Crisis Management, Fox Sports.com, MLS, PBR, Tennis

Two Tales, Same Ball…MLS Thrives, MISL Crashes…

This week was a big week for soccer in the United States. No matter how you feel about England’s win with David Beckham over the U.S., the sport of soccer in America benefitted and is growing on the outdoor side expontentially with each passing week, as highlighted by the Houston Chronicle piece.  The industry bible, The Sports Business Journal, named MLS their League of the Year this week for their growth, sponsor activation, vision and proactive stance to promote the game on all levels.  The Philadelphia Inquirer had a good piece this week on the bright future for expansion into the area, and we touched on the lucrative and diverse jersey sponsors MLS has announced in recent weeks as well. Soon friendlies will begin to draw even more attention to the regular MLS matches , and a series of other iniatives, including a four on four Futbolito event and other grassroots efforts will reach out to futher address all of the passionate and fringe interests of the game.  MLS spends the dollars, finds and activates the sponsors, effectively uses the digital space and has embraced the Hispanic audience, while growing at the grassroots level.  All those pieces are what is needed to succeed as a viable property in the U.S. today.  The next step will be true growth of individual stars, which will be very exciting to see as well.  On the other side of the same ball, we saw the very disappointing dissolution of the Major Indoor Soccer League this week.  Like the AFL, the MISL has always had the potential to be an indoor offseason home for the soccer fan, with lots of upside for economies of scale, quick action, and grassroots player growth.  However the league, despite the longtime efforts of Commissioner Steve Ryan, could never get the teams to activate properly in their home markets, and without that committment to spend and match return with business and media partners, the reliance on tickets and “free” expsoure (publicity) doomed the concept.  For those who are just casual fans of the sport of soccer, MISL seemed to be a very American alternative…fast, exciting and high scoring (ala the AFL or indoor lacrosse).  But unless the teams make the financial committment to work together and find ways to grow, the soccer success in this country will remain outdoors.  Still, a great week for a great game.

On to some other pieces of note.  With the French Open attracting little attention in the United States, some props have to go to the WTA for continuing to promote their personalities, albeit abroad.  The most recent version of Hello Magazine has a six page spread and interview with  young star Ana Ivanovic (as reported by the women’s tennis blog), which is still a solid step for the staff in a time when the sport seems to have lost its way in the publicity area…Sunday’s issue of Play Magazine has a great piece on bullfighting, and its continued success and growth in Spain and other countries (any branding oppts there?), while Fox Sports.com’s Mark Kriegel has a good piece on the Lakers Mitch Kupchak, and all the behind the scenes work the GM has done to get LA back into the finals…