What An Opportunity

Posts Tagged ‘TOM’

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Pegulaville.

In Sports on January 15, 2013 at 8:04 pm

Pegulaville: Home of the Buffalo Sabres.

Population: Not as much as you would think.

What is the sport that most Americans watch today? I would give you three guesses but you probably only need one: football. Not a game where the ball is kicked with the foot (unless you’re a kicker or punter) but rather is thrown, caught, handled between the chest and forearm, and thrown ruthlessly into the ground to exhibit dominance and emotion. Football is the most watched sport in the United States and has been for some time now. For some people, it is the execution of well-laid plans and precise details being performed at humanity’s physical and mental peak that draws them. However, even the most contemplative of viewers lets out the complimentary, “Ohhh!!” when a player is “laid out” at any given point in the game. One of the biggest reasons people watch football is for the big hits. Keep that in mind as you read on.

What is the sport that most people in the world watch today? I would give you three guess but you probably only need one: football. A game where the ball is kicked with the foot and can be touched by the head, heel, knee, chest, shoulder, back, etc. but no hands…or lower forearm really; unless you’re a goalie or Diego Maradona. For almost everyone watching football, it is the execution of extricate passes, exemplary form, and extraordinary talent that drives viewership. While the pace may not be everyone’s cup of tea, most fans appreciate the build-up of play that leads to “that one moment” that produces a goal. MLS has seen a substantial uptick in its viewership and TV deals with NBC Sports Network and ESPN speak to its growing popularity in these United States. Scoring is at an absolute premium and that is one the biggest reasons people watch football. Keep that on the back-burner next to that other oblong-shaped thing.

Then’s there’s basketball. Basketball is unique that in while it was created in the United States, there was a purposeful effort to expand the game globally. The growth of the NBA, as a brand, is a credit to David Stern and an emphasis on an open-door policy that allows for the many international citizens in the Association today. As for the popularity of the sport of basketball, it is the pace of the game that draws people; to contend that basketball is dull due to game speed is a tough argument to rationalize.

So let’s take a look at what we have here: American football is popular, for many reasons, but one of those reasons is the physicality of the sport. Football is the most popular sport on the planet and the most important reason might be how hard it is to score. Finally, basketball is popular in the U.S. and the rest of the world because of the pace of play.

Which brings us to hockey. Born in Canada and played around the world and in the U.S. Hockey has the physicality of American football (with fighting, mind you), the scoring premium of football, and the pace of basketball and yet, is routinely ignored. TV ratings for hockey, especially in championships, seem to be consistently jockeying baseball for third behind the NFL and the NBA. Why is that?

One reason could be weather. In the U.S, there are just not enough places that are cold enough. In many European countries, a dominantly cold climate allows for the prominence of ice; the same can be said for our neighbors to the North. As for the U.S., many of the states are in warm climates that are not conducive to ice. While it is obvious that there are indoor rinks, if individuals do not grow up around ice, can they appreciate it as much?

Secondly, there is the economics of it all. The NBA has been able to incorporate corporate sponsorship in media timeouts that help “pay the bills” as they say. MLS has it a bit tougher but sponsors on jerseys help to remind the viewer of products to be consumed. As for the NFL , they have done the best job of infusing commercialism into every facet of the game. The pre-game show is sponsored by companies, there is a media timeout after the first kickoff, media timeouts after punts, and media timeouts after touchdowns and extra points and the ensuing kickoff. There are even sponsors for the post-game show and the highlight shows after the post-game show.

The NHL? There are really no issues there. Miscellaneous media timeouts throughout the game are congruent with the other sports leagues.

There is also the idea of hockey as a foreign entity. Is that the answer? American football, derived from rugby, has been the symbol of the U.S. when it comes to sports. American football is not played in any other country at a level that rivals the United States. There are countless heroes, stories, moments, etc. that are so ingrained in the fabric of the stars and stripes that you must separate football from soccer.

Basketball was created in the United States and diversified its investment to the rest of the world. As for soccer, its popularity worldwide, along with the performance of the United States National Teams in competitions, has assisted in an increased importance in our sports climate.

