A lot of us endure setbacks in life, but few are lower than what a 15-year-old aspiring athlete experienced when he heard his mother’s parting words as he walked out the door with his worldly possessions in one small duffel bag: “I wish you’d never been born.” Little did he know, those would be freeing ones.

Sam Bracken eventually forgave his mother for that comment and choices she made that hurt him as a child. He realized that her following words that day – that he’d one day thank her, were in fact, true.

The book, “My Orange Duffel Bag; a Journey to Radical Change” is a creative, uplifting work of art in words, pictures and design. It is a combination story about Bracken’s difficult childhood to his realization that he had to change if he wanted to live. It spotlights his emergence as a standout football player and honors graduate at Georgia Tech, and follows his decision not to pursue his initial desire to play in the NFL, but to help others. It is also a guidebook of sorts, with questions that provoke and challenge those who want to change in their lives.

Bracken grew up in Las Vegas and was abused physically and emotionally. His neighbors and family’s friends were drug dealers, mobsters and members of motorcycle gangs, and drugs, alcohol and pornography greeted him instead of milk and cookies when he returned from school each day. He was shuffled among family members because his mother worked multiple jobs. It wasn’t long before he found himself going down a dangerous life path when a profound desire to live differently pulled him from the edge. Like many, sports were his salvation, but unlike other people, they would prove just one route toward his now positive, productive and inspired life.

How this man achieved success as a football player at Georgia Tech, then as a businessman, father, mentor and author are as miraculous as any story many of us will ever hear or read.

I learned about “My Orange Duffel Bag” and Bracken during a happenstance meeting with co-author Echo Garrett in New York nearly four years ago. When I told her I publicized authors and my business emphasis was as a sports publicist, her eyes lit up almost as brightly as her locks of red hair. She told me about her work with a former athlete whose story would blow minds. Michael Oher’s story was on the public docket and while she used a few words to compare Bracken’s transformation to the star of “The Blind Side” and member of the NFL’s Baltimore Ravens, she assured me that the Georgia Tech alumnus’ story would inspire in a different way.

Slow-forward to 2010 when I received the finished product that wowed me. Garrett had emailed me a pre-published PDF of “My Orange Duffel Bag” and that completely inspired and impressed, but I could see that the finished product would attract people far beyond those with sports interests. In fact, I found that sports could be a launching pad to dozens of audiences and great achievements, which it and a foundation created in tandem with the book, has done because of Bracken’s and Garrett’s work.

As for the sports element, “My Orange Duffel Bag” in its simplest form is about a teenage boy’s goal to be the best-ever football player to escape the purgatory that was his home life. It tells of his growth, experimentation and eventual goals, which led to trusted relationships and connections that now form his life.

Bracken woke up one day in his early teens and decided that he wanted better for himself than what he saw around him. An eventual bond with then Georgia Tech football coach Bill Curry would be Bracken’s inspiration and guiding spirit.

When young Bracken realized his talent and speed, he set out to play football for Brigham Young University, where he was promised a scholarship. After he graduated high school, however, he learned that the “promised” scholarship went to someone else. He maintained that he wanted to play Division I football and get a quality education at BYU, so he elected to work out with the Cougars and walk on. Again, his dreams took a hit with a knee injury during a high school all-star game. On the verge of seeing everything slip away, two health care specialists encouraged Bracken to stay the course on his desired road to play football and earn a respected degree. They sent game film and letters to which 10 schools contacted Bracken. Only Georgia Tech offered him a scholarship. Not only did Bracken start for Georgia Tech, but he also helped lead a team that logged the school’s best record in 20 years.

Oh, the orange duffel bag…When Bracken arrived in Atlanta from Las Vegas, all had with him was an orange duffel bag that his mother gave him before he attended football camp a few years prior. That and its contents – t-shirts, underwear and an extra pair of jeans — was telling in more than one way. He wanted to travel lightly, but also wished to let go of the past. He jumped into college life and subsequently, adulthood, devoid of the negative words and actions that dominated his childhood.

When we consider, per a statistic in the book, that of the more than 1 million high school football players only .01 percent score a Division I football scholarship, Bracken became a force with which to be reckoned.  I would add that such force – a determination – continues today and thanks to Bracken’s sharing his story, will help guide others, as well.

