“You always need an Avis to play someone’s Hertz,” was a line the late Jay Larkin often used when talking about how Showtime built its boxing business and kept the sport uber-competitive against the matchmaking of HBO. The rivalries and the storylines and the competition he believed, were key to grow the sport. Parity and monopolies were deadly, as casual fans like the inter-play, the story arcs and the heroes and the villains. It is what brought boxing to its heyday, and frankly what also built WWE into a global brand powerhouse, albeit more entertainment then true sport. Whether it be fictional TV, good books or movies, reality TV, or even better the ultimate reality TV…live sports…we crave good stories and great characters. Edge is key.
So into that mix is the NFL, as tough a sport as there is on the planet, one which has come under great scrutiny for its violence and the issues that surround such great athletes going at each other with sometimes catastrophic physical consequences. Yet for all the violence, the structure of the business of the league leans towards parity…teams rise and fall and stay to the middle of the pack and battle to great drama til the final week…but that parity sometimes takes away from the story arcs that make the NFL such a great property. Yes there are great stories told every week by the media machine the league puts together, but in the past those stories that were perhaps most compelling were not the great, altruistic stories…they were interspersed with the bad boys, the villains, the players so flamboyant many people loved to hate them when they were in their prime. Deion Sanders, Hollywood Henderson, Dick Butkus, Jim McMahon, Keyshawn Johnson just to name a few. All were great athletes but also great copy, sometimes not for the best of reasons but they helped play to the story lines.
So as we head towards the Super Bowl, we entered into a matchup with some outstanding teams and ended up with a pair, Denver and Seattle, who were both truly likeable, with lots of likeable athletes, no matter who you were. How could you not root for Russell Wilson or Peyton Manning, Derrick Coleman or even Wes Welker. They are portrayed, and rightfully so, as smart, effective and successful athletes. A dream matchup on the biggest stage with few losers for the casual fan.
And then we get Richard Sherman. Millions saw or have heard about the interview with Erin Andrews seconds after the game ended, and the debate has raged over whether sideline interviews bring any value, what did Sherman do to hurt the game, were his antics planned, were they justifiable and on and on and on. What they did was expose to America a new character, one who football fans knew but casual fans certainly knew less about, and helped unleash a healthy debate about a whole slew of topics both positive and negative about the true gladiator nature of football, the issues with live heat of the moment reactions, the passion of live sports and the power of the digital space to react instantaneously to an occurrence in real time.
Richard Sherman, at least for a few moments, became the villain to many. And a new storyline was born. It was not one of praising God or Tebowing, it was one of bombast and raw emotion which probably offended many and shocked many others. It was not what one would expect in the calm calculated, carefully crafted messaging of professional live sports today, especially the NFL.
Now in the past few days the world has been exposed even more to Richard Sherman’s story. A gifted student, grew up in Compton, hugely popular at Stanford, suffered a devastating knee injury, came back as a cornerback, began working on his master’s degree, a fifth round and quick learner became an All-Pro, suspended for performance-enhancing drugs, won his appeal and has emerged as a deep thinking, come as you are outspoken athlete, who also was carefully selected by Peter King to write for SI’s Monday Morning Quarterback. Little filter, a throwback athlete in many ways who enjoyed playing the part. The only drawback for those interested was Sherman was playing that role in the Pacific Northwest, part of the positive New Age team coached by rah-rah Pete Carroll, and many missed the Sherman style, until the end of Sunday’s game.
Now not everyone was not aware of the Sherman persona. Beats By Dre and Nike both knew the positives and the issues with such a mercurial personality, and broke their campaigns with him during the game to a national audience for the first time. CenturyLink has used Sherman as a spokesperson throughout Seattle, and his jersey was one of the most popular Seahawks jerseys throughout the year.
So what did Sunday do for the Sherman brand? Exploded it. His social media following was amplified, brands lined up to talk about his value and “street cred,” his jersey sales jumped and he became the focus of national media that will build now for two weeks. He continued on without filter, thoughtful and respectful but not apologetic, and the love him or hate him debate continued to grow. Beats became a brand of marketing genius, and there was now a recognizable loud face to love, hate, or debate as the world’s largest sports and entertainment spectacle comes into full focus. Everyone had an opinion, and suddenly the NFL had an in your face personality to balance all the good will and happy talk that had been built by all around Seattle and Denver, and that’s not a bad thing in any way.
The biggest question is what comes next? He apologized and has done all the requisite media to move on. Will there be more shouts and boasts or will the rhetoric be toned down. Will something more inflammatory be launched into the cauldron of Super Bowl fires, will some try and bait Sherman with silly talk on media day? It remains good fodder for an event that was to be all about great teams and now has more great personality.
In the end if you are the NFL, or any brand looking to capture the casual fan, you want the story arcs, the peaks and valleys, the heroes and yes, the villains, especially well-spoken ones. That’s not to say Richard Sherman is a villain in the wear the black hat and pull the chair out from old ladies fashion. He has a foundation, has been a solid teammate and is beloved in Seattle with legions of fans who also loved him at Stanford. What he has is edge, spice and interest and in a few seconds ratcheted up the level of discourse for the NFL in a time where they may have hit a lull for a few days. Planned or not, it made for great copy and amazing video and social media play, something which his brands, and his sport, cannot buy.
Like his actions or not, you have to love Richard Sherman’s timing, both on the field and off, and all the debate and fun it will create in the next two weeks. The games off the field, until Met Life Stadium’s kickoff, will now be more interesting than anything that would have happened on it, and a brash and talented Seahawk helped get the party started.
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