The Obvious Post

Well another Super Bowl has come and gone. Congratulations New Orleans on a great 31 to 17 victory! However, the Saints needed more than just skill to best Indianapolis; they needed guts. I will admit that the onside kick that started the second half was not even on my radar. That was the first time there was a successful onside kick before the fourth quarter in Super Bowl history! I doubt I was the only one who was surprised by this unorthodox move; in fact, I know this because many Colts were already dropping back to cover the kick return. I guess that in a game like the Super Bowl where any play might define the game the great teams make plays happen instead of reacting to what already has happened. Can you imagine the second-guessing if that play had failed? The only man who would have been more hated than Sean Payton would have been in New Orleans would be Steve Bartman in Chicago. However, as Aristotle astutely pointed out, "No great genius has ever existed without some touch of madness." Hey, if madness is what it takes to win the Super Bowl, I don't think anybody in New Orleans will be complaining.

Another comment on a different aspect of the Super Bowl would be my feeling that halftime show performers should not be receiving Social Security checks. I am not age discriminating here; on the contrary, it is hard to see bands who were great in their day be so reduced in vocal quality. Tonight, they did not sound like the band who sang "Pinball Wizard" on my favorite playlist of downloaded music. I know people get old and voices change; however, I wish we could remember The Who as the band they were.

I am sorry to admit that I totally missed the Tim Tebow commercial. I'm sure you all know how it is when you are scurrying around to gather your full plate of the Super Bowl buffet before too much of the game is finished. While I was completing this ritual, I saw the end of the commercial but could not hear it over the general clamor in our house. However, it seemed too simple. I feel like such a big deal was made over this ad that was undeserved. I decided I needed to log online to review the commercial and see if it was as "un-American" as it was deemed before. No way! Watch the video here! With all the media hype that has been generated, I almost expected to see essentially a protest video. However, all Mrs. Tebow said was, "I call him my miracle baby. He almost didn't make it into this world." If so many people would not have made such a big deal over this advertisement, many people could have thought that Tim simply was a sickly baby who almost didn't survive. While it could be implied from the commercial that an abortion was suggested, there are other possibilities that could have occurred. All in all though, I am glad that Tim stood up for what he believed in regardless of the opinions of others.

It was a good Super Bowl even though my team didn't win. Maybe I need to have a religious experience with Sister Jean Kenny of the St. Francis Borgia Parish. She is 18-7 in choosing the Super Bowl over the last 25 years and has been dubbed the "Super Bowl Sister." As I continue my streak of picking the wrong team to win the Super Bowl to three years now, maybe it is time for a long-distance phone call...

What Does It Take to Become Your Best?

Nothing irritates me more than people who use their circumstances as a simple excuse for not becoming all that they can become. Nobody can accuse Kevin Laue of this. Laue is a 6 foot 10 "senior" at Fork Union Military Academy in Virginia who has overcome more adversity than most other players would. Kevin has been without his left forearm since birth yet decided that he would still become a basketball player. Who would have thought that he would excel in a sport where from an early age youngsters are encouraged to dribble with both hands and are almost required to be proficient with both hands by the time they make high school varsity? How did he do this you might ask? Very simply, Kevin is extraordinarily athletic, had adopted his playing style to emphasize his talent, and has an amazing work ethic. I will admit that I was surprised when I turned on the TV and saw Kevin's recruitment, but I began wondering why I should have been surprised. He has the natural gift of height which often makes recruiters come calling. He is extraordinarily athletic as I mentioned before and is definitely not a center who will be limited to the post. Also, becoming an NCAA Division I caliber athlete requires an amazing work ethic. There are approximately 300 Division I colleges that each have somewhere between 10 and 15 players. To be ranked among the top approximately 4500 basketball playing students in America is difficult enough, and there are plenty of obstacles that can stand between a player and that goal. Many people would feel that losing one forearm would be reason enough to give up on basketball and pursue something else. However, Kevin followed his passion to rise to his place as one of the better basketball players in America right now. I would imagine that he ran into some naysayers along the way who told him that basketball would not be in his future simply because there had never been a college player with only one arm. Apparently, Kevin worried less about whether or not he was following someone else's trail; he created his own. Watch this YouTube interview with Kevin, and you will find that adversity only becomes a problem if you allow it to become one.

