NFL Makes Major Pro Bowl Changes

The NFL is making big changes to this year’s Pro Bowl, the AFC vs. NFC format has been eliminated in favor of captains picking 43 players regardless of conference. The NFL is trying to revitalize their All Star game much like MLB. Controversy stirred over Roger Goodell's comments that players played with a lack of effort in the Pro Bowl game; however, last year’s game put an end to such controversy. The problem is that the game has little meaning and impact on the players. Fans see it is seen as a vacation game for the NFL’s Elite and that misperception won’t change unless the NFL starts to make some changes. When the halftime entertainment for the Super Bowl generates more excitement than a game that is supposed to showcase the NFL’s best talent then you know something is wrong.

Major reasons why fans do not like the game are the rules. The game has many limitations from a traditional football game there is no blitzing, no blocking punts or field goals, no more than two wideouts lined up on one side, no offensive shifts or movements on the offensive line prior to the snap, no defensive alignments besides the basic 4-3.To make the game even more like a scrimmage, Intentional Grounding is legal. The problem the NFL has with this game is that no one cares about it. Even with the change of date to before the Super Bowl, the Pro Bowl is the most meaningless all star game in sports. Television ratings aren't the problem the quality of the game is.

Milwaukee Brewers Give Back to Fans

Brewers owner Mark Attanasio announced that all fans attending any of the 12 Brewers home games in August would receive a $10 voucher for free concessions, merchandise and game tickets at Miller Park. This announcement comes shortly after Mark promised to give back to the fans following Ryan Braun’s suspension and a dismal season as the team sits in last place of the NL Central. Every ticketed fan who attends a home game through August will receive a voucher good for $10 that can be used for food, beverage, merchandise and tickets sold at nearly every outlet. Vouchers may also be combined and be used at any remaining home game in 2013.

The Brewers are trying to fill seats at a time when they are far out of the playoff race. With all of the anger and controversy surrounding Ryan Braun, this promotion should provided some added incentive for fans to venture over to Miller Park and catch a baseball game.  The Brewers are giving back to the fans. Coincidentally, Braun is forfeiting about $3.1 million of pay while suspended. With attendance expected to be above 30,000 in August, the Brewers expect to distribute more than $3.6 million worth of vouchers. This added savings from Ryan Braun’s suspension should subsidize the cost of this promotion and give the fans something to talk about other than the steroid suspension.

The Impact of Moneyball on Sports and Business

Moneyball has forever changed the way that people will see the game of baseball. Billy Beane developed a system which evaluated talent using big data to find the best value in players to build a winning team. This strategy led the 2002 Oakland A’s to a record winning season and changed Major League Baseball forever. The principles Billy developed for evaluating talent stands for much more than just baseball. People that make decisions using discipline, who are managing trend lines, growing the business, and making hard decisions, adhere to the same principles of Moneyball. After the release of the book Moneyball, Wall Street took to heart the principles which Billy developed and so should you. 

MLB All-Star Game Reaches New Records

The 2013 Major League All-Star game has proven to be a great success for baseball. This year’s Mid-Summer Classic delivered as a social media showcase and provided fans with more engagement than ever.  The statistics from twitter have shown that this year, fans wanted to have their opinion heard about who made the team and who the winner would be. This growth of interest in the All Star game demonstrates how the game has become important to the fans again. Gone is the time when the American and National league teams would approach this game as a friendly and throw out every position player and pitcher who made the team regardless of the score, and the fans have responded demonstrating their growing interest in the game through social media and television ratings. They care about who makes the team, who wins this game, and how their favorite players perform.

Should Little League Ban the Curveball?

The curveball has long been the discussion of much debate in Little League baseball. For years, parents and doctors have agreed that the curveball has been the cause of unnecessary damage to young pitchers arms. However, recent studies have shown no correlation between increase in the damage to young pitchers arms from a curveball or fastball. Little League has taken great steps over the years to protect young players on the diamond; however, when players play year round and youth coaches’ priorities are to win games, this pitch can be overused and lead young pitchers to blowing out their arms.

For the past several years, researchers at Georgia Tech have been tracking every pitch used in the Little League World Series. Their results have shown that with every year there is an increase in how many curveballs are thrown. These young players see pitchers like Justin Verlander and Matt Harvey on the television fooling batters with breaking pitches and they want to throw like the pros. The problem is that professional players are more physically developed and are working with the best coaches in the world to learn the proper mechanics to protect their arms. Little League pitchers learn these pitches throwing in backyards and rarely have experienced coaches who understand correct mechanics to protect their arms.

Charleston RiverDogs: A Winning Promotion

Objectives: Minor League Baseball promotions inspire MiLB Executives to react with sentiments such as “Why didn’t I think of that?” Then there was the event staged by the Charleston RiverDogs on June 18th, where MiLB Executives reacted along the lines of “I never would have thought of that!” Minor League Baseball has long been praised for doing non-traditional things surrounding the game to fill seats and increase revenue. When the RiverDogs announced that they would host the 53^rd annual South Atlantic League All-Star Game they sought to do something creative to excite fans and increase ticket sales for the event. When the team announced that they would be holding the Home Run Derby on the flight deck of the USS Yorktown, something which has never been done before, the world took notice of this event.

How To Improve Your Social Media ROI

#1: Use Social Media to Promote Your Offers

Social Media is an inexpensive way to use promotion to sell tickets, keep new and existing customers, and create excitement for your team. Facebook, Youtube, Twitter, and LinkIn help drive interest and customers to your market and are important channels to gain attention for your promotions. Ways to better engage your customer base:

   

·        Create polls that ask customers fun questions related to your products or service.

·         Ask customers to share pictures.

·         Tweet interesting or unusual facts about your team or franchise.

·         Create a Youtube channel and regularly add fun and useful videos.

·         Launch a video contest: Ask fans what they like about going to games.

·         Join LinkIn groups which are popular with your customers.

·         Ask customers to provide recommendations to improve the fan experience.

·         Post interesting articles, announcements, special offers, and team related news.