One of our two summer interns, James Gumina, is heading back to Yale to lead the Sports Business Club. His posts this summer have been very insightful. Thanks James for giving us your time and effort all summer long.
A Series of Reflections
As a young person in an age of limitless information, there are always a lot of things on my mind, mostly sports-related, and often focused on what’s happening off the field. From marketing campaigns to broadcasts to business strategy, it’s a lot to process. So, to clear some space, here are a few things from this week that have stuck with me more than most. Whether you’re in the business, a media nerd, or someone who can’t stop thinking about how the game is packaged, I hope something here sticks with you, too.
Final Dispatch: Lessons From a Summer in Sports
This edition is a special one: it marks my last of the summer working for Joe Favorito. It’s hard to overstate how much I’ve learned over the past few months, and how many fascinating people and projects I’ve been lucky enough to encounter.
My first day on the job, and first time meeting Joe, came at the Sports Blockchain Summit in late May. I did not know what to expect when I walked in, but thankfully, everyone else did. Over and over, I heard the same things: that I was going to work hard, have a busy summer, and that Joe is a “straight shooter.” All of it proved true. I’m incredibly grateful that Joe trusted me to contribute and observe as closely as I did. Now, as I wrap up my time with Joe, a few lessons stand out more than most.
Community is Key
The most meaningful moments of the summer came not from the biggest names or venues, but from the places where the love of the game still lives at ground level. Whether it was Final X wrestling, Westchester SC matches, or a Strat-O-Matic pop-up at the Mets House, I found myself welcomed into communities I had never known existed.
These weren’t just fans; they were deeply invested participants, leagues of their own, decades-old rivalries, kids chasing autographs, and players handing off their shoes. In a sports world increasingly shaped by rights deals, private equity, and top-down decision-making, these events reminded me that the magic is still alive at the grassroots.
The places that invite people in are the ones that people remember.
Quality Always Wins
One of the first lessons I heard at the Sports Blockchain Summit was that quality cuts through noise. If you build something great, it doesn’t need to announce itself, instead it just works. That idea resurfaced again and again throughout the summer.
You could see it in SNY’s Mets broadcasts, where every camera angle feels intentional and every game looks cinematic. You could feel it at the Savannah Bananas game I attended, where a two-hour spectacle kept fans engaged from start to finish. And you can trace it through the rise of women’s sports, which aren’t succeeding because of token PR efforts; they’re succeeding because the product is worth watching.
The lesson is simple: people gravitate toward excellence.
Don’t Forget the Fan
As sports becomes more and more business focused, it’s easy to forget what built the business in the first place: fans. But this summer, I saw examples, both good and bad, of how that balance plays out.
On one side, Wimbledon continues to prioritize fan experience over short-term revenue, protecting its legacy and cultivating generational loyalty. BPN’s backyard ultra drew massive viewership not through flashy ads, but through authenticity and mission-driven storytelling. And the Bananas, with their “Fans First” ethos, proved you can build something viral and valuable without sacrificing connection.
On the flip side, I also wrote about the Red Sox trading Rafael Devers—a fan favorite—amid broader moves by ownership group FSG that suggest fans are no longer the center of the model. The business is evolving, but the fan should never become an afterthought.
The most successful brands this summer were the ones that remembered: fans aren’t a line on the balance sheet, they’re the whole game.
Looking Ahead
This summer left me more excited than ever to keep following where sports and business intersect, and how storytelling, community, and quality define what resonates. Thanks to Joe, and everyone I got to meet and learn from, for making that possible.
More to come in the future.
Road Notes: WE The People…and The Places…