###

Image by sidereal

About Gail Sideman

Twenty years of public relations experience, including 10 in NCAA Division I sports information during which she received national awards for her work, have helped Gail Sideman emerge as a nationally-respected publicity professional in sports, social media and publishing. She is also a veteran support staffer of sports television crews for events that include the NFL, NBA, MLB, NCAA regular and postseason and others. You may learn more information about Sideman's business at www.publiside.com or follow her at www.twitter.com/PUBLISIDE and www.facebook.com/gail.sideman.

Web | More Posts (39)

Mention the name Vince Lombardi and images of a hard-nosed, demanding and driven football coach with a distinct gap between his front teeth, come to mind. Add to that, the Green Bay Packers, which he made famous worldwide, multiple national football championships and the same name on a trophy that now bears the name, and you’ve got a legend.

October officially debuted the play that boats the legend’s name. “Lombardi,” which is enjoying its run on Broadway’s Circle in the Square theater, stars Emmy Award winning actor, Dan Lauria as the late coach and actress Judith Light as his wife, Marie. They, along with just four other cast members, have entertained sports fans and average theater-goers, Packers fans, NFL broadcasters and other media, historians, entire teams and entertainers, and have inspired talkbacks for dozens of audiences. The play is based on the book “When Pride Still Mattered: A Life of Vince Lombardi” by David Maraniss.

Among those involved in the production and its publicity is veteran PR pro, Joe Favorito. The results of his work have appeared in publications and blogs, on television and YouTube radio and every medium in between.

“It is very much a collaborative effort and the Broadway PR firm, Boneau Bryan Brown, has done a great job in getting the play positioned well amongst entertainment and theater press as well,” Favorito said. “The NFL PR and marketing staff, including Brian McCarthy have also been very helpful.”

Favorito credits the intense buzz for the play to basic public relations.

“I think that this is really basic PR. It’s very good story-telling with great story lines that people want to hear about, so its not just a sports story,” he said. “You have six amazing actors, a Pulitzer Prize winning author, a Tony nominated director, an Academy Award winning playwright, two producers who are highly accomplished businesspeople, and you have a legendary figure as the centerpiece, so it’s more a question of where to tell the story than how.”

As someone who grew up a Packer fan in Wisconsin, worked with a member of Lombardi’s Green Bay, then later, Washington Redskins teams, and knew Favorito’s work, I was privileged with his invitation to a June event that brought members of the play’s production roster to Green Bay for a meet-and-greet with the who’s-who of the club. There, I heard Lauria (best known for his Emmy Award-winning role as the dad on “The Wonder Years”) share a dialogue from the play that I was told, was very raw. You could have fooled me! It was then I knew I had to see the finished, polished product.

The Broadway production does not disappoint. The play takes observers back to Lombardi’s era when names such as Bart Starr, Paul Hornung, Fuzzy Thurston and Jim Taylor were part of Wisconsin’s daily vocabulary. The intensity people saw on their pixilated television screens then, come to life on stage in New York. All of the stories I heard through the years came to life on stage. At some moments during the play, I forgot that I was in New York because the language, dialogue and characters were all Green Bay and Wisconsin.

As Favorito said, you don’t have to be a Packers fan, or even a football fan to enjoy the performance. For those who are, there is lots of media to consume for previews.

“I honestly don’t know what has had the most impact,” Favorito said. “Some have said traffic really spiked when Jimmy Traina posted a review and then a photo in si.com’s Hot Mustard section. Some said traffic and interest rose after Bob Costas mentioned us on Sunday Night Football, while others say it spiked after Judith was on GMA (Good Morning America)…it’s hard to say.

“I love the little things as much as the big ones. The story in the Penn State paper that had Rob Riley linked to Joe Paterno linked to Vince Lombardi…the feature in the Wall Street Journal about our director Tommy Kail and how he’s tied to coaches…the feature on Tony Ponturo in the Bergen Record…. I think all that and the bloggers who we invited to the show in previews all add up and feed from one to the next.”

