In the past, sports were just a basic activity designed to keep you healthy, have fun and to bring out your competitive nature. Sport has grown tremendously from the modest beginnings when we shot a ball into a peach basket or used leather helmets when we wanted to toss around the pigskin. Now we have basketball hoops that glow when the shot clock runs down to zeroes and helmets that seem to be indestructible compared to the soft leather ones.
Have you ever wondered how sports have risen from these modest beginnings to the technology controlled leagues they are in today’s society? Sure, sports got bigger and better because they became more popular. But, they did not grow on word of mouth alone; sports needed something bigger to expand and evolve them from their humble origins to the modern marvels they are today. This is where advertising came into play.
Advertising was the medium that sports needed in order to grow into the powerhouses that they are today. Before advertising was a big deal, football players simply had a jersey with a number, racecars had a basic paintjob with a number and basketball courts were just concrete slabs with two hoops on either end. Now when we watch sports, our favorite football team’s jersey has a sponsor’s logo embroidered on the chest, racecars have crazy and extreme paintjobs with multiple sponsors and basketball courts have LED scoring tables that have the capability to show many different ads.
When you’re watching your favorite team play on TV, the advertisements do not end with the commercial breaks but instead have expanded into every aspect of the game. I mean even stadiums are giant ads — American Airlines Arena, Coors Field and Reliant Stadium. How many of us even knew that Reliant Energy existed before they bought the Texans’ stadium? The ads continue with the logos that are placed on the 20 yard line. Websites advertised on the very top of a basketball hoop and, even, at local little league fields ad banners are hung from the fences.
Even though marketing has played a monumental role in the popularity of the sporting industry, is there a limit to how much is too much? At what point does it become bizarre? TOMS has partnered with several colleges to make shoes in their school colors. And, Kellogg now sells Pop-Tarts with college logos branded on the front. Is nothing sacred anymore? Our shoes? Not even our breakfast treats? Maybe we should be thankful that NSU is not a Division I school or we may be eating Strawberry Shark Pop-Tarts for breakfast.
