Tiger’s campaign to control his image’s steep decline has failed in every category setting a new low for mismanagement of an icon. His entire team is to blame for such bumbling idiocy. 

The only glimmer of poise was shown almost a month ago when Woods delivered a seemingly heartfelt speech admitting his wrongdoing, pushing for fleeting privacy for his wife and family, and claiming he still has work to do.

Now there’s a new kid in town. The same media maven behind selling the War in Iraq to the American public. The spin doctor behind the BCS’ futile efforts to sell the BCS to college football fans claiming fans can’t even decide how many teams should be allowed to participate in a playoff. The same PR impresario who advised Mark McGwire to claim that steroids never helped him hit a baseball out of the park.

Ari Fleischer will attempt to not only keep the Titanic from sinking, but seek to get it back to the port before the band plays its swan song. Ultimately, he’ll fail. Sports fans will never view Tiger the same even after the late night shows move on to a new butt for their jokes.

There is such a stigma attached to hiring Fleischer that Tiger will suffer today. In two weeks, when Tiger will reportedly compete at Bay Hill, it will be the beginning of the end of this tragic saga for the Woods family.

The best and only tactic Tiger should implement is to ‘hit golf balls’ according to James Carville.  ‘As soon as Tiger wins on the golf course, the public won’t care about any of this.’ This cajun wisdom may fall short of reality, but you can’t argue with the fact that unpopular athletes who have performed well on the field, course, or court have drastically improved their public images.

Concerning the big business of the PGA Tour, the face of their sport has taken a hit, which directly affects their bottom line. Tiger’s return may have hurt the sport’s marketability, but his return will bring more reporters than the red carpet on Oscar night (sorry you missed it, Cablevision subscribers).

In the eyes of sports fans, Tiger Woods’ sold an image that was far from reality. Using Mr. Spin to stabilize his footing may improve his ability to stonewall and send the ‘right’ message to the press, but it’ll never repair the trust.

The public won’t buy into all the predictable ‘he’s been through so much’ commentary on TV either. As much as America loves the comeback kid, this kid should’ve grown up a long time ago.

Blinded by the Dark

By Arlen Blakeman

A city of 1.3 million, Jacksonville, Florida is well suited to support an NFL team. However, the terrible economic situation in this city has had a devastating toll on ticket sales of their only major professional sports team, The Jacksonville Jaguars. Jacksonville is one of the most industrial towns in the South. The backbone of its economy is the automotive parts industry. For the first eight years of its existence, the team was very successful.  They made it to the AFC Championship game in only their second year of existence and made the playoffs four times in their first eight years.  Not only was the team doing well, but also the economy was flourishing.  This led to ticket sales that were through the roof.  However, with GM going down and Toyota’s stock failing, thousands are out of work in this city. These struggling families obviously need to spend their 100 dollars on more important things than a ticket to see the Jaguars live. However, this is the only option they have to see their favorite team play on Sundays. The Jaguars, because of low ticket sales, did not televise seven out of eight of the their home games last season.

The NFL’s “Blackout Policy” has been enforced since 1973.  The policy states that if a home game of a team is not sold out within 72 hours of kickoff, the game will not be shown on local television.  The Jacksonville Jaguars organization, to help this problem, have closed off sections for advertising and even given fair package deals to fans wanting to see the team.  The team is not to blame for this problem.  It is the NFL’s ridiculous blackout policy that has cut ties between the team and its city.  Former governor of Florida, Jeb Bush, who brought the Jaguars to Jacksonville in 1995, stated that the city does rally around the team, but that in the current economy no one can afford to go.  So why should they be punished?

Watching sports used to be an activity any person, no matter race, wealth, or gender, could participate in.  But now the greediness of the NFL has put a limit to this freedom.  Plus, if you think about it, there are many who are too old to sit in the hot sun of Florida for three hours.  Also, there are people with disabilities who sometimes cannot make it to the game but still love to watch the sport and forget about the hardships of life for a few hours.  It’s not always about money Roger Goodell and I urge you to lift this ban and give America’s game back to the people of Jacksonville.

This past weekend, I attended the Sloan Sports Analytics Conference in Boston. ESPN and MIT joined together to host the one day event devoted to the business of sports.