Yes, I thoroughly enjoyed the play. As a publicist, I’m in awe of what Favorito has accomplished. Even with the NFL’s support, getting the word out about this production is a huge accomplishment. The effort is a great example in what a successful publicity campaign looks like.

For me, Lombardi, the Green Bay Packers and Broadway are the perfect team.

###

Image by acflynn

About Gail Sideman

Twenty years of public relations experience, including 10 in NCAA Division I sports information during which she received national awards for her work, have helped Gail Sideman emerge as a nationally-respected publicity professional in sports, social media and publishing. She is also a veteran support staffer of sports television crews for events that include the NFL, NBA, MLB, NCAA regular and postseason and others. You may learn more information about Sideman's business at www.publiside.com or follow her at www.twitter.com/PUBLISIDE and www.facebook.com/gail.sideman.

Web | More Posts (39)

The Minnesota Vikings are grateful for two things this week:

1. Wade Phillips, who became the former Dallas Cowboys’ coach when owner Jerry Jones pulled the plug on his tenure, Monday.
2. Vikings’ quarterback Brett Favre’s career performance of 466 yards and a fourth-quarter comeback to beat the Arizona Cardinals, Sunday.

The former is what bumped the Twin Cities’ version of ‘The View’ from this week’s National Football League headlines. The Cowboys’ collapse seemed to occur on the field despite a roster that’s flush with talent. There are lots of theories about lackluster performances that I will leave to media and people within the organization to explain. The Vikings, on the other hand, have a PR problem of their own making.

It’s easy to sit in our easy chairs and soak in the gabfest turned soap opera that we see from Minnesota each day. The fact is that the organization has become Chilly in more ways than one. It may have begun with head coach Brad Childress airport express service to pick up Favre from the airport after he signed with the team last season, but it’s evolved to public infighting among players and the head coach this year.

Winning masks a lot of ills and that was never more evident than last season. The Vikes were within striking distance of a Super Bowl berth and looked physically superior to their competition en route to the NFC title game. This year the men from the MinnyApple are an injured squad physically and emotionally with a losing record, and trash that was likely swept into the corner of the locker room last season, is littering media space. What’s worse, the public is consuming crazy reports like recently released Randy Moss’ food rant, like rubber-neckers looking at a bad accident on the other side of a highway. It’s not pretty. More importantly, from a PR standpoint, it’s not necessary.

It’s human nature to want to express opinions and be heard, but when it comes to a high-profile sports organization, negative words and actions are best handled in-house. It’s management’s responsibility to assure the team that ugly stuff won’t see light beyond the locker room corridor.  When leadership can’t control players’ badmouthing and in this case, becomes part of the negative mouthpiece, there’s trouble. As a PR professional, I shake my head and consider the embarrassment.

While old-time soap operas are being cancelled, the Vikings’ have kept their own thriving and attracting viewers. Whatever becomes of the story, I respectfully suggest the following to keep whatever happens with the Vikings, within the organization:

1. Make a concerted effort to play hard on the field and leave the off-the-field garbage to trash collectors. Don’t feed the latter’s curiosity by slipping bits of information to the media (that means you, Brett and Chilly!)
2. Don’t sack each other in public. Childress said he was joking when he told media after the win against Arizona (and I paraphrase)  “that he didn’t need a hug like Brett.” I’m no mind reader, but I’d bet my next piece of chocolate that the jab was intended to stab like a javelin.
3. Play to win. There’s nothing else fans want or expect from you. Got a problem with the catered lunch? Send a runner out for something else, eat and be quiet about it. Don’t like the coach’s calls? You’re a professional. Play hard and take up your disagreements with the coach or if necessary, get ownership on the phone and air your concerns. Don’t care for a player’s attitude? Meet privately with said player and compromise; you knew the personalities you put in place and it’s your job to make them work as a team as best as humanly possible.

Doing anything differently bruises the NFL and paints the organization with a black and purple eye.

