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The Piece Everyone Is Missing

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While summer may be one of the more quiet times of the sports year, using these tactics can keep your sports page and content just as relevant as it is during the playoffs.

During the times of year such as the Superbowl, the Stanley Cup playoffs, or even the World Cup, the content is easy to create since your viewers want to hear your opinion.  However, in the summer when things shut down, you have to reach out to your viewers and do something that stands out from the rest.

This is probably the most common problem creators have.  The little content that can be produced doesn’t get to their fans and bigger companies beat them to the story.

To make matters even worse, once your viewer knows what had happened in free agency or the off-season, the opportunity is lost until the next big thing happens.

The solution or tactics I am talking about is being quick and consistent.  

Take for example that the NHL and NBA free agencies.  Both of these leagues have a day every year where players who have a contract that has passed its last year can choose to go to another team.  In regard to writing sports content for games, it is easy to write something the next day or even wrap everything up that happened all week on the weekend.  However, what makes these events tricky is that everything happens so quick and people move onto the next player.  Furthermore, free agency is something you should take advantage of since it’s one of the little forms of content you can write.

Where my solution comes into play is that you need to be well organized and prepared to write a summary of a big name player that had just signed.  An easy way to do this is having your subscribers get notifications for content you write.  Through doing this, your subscribers benefit from knowing everything that happens right when it does and you gain more subscribers and opportunities during the season when the Fall comes around.

In this industry, during this time period, your consumer can get any piece of information in a matter of seconds with the Internet.  It is crucial to have a reputation of doing the same when new information is released even if it is something brief such as a Tweet.

What do you think sets an individual apart from the rest?

Is there anything else I missed that you use yourself?

Redefining The Outdoorsman (And woman)

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Companies such as Patagonia, Colombia, and Simms have spent years competing with each other over making the best gear.  Constant campaigning to be the king of the hill, however, proved to be a disadvantage for everyone in the mix.  After years and years of competition, all the outdoor gear companies lost sight of what was most important: the customer.

The problem they all have is that they failed to cater to the future customer that would be buying all of their gear.  As the years went by, the baby boomer demographic slowly but surely phased its way out of the market.  While there is a segment left for these customers, the majority of the market is the tail-end of generation-x and even more importantly millennials.  Baby boomers wanted gear such as a world-class hiking equipment or a 4-piece, 2 weight fly fishing rod with fine-tuned tapers, 100% increase in tip-impact strength, and costs so much it should do your laundry.  What the younger generation really wants is multi-use, versatile products that look good.

Although Simms may have a light-weight winter jacket that will keep you warm in the coldest of temperatures, millennials won’t wear it unless it looks good.

This leads me to a bigger problem in that these companies don’t know what this segment of customers wants.  Retailers that produce outdoor gear failed to take a look into and analyze the newer market.  They are trying to recycle ways that worked in the past but none of it is catching on and these people aren’t interested.  They need to look at the way customers are living and what they want in an outdoor jacket, for example.

The solution is that while the younger generation loves the outdoors and wants to take part in activities such as hiking, fly fishing, and camping, there’s nothing engaging to interest them.  It was easy for baby boomers since all they did was have fun outside when they were younger.  As they got older, they still did the same activities, just with more expensive and better equipment.  Younger generations need guidance in performing these activities while still catering to their lifestyle.  There’s still an opportunity to inspire.  While purist outdoorsman sees the outdoors as a landscape to be conquered with a machete and some tinder and flint (maybe a little bit of exaggeration), millennials want to simply enjoy being outside with others, portable music, and not so hardcore gear.  The experience isn’t about hiking the tallest mountain or white water rafting in the harshest of rivers but simply being outside and enjoying the experience with others.  That’s essentially what social media has done: bringing people together.  They still want to be together.  Just in a comfortable setting with their peers.

What else do you think outdoor gear companies should do to engage the new, emerging market?

 

The Beginning of an Era in Sports Broadcasting

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Sports broadcasters for any sport provide a service that is most appreciated by the new sports fan or those who need some help being guided through the game.

A broadcaster will present information such as starting lineups, in-game stats, and will point out scenarios and strategies the viewer may miss.  However, for those fans who know exactly what they are watching and don’t need any guidance, some broadcasters come off as awkward or annoying.