While much of the day was spent discussing the science of statistics in sports (i.e. how the number of blocked shots in a basketball game directly correlates to the outcome, how to develop consistently good pitchers, etc), the fans were not ignored. The first panel of the day included a wide range of heavy hitters from the industry: President and General Manager of the Toronto Maple Leafs Brian Burke, Managing Partner and Executive Committee Member of the Boston Celtics Stephen Pagliuca, NBA Deputy Commissioner Adam Silver, President of the Tampa Bay Rays Matt Silverman, and President of Game Plan LLC Randy Vataha.

What struck me about this insightful discussion about the best practices of management in the sports industry was not that of the analytical or crunching numbers necessarily. Rather, the message that resonated was the importance of the fan experience.

The first thing any student learns in a sports management program is that selling tickets to a sporting event is just like selling a concert ticket — it is about an entertainment experience. Success on the court/field/ice is not an element of the experience that the management can control. What each team must do is make the experience enjoyable for the fan regardless of a win or loss.

Brian Burke described his managerial style as making the fans’ investment worthwhile. He wants his team to play hard, hit, and score as often as possible. Burke referenced that NFL offenses that let the clock run down almost to zero prior to snapping the ball as a tangible negative. Burke’s contention was that it wasted the fans’ time.

Any fan that pays $100 to see an NFL game should have the benefit of seeing as many plays run as possible. Its a refreshing perspective from a GM who understands fans can spend their hard-earned money on a variety of entertainment options in Toronto, but choose instead to spend it on a Maple Leafs ticket for that live game experience.

The most interesting panel of the day was the discussion amongst David Holland of Cisco, Peter Moore of EA Sports, Tim Romani of ICON Venture, David Samson of the Florida Marlins and Alec Scheiner of the Dallas Cowboys.

The Marlins and Cowboys are at opposite ends of the financial spectrum. Alec Scheiner extolled the virtues of the new Cowboys Stadium, which David Samson explained was the investment equivalent of 3 new Marlins parks.

The bells and whistles of the new stadiums were dramatically different as it relates to the fan experience. Scheiner described the enormity of the new structure in Dallas as a way to accommodate the number of fans who want tickets. Samson explained the reasoning behind the intimacy of the Marlins field as a way to drive up demand for tickets.

While Scheiner believes the technological improvements such as televisions on the backs of seats are clearly fan-friendly, Samson countered that they pull the fan away from the live event they are attending. Samson wants fans to spend as much time watching the product on the field as possible.

At the new Marlins structure, lines for parking, restrooms and ATMs have been designed in the same manner as Disney properties — the fan always feels as though he or she is moving. The debate was healthy and provided proof that every market has different fan demands teams seek to accommodate.

How do sports organizations best attract our money? While winning is the great equalizer, sports is a zero-sum game. Every win means another team has to lose. By putting together a top notch fan experience, teams are able to obtain and retain the fans that will stick with them no matter the final score.

What does one take away from all of this? The bottom line is that these organizations need us to survive. Due to the economic downturn, what was already stiff competition for the fan dollar has become more rampant. It is up to sports fans to organize their efforts to demand results from the sports industry or this fierce competition ends up harming fans rather than helping the group.

[Kelty Carpenter is a graduate of Wake Forest University and soon-to-be graduate of Georgetown University's Sports Industry Management program.  She currently serves as Sports Business reporter for SFC. She loves Red Sox baseball and Deacon hoops.]

TV viewers in New York City found themselves unable to watch the beginning of the Oscars as content was cut off from Cablevision subscribers as of midnight Saturday night because they were playing hardball with the Disney-owned affiliate.

The standoff was not unlike what Sen. John Kerry feared would threaten sports fans’ ability to watch the BCS Bowl Games on TV in the recent News Corp./Time Warner Cable dust up. Luckily, it didn’t come to that, and we were able to watch our inequitable BCS Bowls without issue.

The real question here is ‘How long are we going to put up with this?’ Cablevision has no problem holding sports fans hostage with the MSG Network providing games exclusively to their subscribers despite the FCC mandate which pronounced this activity illegal.

