This is a Year In Review, from my lens as a digital marketer in the business of sports:
2020, like all years, started with hopes and an energized system to begin the new year. It all shifted for us in the United States in March … and for me, specifically, on March 11 when I was on the basketball court in Indianapolis about to tip off the Big Ten Men’s Basketball Tournament. Our game was just 10 minutes away from being played and was canceled due to the ongoing pandemic.
My word of the year coming into 2020 was PRESENT. It is something I have struggled with all my life. I often think about the ‘next’ thing or always something I can be doing while doing something else. Through these really weird circumstances, however, I actually find a way to be more present.
The pandemic, obviously, really put a sting on a lot, but… here are a few silver linings I consider:
Professional
New Appreciation for Power of Social/Digital
Personally for me this is big. I’ve long been a big believer of the power of digital and we’ve seen some steady growth for 10 years. I have seen that this is the future and this pandemic is certainly accelerating the timeline.
In a world without many social gatherings and physical closeness, brands, people and healthcare professionals, just to name a few, took to technology to connect with others.
“Digital is the new normal in consumer behavior and we believe the trends we’re seeing are here to stay,” Nike CEO John Donahoe said recently. (h/t Front Office Sports)
A Chance to Reinvent How an Athletics Business Model Works
I always felt working in athletics (college or pro) was pretty darn recession-proof. We have incredibly passionate fans and there always seems to be competition.
Then COVID-19 happened.
Our sports completely stopped. Every day for a couple weeks events were canceled months in advance and we were out of action for a few months. Athletics programs around the world were all of a sudden without one of their primary revenue streams: ticket costs. While some teams and leagues will be hit harder than most, the primary professional leagues in America and soccer, like the English Premier League, can still generate plenty of revenue from TV money. So there is real incentive to at least play the game behind closed doors and broadcast to a national or global audience.
2 0 2 0
Am I right?
I took the first couple months of the pandemic to understand how we operate in the Athletics business and I can’t help but think, as an industry, we need to diversify. Even with vaccines and as time passes, it’s too risky as a business to lean on just one means of income. When that one lifeline goes away it really endangers the business.
In the business of sports, I wholeheartedly believe in the content/media space. These leagues, teams, clubs and organizations need to also think of themselves as media companies, dedicated to creating content for their fans. We mostly focus on just creating content in and around events with competition -- but that needs to shift at its core to share stories 365-24-7.
If anyone has a built-in audience, like a passionate sports team, I believe you can do anything. Most realistically, though, every team really does need to become a media company. Create products that can earn more fan following, even more engaged fans and revenue through advertisements.
Just recently, I have seen examples from MrBeast (his MrBeast Burger) and David Dobrik’s Hundred Thousand Dollar Puzzle. These are just genius ways to market themselves and continue to engage their bigger fans.
Personal
Family Life
Obviously this year was something we have never really seen before and we all had our struggles. But from a family perspective, this was a pretty neat year. While I haven’t spent hardly any time with my parents (and in-laws) and siblings across the country for the past nine months, I have spent more time with my immediate family than I ever had before - and it was wonderful. We gave birth to our second daughter, Bridget, in April (which was certainly nerve-racking during the then-peak of COVID-19) and got to spend the next several months cooped up in our house spending time with each other.
To witness the growth of Bridget and how she and Margot (our first) interacted with each other and expressed love was very powerful.
With WFH in full force the majority of the year, I spent so many wonderful months balancing working from home and enjoying some micro breaks with family. Throughout spring, summer and fall the daily lunch walks with Margot were very nice; and from a mental standpoint I couldn’t ask for anything better. To get a break from work and then to spend time with my daughter was nice. (Now that it's snowing in Ann Arbor now, TBD on what’s to come in the coming months!)
Fitness
I have always prided myself on being a semi-athletic person. For the majority of my life I haven’t had to worry too much about my weight and other health issues.
When my wife was pregnant a few years ago, I certainly gained some “sympathy weight” and most definitely showed some signs of a Dad Bod.
While quarantine began, the Peloton craze also really took off. We decided to bite the bullet and invest in the bike, investing in our mental and physical health along the way. This has been even better for me than I thought it would be. For the past six months, I have spent 5-6 days a week on the bike. It’s been nice to get back out to exercise and so beneficial for many reasons.
