Countless reports have flooded the Internet today that the NFL will conditionally reinstate Michael Vick.
Before I get into analysis, let me get my biases out of the way:
Me and Balki last year.
1) I am a passionate Baltimore Ravens fan.
2) I have supported Ray Lewis is his return to the playing field after his murder trial.
3) I own a dog I love as much as I love any person (family and family-in-law-to-be not included!)
4) I am not a vegetarian, nor am I am avid animal rights supporter (not that I don’t support the cause, but I don’t give up my Saturdays to picket)
So there is where I am coming from.
Now let’s get to where I am going.
Michael Vick, not to long ago, was a premier NFL superstar. He led the Atlanta Falcons to the postseason. He dazzled on the field, combining arm strength and running acumen to apparently become a prototype for the new generation of quarterbacks. He starred in countless commercials, banking at the endorsement pay window.
After being convicted of various charges stemming from bankrolling an illegal dog fighting operation, including killing numerous dogs, he served his debt to society, splitting his time between jail and prohibitive house arrest. This past week, he officially finished his sentence and was released from the legal system (albeit with probation).
He applied for reinstatement to the NFL, so he could resume his once-promising career. His “boss,” NFL commissioner Roger Goodell, will apparently allow him back in the league, with some conditions, such as a minimum 4 game suspension. The exact details should be released soon, but the bottom line is that if he signs with a team, he’s back in.
I am not going to discuss the PR nightmare that would go along with any team willing to sign him.
I want to discuss whether the league should have let him back in.
In two words: Sadly, yes.
The major issue here is not that Vick should be prohibited from resuming his career. The issue is that his chosen career carries a six-figure minimum salary. Even if he sits on the sideline all year long, he will earn more than the average American.
Let’s just say he found work as a nighttime custodian, an honest line of work. I don’t think anyone would have any problems with him taking that job. In that career, he would work hard for his pay, and see every day what he cost himself.
However, he’s an NFL player.
Playing in the NFL is not a “right.” It is a merit-based league. If you can play better than other people, you should be in the league, just like any other career. If you continue to play better, you’ll get a raise, just like any other career. It just so happens that his job plays out in front of nearly 100,000 fans in attendance and millions watching across several broadcast and cable networks each week. A team will sign him and he most likely will play this year.
At the end of the day, even though he was convicted of his crimes, he served his sentence and deserves the chance to make a living. I don’t like that he can go from prison to the penthouse so quickly, but that is his legal right and I will defend that right to the fullest.
Using only song names from one artist, cleverly answer these questions. Post your version as a comment. You can’t use the band I used. Do not repeat a song title. It’s a lot harder than you think!
Band: Dave Matthews Band
1) Are you a male or female? Spaceman
2) Describe yourself: Proudest Monkey
3) How do you feel: So Much to Say
4) Describe where you currently live: Grey Street
5) If you could go anywhere, where would you go: Satellite
6) Your favorite form of transportation: Ants Marching
7) What’s the weather like: You Never Know Favorite time of day: Good Good Time
9) What is life to you: One Sweet World
10) Your relationships: So Right
11) Your fear: The Last Stop
12) What is the best advice you have to give: Don’t Drink the Water
Earlier this week, Jennifer Van Grove over at the awesome Mashable site wrote about Muck Rack and how they are offering a Twitter-based press release distribution service. The basic premise of the piece is asking if media and PR pros are open to the new method (with a $50 per-character price tag).
I think that, yes, media and PR types are willing to adopt this, if they feel it is beneficial. Heck, in just a few short years (relatively), we went from hand-delivery t0 snail mail to fax machines to e-mail to blast e-mail services. I know from my PR college classes nearly a decade ago that the old guard still hadn’t accepted e-mail as the wave of the future. So to come this far this quickly is actually quite remarkable.
Us communicators will use use ANY tool possible to…well…communicate!
The flip side to this discussion is whether CLIENTS are open to adopting a new, shorter system.
News releases have been a major tool in branding and messaging, their way to directly tell media what they are doing. How many hours have we all poured over releases, tweaking words to make sure our clients are represented in the BEST way possible?
