collection of fan memorabilia. As an athlete and not quite established yet, auctioning off some of your personals could lead to some well needed recognition in the community. Sports fans are dying to get a piece of 'the next-big-thing'. In Toronto, Maple Leaf tickets are not as accessible as most of us would like. The donation of tickets by Maple Leaf Sports Entertainment makes the public aware of the organization. If you didn't know who they were before, the value of the prize is often enough to raise some thought about who they are. This method works for athletes and organizations, alike.
• Reputation -Through association, an athlete's name can become 'one' with charity. I like to think of it as an opportunity to brand themselves. The continuous support of a charity, donating time and copious amount of dollars will not go unnoticed by those that look up to them as well as the forever watching media. Charity is nothing but a positive attribute for an athlete and it comes at an affordable price (thank God for tax receipts). For the athletes in the 'bad-books', often a contribution helps relieve their misbehaviour, provided it is appropriate. Plaxico Burress teaching children in New York about gun control is not the best approach. On a side note, I expect Tiger Woods to be donating a hefty sum to his charities this year; maybe a house or two if he has any left by 2011. May I suggest 'Hope for Haiti'...
  
• Community Involvement - Providing charities with material keeps athletes out of trouble. For the most part, this statement is true. The more time athletes have off the field, ice, mountain, octagon, etc, the more time they have for socializing. Unfortunately this can transcend into trouble for some. Stay Busy! In a true PR standpoint, athlete's focus should be on their performance- not partying. Community work keeps them busy, gives them a positive aura and makes them choose a cause to donate their millions to. For their agents, managers, trainers and families, an athletes involvement in the community gives them faith that they are behaving themselves.
• Image - Talk about help or hindrance! To an athlete's image, charity is a serious contributor itself! Roger Federer's squeaky clean image happened via donations and charity tournaments. No, sorry Gillette, not you. Kids look up to him, parents 'look to him', athletes want to be him and fans are all the above. Charity truly is good PR.

This information is not exactly a secret. So many if not all professional current and retired athletes support at least one charity. From Alan Shearer (more modern? Fine, Andy Roddick) to Zinidine Zidane (fine, Yao Ming) support charities. Many established athletes even go in the direction of creating their own charities and foundations. For example, both the Tiger Woods Foundation and the Wayne Gretzky Foundation provides less fortunate youth with the opportunity to experience sports. Events such as street hockey tournaments and celebrity golf tournaments are huge successes.

...so are live and silent auctions.