###

Image by xoque

About Gail Sideman

Twenty years of public relations experience, including 10 in NCAA Division I sports information during which she received national awards for her work, have helped Gail Sideman emerge as a nationally-respected publicity professional in sports, social media and publishing. She is also a veteran support staffer of sports television crews for events that include the NFL, NBA, MLB, NCAA regular and postseason and others. You may learn more information about Sideman's business at www.publiside.com or follow her at www.twitter.com/PUBLISIDE and www.facebook.com/gail.sideman.

Web | More Posts (39)

Nothing is sure in this world except death, taxes and text messages that will come back to bite you in places that will hurt.

Right now, future NFL Hall of Fame quarterback, Brett Favre, is smarting from even the suggestion that he texted a former game-day reporter for the New York Jets (there is no verification of these stories and the investigation by the NFL is in its infancy). This news evolves as golfer Tiger Woods continues to reel from released text messages, voice mails and his eventual admission to infidelity that cost him millions of dollars in endorsements and his marriage during the past year.

My guess is that phone companies are vetting each future endorsement prospect like never before.

There is a lesson here for everyone, however: everything we record in type or voice and transmit via Internet, phone or cable, is forever traceable and transferrable. The messages are also resilient to destruction. They are the movie ticket stubs that we keep for years as mementos or prom dress that hangs in a closet decades after your big night. The big difference is that texts, emails and voice messages tell stories. There’s little to guess about what’s being communicated because it’s out there for people to read and hear if that once-special someone chooses to share what you may have assumed to be forever private.

For athletes, texting seems to be this century’s version of drunk dialing. Remember when you had one too many after a college party, went home and picked up the phone and called your ex? In more cases than not, that call was far from your best move of the weekend.

Today, those little-thought actions are commonplace among all ages. Nielson Co. recently revealed that the average 13-to-17-year-old sends and receives 3,339 texts per month. Further analyzed by the The Wall Street Journal, adults are catching up. Those in the 45-54-year-old age range shared and read 323 texts per month in the second quarter of 2010.  The driving force, of course, is the mobile phone. It’s quick, and you don’t actually have to talk to the recipient. It’s changed the ways we communicate and in recent years, it’s not voice-to-voice.

Athletes, like during many other situations in which they find themselves at risk of looking bad in public and their own living rooms, should adhere to my public relations-based piece of advice: DON’T DO IT! Resist the temptation to send a suggestive message to that day’s crush. Know that any release of that, especially if it’s graphic, will come back to crush you.  It will hurt your sports career, damage your marketability and may break up your home.

For whatever reason, the public loves to see a successful person fall from grace and crawl his way up again. None of these messages can ever be considered private, ever…even years later, and are fodder for that warped voyeurism.

If an athlete is single and wants to connect with a potential love interest, do it the old fashioned way. No one ever lost an endorsement deal for discretely romantically courting the person of his or her dreams.

###

Image by gmo66

Image by keith allison

About Gail Sideman

Twenty years of public relations experience, including 10 in NCAA Division I sports information during which she received national awards for her work, have helped Gail Sideman emerge as a nationally-respected publicity professional in sports, social media and publishing. She is also a veteran support staffer of sports television crews for events that include the NFL, NBA, MLB, NCAA regular and postseason and others. You may learn more information about Sideman's business at www.publiside.com or follow her at www.twitter.com/PUBLISIDE and www.facebook.com/gail.sideman.

Web | More Posts (39)

Has it really been one month since I constructively criticized the PGA Championship for not allowing fans to bring their cell phones into its 2010 event at Whistling Straits?

It should not have been that long, because it was quickly after that blog was posted that I received a phone call from Ken Lovell, Vice President of Media Development for the PGA Tour.

With the Ryder Cup on the docket for this weekend and people thinking golf during an already predictable media-heavy football season, I decided that today was the “better late than never” time to share what Lovell told me about how the PGA is in tune with its fans’ desire to shoot photos and react to what’s going while they attend a professional golf tournament.

While I fully expected a defensive rant about what I wrote, I was wrong, not just about the PGA’s reaction, but by writing that it wasn’t in tune with a fan base that wants to share their tournament experiences via social media networks.

He also wanted to be sure that I made the distinction between the PGA Tour and PGA of America. The PGA Tour, for the record, is the membership organization of touring golf professionals that we see on television each week, and runs most of the tournaments. PGA of America is an organization of club professionals in the U.S., and it runs the PGA Championship.