Announcers such as Joe Buck and Cris Collinsworth have a history of not being a fan favorite because of their monotone voices and lack of joy and charisma.  Former players Bill Russell and Mark Johnson, while phenomenal athletes during their time, were off-cue and not exactly a fans first choice.  And finally, how could anyone forget Bill Russell who did everything from rubbing dirt on himself to taking off his shirt on-air.

To make matters even worse, anyone watching the game while these individuals are announcing can’t do anything about it.  Nobody wants to sit in a silent room while watching the game.

The simple and easy solution I propose is to subscribe to “ESPN+“.  While ESPN may be outdated in many aspects of announcing, this new idea will revolutionize the fan experience and cater to everyone’s needs.  This new streaming service from was recently released on April 12 and offers a lineup of content and live sporting events for just $4.99/month.

How it works and what you get

The first step is to download the ESPN app via your iPad or smartphone or you can log onto ESPN.com and purchase the subscription.  As I said before, you only pay $4.99/month to receive all of the benefits.

With your 5 bucks, you get an array of content among thousands of live sporting events such as the following:

  • MLB – more than 180 games
  • NHL – more than 180 games
  • Boxing – year-round
  • MLS – more than 250 games
  • College Sports – multiple sports such as football, baseball, basketball, and hockey to name a few.
  • PGA – 50 days of coverage
  • Rugby and Cricket – international

Furthermore, the ESPN+ app will provide users with a platform that lets them do everything that revolves around sports.  Any question you have will be solved through this app.

  • Scores, news, highlights
  • live streaming
  • on-demand video library
  • ESPN audio

Believe me when I say that coming from a hardcore sports fan myself that this app will be a game-changer to how to consumer watches sports.  ESPN+ could even save you from an expensive cable bill that you don’t want to pay any more.  If you’re like me, all I use cable or is sporting events and with this app, I would save nearly $95.

Do you all plan on using this app?

Does it satisfy all your sports broadcasting needs or do you think something else should be added?

Intro: Why It’s YOUR Blog and Not Mine

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Being my first blog post, I think it’s fair to introduce what the blog will be about and the type of content you can expect.

I had the idea to create this site because like a lot of other people, I was tired with the usual content ESPN puts out and wanted not just new material or shows, but something more raw and entertaining.  “Pardon The Interruption” and “First Take” are shows that have been airing for about a million years and it’s the usual “hot take” debate or boring interviews with athletes that are look bored themselves.

I wanted something more edgy and something timeless instead of the pre-game show, the post-game show, and the next game’s prediction.

The problem gets even worse because with the millions or dollars ESPN is losing and people around the world making new, modern content, ESPN is desperately playing “catch up” and trying to do what everyone else is. The only issue is they suck at it and is “cringe-worthy” or awkward. But you can’t blame the on-air talent, they did a job well for a while (million years) and just don’t know how to innovate and adapt to what you want today.

MY solution isn’t just writing content for you and you reading, watching, and listening to my ideas or opinions.  My solution is YOU because YOU know exactly what you want to talk about and have listened to others for years.  Why have me do all the talking when everyone has the power of the internet at their fingertips.  I don’t want to force anything or write boring content. YOU know what you want, so go ahead…talk about it!

My solution comes from collaboration and a sharing of ideas that you, the fans, want to talk about.  Football may be the most popular sport in America, however, I realize that others are die-hard hockey fans.  Rather than catering to the majority (like ESPN), I chose to cater to…well…everyone.  I allow you to have a platform and voice to talk about what you want. The hockey fans can skip through all the football talk and join a thread to talk about the Stanley Cup.  Heck, even the cheese rollers in England can discuss their reaction to the latest cheese rolling event.

I will still be posting my ideas on the blog page, but the site comes to life with collaboration on your part.

I hope your onboard with my idea and I made this site because I am a sports fan like you that wants more than boring interviews and reductant shows with “I’m right, your’e wrong” opinions.

So comment or email me if you have any suggestions or what you want to include in the site.

What else do you want me to include?

Do you think my idea will revolutionize sports media or is complete trash?