Social media has opened up the doors for fans to have a voice like never before, this is something which in my experience scares some teams but also offers great opportunity.
The upcoming free agency, or Decision 2010 as the NBA have branded it, has lead to many fan led campaigns telling stars like LeBron James why they should come to their team, this summer could change the face of the NBA for years to come.
But, there’s a fan led campaign kicking off over here which could change basketball across Britain forever; Back British Basketball was started by basketball fanatic and Editor of Hoopfix.com, Sam Neter.
There has been a feeling amongst the basketball community that not enough is being done to promote the game on this side of the pond and Sam has taken it upon himself to become the marketing machine the Team GB has been missing for years. Check out the video below and you’ll understand what I mean.
With the 2012 Olympics coming up and Basketball being one of the few sports in the Olympics where the home nation doesn’t get an automatic qualification. FIBA President Bob Elphinston in April 2010 announced that in order for Team GB to secure a place in the Olympics they would need to qualify for Eurobasket 2011, a campaign that begins this August.
Team GB have 4 home games this summer that will help to decide their fate, the games will be played across the UK and Back British Basketball aims to get arenas packed full of fans cheering on our team to victory and ultimately a place in the Olympics.
“The fact that Team GB has met and exceeded every goal FIBA has set out for them so far; yet they still don’t have a guaranteed place in 2012 is outrageous particularly given the fact that the UK is the host nation. As a committed fan I intend to drive this campaign and do everything in my power to get the nation on board and increase Team GB’s following ensuring their every chance of success in August” explains campaign leader, Sam Neter.
“Ben Gordon is in, Deng is there, Pops is too. Not to mention a strong supporting cast made from the likes of Joel Freeland, Dan Clark and co. This is going to be the best team we have ever fielded as a nation. It’s not even close,” said Neter.
“People say that trying to promote basketball in this country, in particular the support for Team GB is a lost cause, but I disagree. The fact that the NBA sells out their games in the UK every single year, Midnight Madness, though not quite on the same scale, always sells out finals night (in excess of 3,000) and basketball in itself being the third largest participation sport in the UK proves the potential audience/crowds/fans/whatever you want to call them are already there. It’s just making them care and aware of the Great Britain National Team.”
Since its launch support for the campaign is growing fast, with many of the British basketball community getting on board and showing their support. Back British Basketball is a testament to the power of social media and what can be achieved with a bit of passion and hard work.
If you’d like to show your support for the campaign visit BackBritishBasketball.com
Our Team, Our Olympics, by any means necessary…
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About Ash Read
Ash is the co-founder of FundSport.com a grassroots sports community providing sports clubs and athletes from around the world with professional, easy-to-understand advice and articles on all aspects of grassroots sport including sponsorship, fundraising, the Internet, social media, club management, PR and marketing. As well as being passionate about the development of grassroots sport Ash also has a keen involvement in the sports social media industry. You can follow Ash on Twitter at @ashread14
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[...] It’s not just on the court where I’m getting involved with the game, I’ve also started to think about basketball off the court and I’ve written a couple of articles about the ‘Back British Basketball’ campaign and how the sport can grow in here in the UK. If you’re interested you can read them on The UK Sports Network and SportsNetworker.com. [...]
[...] top of that, across the pond, a great article was published on Sports Networker by Ash Read talking about the [...]