Lovell told me that my post was actually timely, which could have been PR-speak (takes one to know one!), but he had facts to back it up. The week following the PGA Championship, the PGA Tour hosted the Wyndham Championship, at which it allowed fans to bring cell phones into the tournament as an experiment. He said that the test was largely about educating fans about where and when to use their phones, and not disrupt athletes and other fans.

The PGA posted extensive signage and volunteers were on-site to explain to fans that they needed to silence their phones, but could use them in designated areas which in most cases, were near concessions since that is where people tend to congregate.

“The objective of the test was to see if fans would silence their devices and use them without interfering with the competition,” Lovell said. “We’re still collecting feedback, but early indications are positive.”

The tour will conduct another trial at the Frys.com Open, which is scheduled for October 13-17, 2010 at CordeValle Golf Club in San Martin, Calif.

Lovell said that he could relate to fans that are frustrated when they have to leave their phones behind because of the inconvenience it would cause him if he had to forgo his main communications device.

“We definitely understand and appreciate the benefits that cell phones can bring to fans on-site as well as the challenge they can face in being ‘cut off’ from what many consider a modern lifeline,” Lovell said. “Because it could affect the fairness and integrity of the sport, we are also very concerned about the competition and anything that would have an impact on it.

Incidentally, although Lovell and I spoke about two different golf organizations and their events, he said that the PGA of America took note of the test the Tour ran “with interest” and it is considering ways to enhance its fans’ experiences, as well.

###

Image by kathika

Image by grrphoto

About Gail Sideman

Twenty years of public relations experience, including 10 in NCAA Division I sports information during which she received national awards for her work, have helped Gail Sideman emerge as a nationally-respected publicity professional in sports, social media and publishing. She is also a veteran support staffer of sports television crews for events that include the NFL, NBA, MLB, NCAA regular and postseason and others. You may learn more information about Sideman's business at www.publiside.com or follow her at www.twitter.com/PUBLISIDE and www.facebook.com/gail.sideman.

Web | More Posts (39)

A couple of weeks ago I was faced with a challenge unlike anything I’d experienced in the last few years while attending the Professional Golf Association’s premier event – the PGA Championship — at the beautiful Whistling Straights golf course in Kohler, Wis. I went to the tourney as a fan, not as a member of the media, which limited my communication throughout the day.

According to PGA rules, I was not allowed to bring a phone or mobile device of any kind (which in my case, are one in the same) into the venue.  I could deal with having to silence my phone, but to be removed from social media and email was trying for someone who depends on those tools to run and monitor a publicity business.

Image by golf_pictures

Image by williamhook

About Gail Sideman

Twenty years of public relations experience, including 10 in NCAA Division I sports information during which she received national awards for her work, have helped Gail Sideman emerge as a nationally-respected publicity professional in sports, social media and publishing. She is also a veteran support staffer of sports television crews for events that include the NFL, NBA, MLB, NCAA regular and postseason and others. You may learn more information about Sideman's business at www.publiside.com or follow her at www.twitter.com/PUBLISIDE and www.facebook.com/gail.sideman.

Web | More Posts (39)

Really LeBron?

I just shook my head and mentally shook LeBron James by the collar when I read his tweet directed at critics, yesterday: “Don’t think for one min(ute) that I haven’t been taking mental notes of everyone taking shots at me this summer. And I mean everyone!”

(For the record, I wouldn’t lay a hand on a man three-times my size, especially if I was coaching him.)

Ok, so I guess I won’t be invited to his South Beach Christmas Bash. Oh, well….

Missed drinks donning umbrellas with The Decided aside, James is still a young player in the NBA. He has no championship rings and he still has lots of endorsements to sign before he comes close to Michael Jordan, the star basketball player he has been most compared. James’ endorsements may even trail Tiger Woods’.

Acting like a bully won’t help James’ cause. Let’s face it, he needs the money, based on a story in my local Milwaukee Journal Sentinel about how much it costs to be a professional athlete. Additional endorsements could help James better live the lifestyle in his new home city, too.

