A year ago South Florida football was in the dumper…the Dolphins, the Univ. of Miami, FIU, Florida Atlantic all were at the end of miserable seasons, and as the economy started to sag, there were lots of questions about the market as viable for tickets and branding…what a difference a year, and winning, can make for those involved in the buisness. Sarah Talalay takes a good look at the high hopes for those involved in branding, selling and marketing events in the area, with two Bowl games and the Dolphins all within ten days this week.?Now does it all about winnin.? No. The reason for the South Florida pop this week (also throw in the potential Super Bowl and Pro Bowl) comes because of.smart planning and investing by those in the area for the long term, who are finally getting ROI on the investment they made. There would still be bowl tourism dollars made regardless of team success, but being there to capitalize on the buzz for brands is important, and the resurgence in interest in South Florida is a good example of how brands can make a turnaround when winning kicks in…and in the cyclical world of sports, preparing for the sun is as important as preparing for the gloom. Hopefully the success and interest can spin off into spring training and the World Baseball Classic, which the Marlins will help host in March.
Some other good reads…Darren Rovell had a good piece this past week on the Chick-Fil-A Bowl and why it was one of the few brands that gained relevance in the non-BCS Bowl matchups…good primer for others…Michael Wilbon in the Washington Post bemoans the lack of interest in New Year's Day Bowl games…Roy Johnson on his blog takes a look at where this year's North Carolina Tar Heels may rank among teams of the past…AP has a good piece on Kentucky walk-on Landon Sloane and his sudden success…and the New York Times had a good piece this week on how the NFL continues to use the chain gang in a world of high tech innovation…