Cablevision, with the support of Comcast, has also tied up the FCC’s decision in court while it continues to keep High Definition sports broadcasts from reaching millions of fans who happen to use an alternate provider.

To many, this is not a surprise. These companies used cut-throat tactics to get where they are today. So, they’ll keep on taking advantage of consumers until they get caught red-handed.

Well, it’s time for New Yorkers to speak up and share their story.  Start a Local Chapter of the SFC to take the power back in the big apple. Let’s push Cablevision and their cronies to treat consumers fairly.  SFC will continue to ask: WHERE ARE MY GAMES?

Given the background and experience of SFC’s Board of Directors and Advisory Board, taking action for change in the hallowed halls of the FCC and, more recently, the Oregon General Assembly, for example has not been the greatest of these challenges. Organizing sports fans to come together hasn’t been a piece of cake, but the ease with which sports fans can sign our petitions, become a member, a fan on Facebook, or follow SFC on Twitter has facilitated real growth and interaction with sports fans in such a short time.

The real challenge has been the first goal of the SFC’s trifecta: education. Education and, bluntly, persuasion, has been a real test of the organization’s fortitude. One only needs to read the last four paragraph’s of Brad Blakeman’s testimony before the Oregon State Legislature hearing last week to recognize that our representatives need to be convinced that touching sports isn’t taboo. 

The tremendous backlash following the U.S. Government’s decision to investigate the use of performance-enhancing drugs in baseball culminating in a he said-he said stand off between fallen rocket Roger Clemens and his former personal trainer Brian McNamee left a bad taste in constituents’ mouths. Tax payers across the country questioned the use of our representatives’ time and energy on an issue which would’ve been better handled by Judge Judy or the People’s Court.

As the hangover from such a scandal has subsided, the need for sports fans to organize and fight for their rights has not subsided. In fact, during this recession, or as many believe it to be a depression, which burdens our economy, the big businesses which control the sports we watch on TV and the teams we cheer for in the stands are more eager than ever to make a buck. Now, more than ever, it’s time for a Sports Fans Coalition.

Sports teams are pursuing deceptive ways to take money from fans without them knowing it. Media companies have their legal teams working overtime to force fans to pay their ever rising prices with diminishing returns, making false promises to consumers and their representatives.

While most fans just want to see their teams win championships, like Red Sox Nation’s broken curse which brought tears to so many eyes in 2004, many are getting a raw deal but just don’t know they can do something about it. Sports fans don’t recognize their power.

The truth is that we sports fans have a tremendous responsibility to speak up when our fan dollars are being misused. When large corporations, even if they are the teams we passionately cheer for at home or in the stadium, take advantage of us, there is recourse we should pursue. When media companies strike exclusive deals and break the law by prohibiting competition and keeping us from getting the best deal or even the opportunity to watch our games on TV, we won’t take it. We will fight back.

Join us in the fight to take the power back.  There is strength in numbers, and our representatives will be forced  to recognize that the business of sports should not be ignored. Sports fans deserve better.

Check out the full list of media appearances made by Brad while in Oregon testifying in an Oregon General Assembly hearing in which he tried to convince lawmakers to step in and do something about the Trail Blazers’ deal with the proverbial devil, Comcast, prohibiting so many Oregonians from watching their team play on TV.

More to come on SFC’s efforts in the Pacific Northwest to help sports fans who find themselves victims of big business.  Stay tuned.

By taking away the fans’ opportunity to purchase those seats directly from Ticketmaster or mlb.com, fans were instead forced to look to those ticket resale outlets to buy what they needed at a significant markup in addition to the increased price paid by those brokers.

So the fans got screwed — twice.

However, removing the Wiseguys from the online ticket purchasing game is only one hurdle facing sports fans in the technological age.

In a recent article in the Sports Business Journal, the president of StubHub, Inc. raised some issues of accelerating concern for sports fans in this new world of paperless ticketing. “People often talk about the virtues of paperless ticketing, and there are some, but there are also two main negatives: It takes away fan rights and eliminates resale competition,” Chris Tsakalakis said. “And with no competition, you usually get a lower level of service and higher prices.”