More importantly, acting like a bully and making his pulpit a threatening one only enhances an image etched into public minds earlier this summer: James the Ego.

As a PR agent and publicist, I’ve long coached people in sports that if they develop and live an honest and generous lifestyle and speak clearly and with passion, endorsements will follow. I’d like to amend that statement: if your honest lifestyle is one of threats and me-centric comments, sponsors, especially in today’s market where companies are more conscious than ever about image, you may attract more negative comments than big-dollar deals.

What do James’ accusatory/threatening social media post tell you about the athlete?

###

Image by Keith Allison

About Gail Sideman

Twenty years of public relations experience, including 10 in NCAA Division I sports information during which she received national awards for her work, have helped Gail Sideman emerge as a nationally-respected publicity professional in sports, social media and publishing. She is also a veteran support staffer of sports television crews for events that include the NFL, NBA, MLB, NCAA regular and postseason and others. You may learn more information about Sideman's business at www.publiside.com or follow her at www.twitter.com/PUBLISIDE and www.facebook.com/gail.sideman.

Web | More Posts (39)

While Major League Baseball diehards were tuned into each of their favorite teams’ games during everything from LeBron-athon to World Cup soccer, and especially their all-star game, it wasn’t easy for it to hold the attention of the masses according to W. Scott Bailey in the San Antonio Business Journal.

It was reported that Major League Baseball’s All-Star Game, broadcast by FOX, received a 7.5 Nielsen rating which makes it as the least watched Midsummer Classic in history.
My initial thought as we head toward the start of National Football League training camps: is there any sport or off-season activity that would distract NFL fans from their season?

Is baseball officially not America’s Pastime anymore? We’ve long heard that professional baseball television ratings pale compared to the NFL and even the NBA, much of the latter which is broadcast on cable outlets. But a scripted special about where an NBA free agent is going to play next and – soccer?

In his story, Bailey wondered if the passing of New York Yankees iconic owner George Steinbrenner earlier that day affected All-Star Game viewership. I don’t think so; if anything, I believe that more people tuned in that may not have otherwise because they wanted to see how Major League Baseball would mourn and celebrate Steinbrenner’s life during pregame ceremonies and in-game video packages.

Numbers aside, what can professional baseball do to recoup a fan base that according to reports has been steadily slipping since at least the late 1980s? After all, here’s a sport where you can see players’ faces (no helmets as in the NFL), fans depending on their tickets, are invited onto the field to watch and take pictures during batting practice, and play a game that can be mimicked in anyone’s backyard with a stick and a ball. Is it a PR problem, one of engagement with its fans or one of the many other activities available to people rather than watch television during the summer?

I was at Miller Park this past weekend and watched a Milwaukee Brewers homestand against the Washington Nationals. More than 42,000 were in their seats nearly each day and neither team is in contention for a prize of any kind unless you count high ERAs and guys hit by pitches.

So, what gives? Can baseball make a comeback of its own in the hearts of television-watching fans?

P.S. I want to take this opportunity to bid so long and best wishes to an All-Star in her own right. As many of those who work with Sports Networker know, Hannah DeMilta soon departs for the next inning of her life in Australia. I can’t begin to say what a great experiences it’s been to work with her. She’s laughed at my goofy and often snarky emails (not aimed at her, of course!); put up with my apologetic notes when time didn’t allow me to write a post I wanted for a given week’s Sports Networker library, and much more. Detail driven and efficient, Lewis Howes will have a tough time replacing her.

So, please join me in wishing Hannah the very best of everything. Safe travels and exciting adventures, Friend.

###

Image by darkensiva

Image by compujeramey

About Gail Sideman

Twenty years of public relations experience, including 10 in NCAA Division I sports information during which she received national awards for her work, have helped Gail Sideman emerge as a nationally-respected publicity professional in sports, social media and publishing. She is also a veteran support staffer of sports television crews for events that include the NFL, NBA, MLB, NCAA regular and postseason and others. You may learn more information about Sideman's business at www.publiside.com or follow her at www.twitter.com/PUBLISIDE and www.facebook.com/gail.sideman.