The NHL? Not as lucky. Hockey is tied to international entities who seem to define its growth. Hockey consistently has low ratings in the U.S. and much higher ratings in Canada. Why is it that the NHL cannot find a foothold? The majority of its season is after the NFL season is over. Yes, it does compete with the NBA but shouldn’t that be a fair fight?

Finally, you have the appearance of a sports league that is woefully out-of-touch with its players and fan base. Three lockouts in one commissioner’s tenure? A revenue stream that is fifth in the world as of 2011 behind the NFL, NBA, MLB, and the Barclays Premier League? That is not a business model that exactly screams efficiency.

No doubt, it is some combination of these factors and possibly, other confounding variables. Still, the question has to be asked: Why does a sport that combines the physicality of football, the scoring premium of soccer, and the pace of basketball not have a lot of viewers? Then again, maybe that is the wrong question. Maybe that is the wrong thought process. Maybe the question is: Why does a business, that has the best hockey players, not have many viewers?

Pegulaville.: Home of the Buffalo Sabres

Population: Not as much as it should be.

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The beauty of sport.

In Sports on April 22, 2012 at 2:05 am

There are so many reasons to love sports (Feel free to leave your favorite reasons in the comments section).

And there are many reasons that sports are beautiful. But I want to talk about “that one moment”.

“That one moment”, or TOM, is the ratio of “DID YOU JUST SEE THAT?!?!” to watching time. So for example, american football has a  relatively low TOM because of the amount of things that occur (hits, runs, catches, etc.) versus watching time. Soccer, on the other hand, has a relatively high TOM because of the long periods of comparative inaction surrounding moments of pure athletic wonder.

If there was an index, it would look something like this:

High to low

1) Golf

2) Soccer

3) Baseball

4) Hockey

5) Football

6) Basketball

So with the TOM in mind, it has been great to be able to watch sports recently. With playoff hockey in full swing and playoff basketball around the corner, the TOM meter has been put aside. There have been more than enough moments to get excited about. However, as a fan of baseball and soccer, it can be a little more…difficult. So this past week has sent my TOM meter out-of-whack.

#1: Ronaldo and Messi make La Liga defenses look like Swiss cheese…full of holes.

Let’s be honest: These two are the best soccer players on the planet right now (all apologies to Pele and his affection for Neymar). Their individual teams are immensely talented but their consistent dominance cannot be denied. Their record goal race was much more intriguing than McGwire vs. Sosa especially in hindsight (That is my personal opinion and is probably more of a question of what is harder to do: hit a home run or score a goal in soccer?). So to have soccer, #2 in TOM, have these two be such ambassadors of the game is pure joy. Not to say that other soccer teams don’t have wonderful moments but watching Barcelona create an attack from their backfield, through the middle of the field, on to the forwards, back to midfielder, and through to a runner for a goal all in a fluid 45 sec. sequence is all that I could ask for.

#2: The Humber Games…yes, I stole it from ESPN.com but you have to admit that’s clever.

Baseball, #3 in TOM, does have it’s moments. From home runs, to great outfield catches, and infield plays, baseball delivers (kind of). But is there anything more “DID YOU JUST SEE THAT?!?!’ than a perfect game? There had only been 20 in history, before today. A relative unknown, unless you’re on the South Side of Chicago, Phil Humber threw a dominant perfect game. He threw less than 100 pitches and had a ridiculous amount of thrown strikes. While watching basketball with some friends, we saw the update on the ESPN ticker and I wanted to watch it immediately (Remember, #3 in  TOM). That did not happen. My friend brought up a good point: If he’s in the 9th inning, we’ll find it. Sure enough, he makes it to the 9th inning and we switch over. 3 outs, and a very cool team moment later, and the channel was back to basketball.

So does TOM matter? I think it does. I think there is something to be said for those moments. Because of the continuous build-up, you feel more keyed in to the little things. The instances that they would put on replay, you were attentive enough to notice. So when there is finally a breakthrough, you find yourself fully immersed in it.

Just hope that the moment was for your team.

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