These Are a Few of My Favorite Things

It was a good year for sports movies as The Blind Side and Invictus being nominated for many Oscars. According to a blog post I read by Len Berman, only three sports movies have ever won the Best Picture. For any of you who were wondering, these movies were Rocky, Chariots of Fire, and Million Dollar Baby. However, I decided to dedicate this post to some of my favorite sports movies. So...
• First and foremost, Remember the Titans is at the top of my list and should be on the top of everybody else's. While this movie primarily focuses on a newly integrated football team, football is less important than the seemingly inevitable racial conflicts that were unfortunately all too common in that era. Also, when a white coach was replaced by a black coach in the South at this time, the results almost destroyed a team that would go on to become one of the best in the nation. In my opinion, this seamless weaving of athletics and culture makes Remember the Titans the best sports movie if not my favorite movie.
• Another movie that could be seen as more than sports movie is Miracle. As anybody who was alive at the time understood, the 1980 Winter Olympics meant more than who walked home with the more valuable medal. At the height of the Cold War, America and the Soviet Union met in the men's hockey semi finals in a game that has been considered one of the greatest in Olympic history. Again, this movie could be just about hockey, and it would be a great story. However, by intertwining historical events with one of the most famous hockey games of all time is a recipe for a great movie.
• This is not one movie because in order to give this trilogy due credit, The Mighty Ducks must be viewed as a series. Any of the individual movies are great, but the development that becomes evident through watching all three movies makes the characters personalities become much more multifaceted. For example, the character of Charlie Conway in Mighty Ducks one appears to be nothing more than a young kid who is very dependent on his coach. In Mighty Ducks two, Charlie develops into the type of leader who is willing to sacrifice his own fame for the betterment of the team. Finally, in the third installment, despite the adversity that Charlie faces, he rises above these confrontations to become the hero we knew he could become. This and many other reasons are why The Mighty Ducks trilogy ranks among my favorite sports movies.

These are just a few of my favorite sports movies. As long as sports remain such a large part in American society, I hope that we will continue to see a flood of more great sports movies for years to come.

DUNK!

Every year for quite a few years I have taped the NBA All-Star weekend. It all began when I was younger and the games were on after my bedtime. The obvious highlight of the weekend was the famous slam dunk contest. Who doesn't love to watch some of the most athletic people in the world show off in front of thousands of screaming fans? Although in my opinion the dunks have become less original in the past few years, I have enjoyed the antics of Dwight Howard turning into Superman and Nate Robinson coming out in a fluorescent green "Kryptonite" uniform bent on bringing down the Man of Steel. Some of my favorite contest moments were during the 2002 All-Star weekend when the contest took on the feel of Wheel of Fortune. In the second round, each player would spin the giant wheel and whatever category they landed on would determine what dunk they would need to replicate from the archives. I remember watching these athletes trying to replicate what became an image of the greatness of Michael Jordan: the dunk from the free throw line. Even though this dunk was performed when a Julius Erving dunk was spun, somehow in my mind this dunk will always be associated with Michael himself. Maybe this is because I am the product of my generation that grew up when every basketball player wanted to "Be like Mike." I do not mean to diminish the accomplishments of Dr. J; it is just that a player who has achieved worldwide fame will dominate the attention of his era. Who hasn't seen the image of Michael Jordan, tongue fully protruded, soaring towards the rim with seemingly super hero ability? This image and this athlete have come to define slam dunking greatness. Michael is not nicknamed His Airness for nothing. What the dunk contest needs to revitalize itself is simply get the stars to enter. In 1985, 1987, and 1988, Michael Jordan and Dominique Wilkins squared off in what have become some of the most famous contests in history. Not only were these two the best dunkers in the NBA; they were two of the league's brightest stars. Come on Lebron! You have been saying that you will compete in the dunk contest and bailed. Until superstars get back into the mix, the epic contests will be lost to future generations.

If It Ain't Broke...

I realize that business owners want to make a profit; being a business major, I understand this. Without profit, the business is bound to run into a tough situation. However, when the motivation for profit interferes with the overall integrity and tradition of the business, there is an issue. According to my business textbook, this commitment to the betterment of the community as a whole is often referred to as Corporate Social Responsibility or CSR. However, though I am typically a fan of NCAA basketball, I wish that they would ignore the profit motivation that seems to be pervading their judgment recently and focus on their CSR which is to provide the best basketball experience for their fans.

Looking at the column that was written earlier today on NBC Los Angeles, I was absolutely shocked to find out that the NCAA tournament is very close to expanding the tournament field to 96 teams as opposed to the traditional 65. 31 more teams will be dancing in March if this deal goes down as several sources are predicting it will. What's wrong with this you might ask? First of all, the NCAA tournament is supposed to be a matchup of the best of the best. Granted, there are always teams on the proverbial bubble who should be in but aren't. However, do any of these themes on the bubble have the potential to seriously contend for the national championship? As much as I love a good Cinderella story, realistically, the lowest seed ever to win a national championship was a number eight seed, which was Villanova in 1985 according to the always reliable Wikipedia. This means that a team in the bottom half of a regional bracket has never won or even made the national championship. Odds are, many of these 31 new entrants would be of a similar caliber and probably have no chance of making a serious run at the national championship. Therefore, what difference would these teams make? I'll tell you what difference it would make; it would make a lot more money for the NCAA. The amazing number of viewers who watch these games would only be multiplied by the fact that there would be more games to watch. According to the article I saw on NBC, the first round of the tournament will consist of seeds 9 to 24 competing for the right to play the one through eight seeds. This would create many more games; as opposed to the 64 games there are currently including the play in game, there would now be 95 games as the new round of "play in" winners would then meet up with the top eight teams from each bracket which would be reminiscent of the 64 team field we have right now. Typically, I say that more basketball is a great thing, and it is. However, what significance will the season have if approximately one third of all teams get in? All a team in a highly competitive conference would need to do is go .500 to all but guarantee a spot in the field. However, I think we will still have many of the same problems of the underrepresentation of mid-major teams. Many teams will still get in based on reputation; the Selection Committee is just as biased as many of us fans.