Web | More Posts (39)

I swore to myself before the start of the NBA free-agency period that I wouldn’t write about LeBron James. Sports media are putting in enough hours of coverage about his team status, for all of us.

###

Image by Shankbone

Image by Cavalierhorn

About Gail Sideman

Twenty years of public relations experience, including 10 in NCAA Division I sports information during which she received national awards for her work, have helped Gail Sideman emerge as a nationally-respected publicity professional in sports, social media and publishing. She is also a veteran support staffer of sports television crews for events that include the NFL, NBA, MLB, NCAA regular and postseason and others. You may learn more information about Sideman's business at www.publiside.com or follow her at www.twitter.com/PUBLISIDE and www.facebook.com/gail.sideman.

Web | More Posts (39)

Last week former tennis star and current broadcast analyst, John McEnroe, was right when he said that the three-day, 11-hour record-blasting Wimbledon match between John Isner of the United States and Nicolas Mahut of France was “the greatest advertisement for our sport.”

The event lasted 186 games and broke nearly every Wimbledon and Grand Slam record each of the three days it was played. Officiating was near pristine. Even the head lines judge was wowed by the competition.

Change channels to World Cup soccer where referees became the story. Players, coaches and analysts seemed to question calls at every turn. Fans, particularly in the United States where soccer popularity remains infantile, have been outraged.  Video replay isn’t used and officials do not have to explain their calls as in the National Football League and other professional sports with which we’re more familiar.  In addition, former professional soccer player Alexi Lalas said on SportsCenter that FIFA (Federation Internationale de Football Association), international soccer’s governing body, believes that controversy is good for soccer because it keeps the game in peoples’ discussions.  

All righty then… if that’s what it takes to get people to talk about your sport…
(FIFA insists that its referees’ performances have been satisfactory and instead of promises to improve official’s performances, said it will censor stadium replays at World Cup.)

The message I took from these two major sports events whose tournaments continue into this week is that Americans will leave soccer by the wayside within days until the World Cup reemerges in four years.

Tennis, which was prodded by some controversy of its own before it hit its all-time high in popularity in the 1970s (okay, it was manufactured) and ‘80s, will still be more accepted among Americans because its rules are steadfast. When a ball is called out, it’s because a linesperson saw it out or the call was reviewed via video. It’s not afraid to show its fans where balls land on a second serve or when a player (in most cases) gracefully disputes a call.

Admittedly I am pro-tennis, but I’m not anti-soccer. I value the First Amendment and Open Records laws and thus, disagree with the reaction of FIFA to shade plays from replay screens and insist that everything is great when so many fans complain. As many suggested after Jim Joyce’s’ MLB call against Detroit Tigers’ Armando Galarraga earlier this summer, the technology is there. Even if fans don’t know what should have been the call while they’re in the stands, they’ll know after they surf for the video when they get home.  That can’t make for healthy growth of a sport. It certainly won’t in the United States.

As someone who’s roots were planted in tennis, I agree with McEnroe. While we’ll likely never see a three-day soccer match nor another tennis match like last week’s, I think back to a comment made by one of my first PR clients who said that there’s plenty of pie to go around the tennis landscape. When there are more tennis stories, everybody gets a bigger piece of the word-of-mouth pie. The same goes for sports in general. I hope FIFA isn’t being different or difficult for the sake of being different or difficult. There’s a great appetite for sports in this world and pieces of popularity will be bigger for those who enjoy transparency. A sport that’s already internationally popular could grow exponentially with a clearer (re)view.

There will undoubtedly be soccer purists who disagree with me with the power of a header, but are these the same people who I see complaining about the game’s officials throughout the social mediascape?

###

Image by shankbone

Image by willpalmer

About Gail Sideman

Twenty years of public relations experience, including 10 in NCAA Division I sports information during which she received national awards for her work, have helped Gail Sideman emerge as a nationally-respected publicity professional in sports, social media and publishing. She is also a veteran support staffer of sports television crews for events that include the NFL, NBA, MLB, NCAA regular and postseason and others. You may learn more information about Sideman's business at www.publiside.com or follow her at www.twitter.com/PUBLISIDE and www.facebook.com/gail.sideman.

Web | More Posts (39)