Football Hall Asks The Fans…

September 26, 2009 by Joe Favorito · Leave a Comment 

There is always a cloud of mystery and debate when any Hall of Fame announces its annual induction class especially since like any ballot that involves humans voting, there is always an amount of emotion vs. logic factored in. For the most part, the balloting is a closed system. Once you are asked to vote you usually stay on the list for life, regardless of whether you have a stake in the game or for that matter, follow that closely in some cases. Given the state of newspapers these days, the Baseball Writers of America have even voiced concern that there may not be a good enough cross section of voters in the coming years to adequately have a vote. Regardless of the Hall, the vote is almost always without inpout of those who visit and spend dollars every day following the sport…the fan. However this week, the Pro Football Hall of Fame, in part of their aggressive plan to add branding partners and become more diverse, announced a partnership with Van Heusen and JC Penney to collect the fans say in the voting for the next class. Now the “fans choice” won’t count for this year, but it will be acknowledged and could make a nice addition to the debate for when the new class is announced. The promotion is also a great move for the Hall, which is finding ways to make its brand “live” beyond the walls of Canton, Ohio for the football enthusiast, both with a retail promotion and a massive media and digital buy throughout the season. By using some elite bloggers to weigh in throughout the course of the season, the promotion will also be kept fresh and can stir debate not just for popular choice players, but for those on the fringe or those who can be a quirky choice for the fan in local markets. And by being the first of the “Halls” to ask the fan, the Pro Football Hall can keep themselves relevant to the casual fan year round, and could start a trend that makes the voting a little more interesting to discuss and debate the selection process.

Sports and Politics…Obama Throws Support While Athletes Support Him…

June 5, 2008 by Joe Favorito · Leave a Comment 

We have periodically looked into the opportunities Senator Barack Obama has seized upon by associating himself with a sports culture, largely the very fickle male demo which does not get into the political mix.  Whether it was playing hoops with SI’s Scott Price or on HBO Real Sports or giviving his Final Four predictions, the Senator has done a more than admirable job, even more than sportsman Senator John McCain, of trying to come across as a guy who guys could like and vote for.  In the last few days, we have seen the politics as sports issue swing both ways, both positive.  First, with the great news that Chicago stayed in the race for the 2016 Olympics, there was a great Chicago Tribune piece on how Obama’s White House run (being a Senator from Illinois) could help the 2016 bid process and become a potential positive factor in his campaign and potential presidency.   Then, the Philly Inquirer had some humerous and some thoughtful insights from African American athletes on Obama’s potential nomination.  Again, the issue of a run for the White House, let alone any political issues, are very rare to enter the sports section in a positive way.  Here are two varied examples of a positive interplay between the two areas, which gets more people thinking about their given right to vote and could make for more spirited debate and interest in the system amongst the sports fan.  No downside to either issue at all.