PR Move of The Day:Bob Raissman of the New York Daily News “got it” Friday in his column on the Yankees letting Billy Crystal bat in a game for his 60th birthday. The move got the sport some great exposure that it still needs, created buzz, and did nothing to hurt the integrity of the game. Will there be knockoffs around the minors and maybe in other sports going forwar. Maybe. But it didn’t hurt the purity of the game and was a good March story for a few days.
The past few days there have been a rush of pieces showing how the American sport brand, from American baseball teams playing in China and Japan, to American football players in Italy to socially conscious athletes making statements and using their power to try and effect changes in Beijing, Tibet and Darfur, continues to exact power globally. While Peter Uberroth recently said that he didn’t think American athletes would invoke change during the Beijing Olympics (although many actors like George Clooney are looking to the Olympics as a voice of social change), there are many examples of athletes using their opportinities to grow and act, both politically and socially. Here are the examples. Friday's New York Times had an outstanding piece on the Cleveland Cavs Ira Newble, and his work to bring attention to the issues in Darfur,. ESPN.com has started running a great series on former Harvard wideout Corey Mazza and his experience playing for the Parma Panthers of the Italian Football League, Kevin Ding had a good column in the Orange Country Register on the Lakers and the value of international competition that their mix of players looks toward, and AP is following baseball's reach to China as a prelude to the Red Sox playing in Japan with their opener. The key point is that American sports, because of the 24/7 real time news cycle, can be used as a vehicle for global branding, change and development more today than ever before. The ability to be heard with a positive message around the globe now, and the ability to exact change globally through the power of sport, is more real today than ever, whether you are an ambassador of a growing sport or an athlete looking to make a statement to change lives. All are powerful and all should not be taken lightly, and have to be factored into branding plans. For an even bigger example of how sport can change the global tide, read the current issue of ESPN Magazine, which has a very balanced piece on how South Africa's World Cup efforts in 2010 may either make or break the world view not just of South Africa, but of the entire continent.
Two good baseball reads from Seattle…a profile of the Mariners GM Bill Bavasi and a piece on former Univ. of Washington QB John DuRocher who is now playing baseball after recovering from a benign brain tumor found accidentally, should both be bookmarked. Lastly, more good columns on those schools going Dancin today…John Feinstein has a solid profile of American University's first trip in the Washington Post, the Baltimore Sun's Rick Maese has a good roundup of Coppin State's run that included yesterday's win over crosstown rival Morgan State, and Phil Sheridan does a great job capturing Temple's run to the dance in the Philadelphia Inquirer, and then there is UMBC, who may be one of the media darling's going dancing. The Retrievers have been profiled in USA Today but Feinstein's piece in today's Washington Post gives even more great insight into another “mid major” capturing the glory for the first time.