The added revenue for the NCAA seems to be a good enough reason for the NCAA to expand the field. However, they need to remember that their first responsibility is to provide the best experience for their fans. Why mess with the system? It already draws millions of viewers every year and has become one of the most popular sporting events of the year. After all, how many events do you know that have the power to alter national activity for a whole month?

Super Bowl Mania

While it always amazes me what control popular culture holds over many Americans, I am even more amazed by the fact that the Super Bowl so many viewings. I realize how popular football is in America, but it is crazy how many people watch the Super Bowl who have no clue about football. What makes this game so popular amongst people who care less about football the other 364 or 365 days of the year? I believe that this phenomenon can be largely attributed to the fact that the Super Bowl has become more than a football game; it has become a national institution. Some schools in Indiana have even considered canceling classes the day after the Super Bowl because the Colts are in it. You do not need to know much about football to appreciate the spectacle that has been built around the game. Some people even watch simply to see the sometimes innovative, sometimes controversial, but always entertaining commercials. Some people might watch just to see the half-time show (although given the past few half-time shows, I was less than impressed). Some people watch just so they won't be totally ignorant around the watercooler or office photocopier. There is nothing worse than being the only person in the office who has no idea that the Steelers beat the Cardinals last year. Also, the Super Bowl means camaraderie; how many other times throughout the year do you get to have all your friends over, eat the amazing food, and all share a single focus for about three hours. What has this single football game able to rise above the traditional boundaries of its market and appeal to a vast majority of people? I do not really know how to answer this; I would say, however, that the Super Bowl is a beautiful example of viral marketing. You need to know about the game, or you will be the only one or at least one of the few. Granted, the Super Bowl does spend a lot of money on direct advertising, but this feeling of necessity to watch the game seems to show similar trends with viral marketing strategies. If a buzz can be created surrounding an event so that everyone needs to know about it, the event will be successful. The Super Bowl is extraordinarily successful; they have discovered how to get all of society talking. I know I'll be watching the Super Bowl, and I hope that the rest of the country will catch the great feeling surrounding this game of all games.

Should It Be In You?

As I was sitting at a girls' basketball game between Spaulding High School and Rice Memorial High School on a cold night in Barre, I noticed that there were two titans competing. While the teams were great, I noticed what was that the end of the benches. I'm not referring to assistant coaches, statisticians, managers, or any of the players who happen to be avoiding the coach; this battle was between Powerade on the Crimson Tide bench and Gatorade on the Green Knights bench. Gatorade is obviously the household name as it has been immortalized through many "Gatorade moments" such as the tradition of dumping that signature orange cylinder of odd colored liquid over the victorious coach's head. However, Powerade has come into the market as a larger force in recent years because of a more modern image headlines by a new version of Gatorade's classic spokesman, Lebron James who has been compared to His Airness many times. Realistic videos of Lebron doing the impossible such as nailing full-court shot after full-court shot have given Powerade an image. As opposed to just being a lesser substitute, Powerade has arrived as a legitimate competitor even though Gatorade still holds a vast margin on the overall market. Why has Gatorade remained so dominant? After all, according to research done, Gatorade and Powerade are not significantly different in formula. The first reason is, as I mentioned before, the tradition. For so long Gatorade has been directly related to winning as a celebratory gesture. Therefore, any new entrant into the market will not have any possible way to compete with this history simply because they don't have it. You can't create history. Another reason Gatorade will remain dominant is because they already are dominant despite the fact that they charge more for teams to use their product. Upon viewing both companies' online stores, for the same amount of money, which would be one of Powerade's large kits and two of Gatorade's, I discovered that:
• Gatorade would give you a larger cooler (60 quarts versus 40 quarts)
• They would both provide two 10 quart coolers
• Powerade would give 14 more towels
• Powerade would give 26 more clutch bottles
• They would both provide four bottle carriers
• Gatorade would give 500 more disposable cups
• Gatorade would give 12 more gallons of beverage made with powder

In looking at these, it appears that Powerade would give the consumer more for their money with a product that is seemingly of equal quality. Why then would people not use Powerade? Through ingenious marketing, Gatorade has been able to differentiate themselves from the market in a way that most companies only dream of being able to do.