One of the advantages of paperless ticketing is the fan access to the tickets. Secondary ticket markets can not resell paperless tickets, eliminating ticket broker interest. But when plans change or a fan wants a last minute ticket, paperless tickets keep fans from re-selling tickets they can no longer use. Paperless requires a picture ID and the purchasing credit card to be shown at the gate to the event, prohibiting ticket transfer.

Penn State University went paperless for 2009 football season tickets in the student section. Ticketmaster made reselling possible through their own website, but the fine print showed that it only worked if both parties had valid Penn State student id numbers. There are also limits on how many games can be resold and at what price.

Paperless ticketing is a great way to eliminate scalpers. But at what cost to the fan?

Below is a note from one of our intelligent members about the seemingly endless struggle to supply fans with their sports on TV:

The on-going story of Cablevision holding back its High Definition sports channel MSG-HD from some providers (Verizon) while giving it to others (Time Warner) still seems to be dragging in the courts.

Despite the ruling by the FCC on January 20, 2010,  stating that “incumbent cable television providers that control unique, regional sports programming can no longer unilaterally refuse to provide access to that programming, including high-definition feeds, to competing providers.”, it seems that the ruling means very little until the appeal process runs its course. 

Unfortunately, it seems there is little that can be done to speed this process up – after all, it’s been going on for years now.  Perhaps the FCC should enforce the new ruling NOW.  Let the appeal process proceed – perhaps it will move faster when Cablevision isn’t dragging their feet.  Should the ruling be overturned (unlikely), then and only then can Cablevision refuse to provide its HD feed. 

An alternate interim solution might be to prevent Cablevision from providing their HD content to anybody else (including other cable providers like Time Warner).  This would then force these other cable providers to join the battle against Cablevision.

SFC loves the educated suggestions. Let’s start this process by signing the petition stating that the FCC should enforce their rule immediately. Letting Cablevision get away with this white collar crime is unacceptable. Let the FCC know you want your games, and you want them now!

I traveled last week to Salem, Oregon to testify before Members of the Oregon General Assembly with regard to Comcast Cable’s blacking out of Portland Trail Blazers home games. Thousands of Trail Blazers fans are denied enjoying their favorite past time because of the greed and control exercised by a cable provider who refuses to provide the feed for home games to competitors in areas they cannot and do not service.

SFC struck a nerve in Oregon and challenged lawmakers and fans to take on Comcast, the Trail Blazers, and  satellite providers to “do the right thing” by fans. There is no good reason why tens of thousands of sports fans are unable to enjoy Trail Blazers home games in the comfort of their homes, their favorite restaurant or bar.

Now it is up to the fans to get off the bench and take to the court and take on this issue, head on. There is no doubt that fans can make a difference and SFC is there to help.

Sign the petition directing Oregon State representatives to take on this issue.

Become a fan of the Local Chapter in Oregon, SFC-Portland, on Facebook.

Follow SFC-Portland on Twitter.

Charles Barkley once famously asked the question, ”A million guys can dunk a basketball in jail; should they be role models?”. Shortly thereafter in 1993, he wrote the text for his “I am not a role model” Nike commercial which garnered national media attention. The concept rings true although society will always idolize successful athletes. USA Today found that close to 66% of fans say athletes will influence kids more in the years to come.

It all seems rather inevitable. Sports Marketing companies like Octagon help their clients (both leagues and superstars) sell sports to fans. These organizations target our sports fan dollars with whatever means is available to them.

SFC argues that the real heroes are the fans. Those who speak up against the powers that be to make it better for their fellow sports fans. Tiger Woods sold out a long time ago, but more recently his actions have disappointed his fans to the extent that even Gatorade has dropped him. While it would be nice to believe that professional athletes are professional off the field and heroes on the field are worth that hero worship when they shed their sweaty jerseys and throw them into the crowd, it’s just not worth it.

Rather, it’s worth our time and energy supporting our own collective cause. Our cause is holding our representatives and favorite teams accountable for their actions. If they take tax money, we should be able to find affordable seats in stadiums, we should be able watch the game on TV, and we should see the college champion decided on the field. Nothing less.  That’s worth our attention and support.