I’m proud to say that by regularly biking and adding fitness as a bigger priority of mine, I have lost 12 pounds in the past few months; just the amount to notice a difference and keep motivating me to keep this up.
+++++++++++++++
Now, in true Oprah fashion, I wanted to share a few of my favorite things from 2020:
Top 5 Moments:
Black Lives Matter
Black Lives Matter was not a moment, but a movement and a real spark for change. It became part of sports culture, as well, and teams/leagues are still acknowledging it six months later. It’s just a start but a good sign of progress.
Rise of #GirlDad (via Kobe)
After Kobe’s shocking death (which shook me to my core) ESPN’s Elle Duncan gave a passionate speech on what Kobe meant to her as a Dad, and more specifically a #GirlDad. That created a strong wave of support for those lucky to be Girl Dads to be proud of their daughters. As a dad of two girls, this really hits home and I love this moment.
Sports Back (Even With No Fans)
Yes, fans make the moments incredible. That’s what makes sports so enticing; the community and the passionate fans. LeBron James even said that he wouldn’t play without fans present. That changed, obviously, but it speaks to how important fans are to the game. Now, I just can’t wait until we have full stadiums of fans chanting and singing along. Might be another year or so before everyone is comfortable… but that will be a glorious day.
Disney+ (what a savior this was during quarantine!)
Each month, my two-year old had a new movie we watched over and over. This year we binged hard on: Moana, Monsters, Inc., Frozen, Cars, Inside Out and plenty more. Highly recommend all of these films, btw.
Athlete Empowerment
Black Lives Matter played a key role in this. For a long time, athletes were expected to simply focus on sports, with anything beyond that being considered a distraction. Muhammad Ali broke was one of the first athletes to speak out, especially in the civil rights movement. This year, amidst racial turmoil, we really saw athletes take center stage supporting causes they care deeply about.
Matisse Thybulle exploded onto the content scene right when the NBA Bubble opened up. He decided to debut his YouTube Vlog. He wanted to take all fans into a very unique setup as his 76ers and other NBA teams looked to quarantine from the outside world and play basketball. It was a fascinating look inside a unique world. His personality shines. His access is priceless. And his skills with the camera and post-production are top-notch, too! All qualities created a very unique product and certainly built many lifetime fans.
In the college athletics space, 2021 looks to be a remarkable year for change re: student-athletes. This year is all about preparation for what’s to come with Name, Image and Likeness (NIL) where student-athletes can soon (Summer 2021) get compensated for a brand to use that person’s name, image or likeness.
Top 5 Social/Digital Things
Athlete empowerment (Marcus Rashford)
Manchester United’s Marcus Rashford has inspired a campaign to combat child hunger in the UK. Not bad for a 23-year old!
Combining the physical + digital worlds (Tweets in the real world. Kudos to the Twitter team!)
Rise of Twitch / eSports
Rise of digital creators (TikTok, Reels)
Fan Cutouts
A lot of people laughed at this early in quarantine, but I think this is such a cool way to bring “people” in the stadium -- especially passed loved ones. Shoutout to the Korean Baseball League for what I believe was the original inspiration for this.
Top 5 Things I Watched:
Succession (HBO)
Ozark (Netflix)
The Last Dance (Netflix)
Schitt’s Creek (Netflix)
Take Us Home: Leeds United (Amazon)
Top 5 Books I Read:
Atomic Habits
Ogilvy on Advertising
Stillness is the Key
Principles
Originals
Top 5 Social Accounts I Discovered:
BRAND: Ryan Reynolds and Aviation Gin (Twitter)
COOL: Pablo Rochat (IG)
MARKETING: Matthew Kobach (Twitter)
DESIGN: Jack Butcher (Twitter)
BEAUTIFUL: US National Parks (IG)
Top 5 Newsletters:
Morning Brew (Business/Finance)
D1 Ticker (College Athletics)
Front Office Sports (Business of Sports)
Culture Wins (Leadership)
James Clear’s 3-2-1 (Habits)
Here’s to 2021, and a lot more to celebrate.
2021 is YOUR year! Right?