Will clients be OK with losing that content that they 100% control?
I’m of the mind that Tweet-releases are a passing fad. At the end of the day, PR is about messaging and if you lose the messaging, you lose a major component of the industry. Some companies may think it’s cool for now, but in a few weeks/months, they will once again want to cram as much information as possible into a release.
Check out the original post here for more information. (Briefly, I asked you to tell me who your favorite team was and why…but definitely read the post!)
Here are two terrific Declarations of Fandependence:
From Tom Oates (www.twitter.com/OatesTom), videographer extraordinaire!
The late, great Len Bias
We’re Americans; we love a comeback story.
No college team has a better Tragedy to Triumph story than the University of Maryland Men’s Basketball team.
The 1986 death of Len Bias spiraled the program into a turbulent pit of sanctions, coaching changes and a flurry of negative stigmatism.
We also love the story of the prodigal son; the Terps have one of their own.
In the 1960’s Gary Williams was Maryland’s scrappy, overachieving point guard. Returning to his alma mater in 1989 as head coach, Williams was besieged by NCAA sanctions; penalties for violations conducted under a previous coaching staff.
Twelve years later, Maryland – led by another scrappy, overachieving point guard – captured the NCAA championship.
What’s not to love? It’s the all-American tale.
——————
By: Sasha Muradali, guest blogger
When, I think back to my days at university, I see a sea of orange and blue: a vision of the University of Florida.
Located in Gainesville, Fla., a small town in the middle of nowhere, population 150,000 – population of UF 60,000 – Gainesville is where I spent four of the happiest years of my life (2003-2007, B.S. Public Relations).
Go Cure Cancer. Go Gators.
Sasha and the Gator Girls!
A college town, at its truest, I think of pokey sticks, spending dry, hot days under umbrella shaped trees, rain that spewed from the side in mass buckets and squirrels the size of small dogs. I remember the smell of the air, the fresh, swampy scent of flowing fresh water ponds and the scent of pine. I recall, the love bug season, the giant butterfly garden, live alligators and the scary, small car-sized raccoon inhabiting the moonlit street of Sorority Row every night. I taste the 3 a.m. Starbucks runs, cold pizza and lager on my lips.
Go Write the Great American Novel. Go Gators.
I met my best friends at UF. We’ll be friends forever, we’ll grow old together, see each other get married and welcome the other’s kids into the world. There is some inexplicable bond I share with those people. To a certain extent, that bond is shared by a couple hundred thousand alumni and Gator Nation fans alike.
I remember the first time I saw the Gator Nation video, I cried.
I hadn’t graduated UF as yet, but I thought to myself, “this is it. This is exactly what it feels like.” There is just something magical about that place, some sort of rooted camaraderie that is over 150-years old. It is passed down from person to person and shared through the generations.
I know I will always bleed orange and blue. Period.
No matter where I go, who I meet or what adventures I encounter, my Gator Nation days molded me into adulthood. I was molded into a Gator.
Go Start A Fortune 500 Company. Go Gators.
But that’s what being a fan of the Gators, being a Gator – that’s what it’s about.
It’s about this spurt of happiness that crosses your face and swells your heart when you are in another city and someone is wearing your colours, your mascot, your jersey.
It’s this smile that graces your lips when someone you don’t know randomly does a Gator Chomp in front of you. They’re Gators too.
It’s that laugh that creeps up from inside of you, when from across the airport, someone shouts “Go Gators!”
Being a Gator, is so much – it’s more.
There aren’t adjectives enough to describe the exhilaration caused by being a part of three national championships back-to-back, or the rush of seeing University Avenue swarming with hundreds of students after the NCAA or BCS wins. They swung on the trees and climbed the street lights.
I hear laughter; I feel comfort; I see jovial, blinded bliss; I remember my home away from home –
The University of Florida is in Gainesville. The Gator Nation is everywhere. Go Gators!
Sasha Muradali runs the ‘Little Pink Book’ . She holds a B.S. in Public Relations from the University of Florida (’07) and an M.A. in International Administration from the University of Miami(’08). She loves Twitter and all things social media, so you should find her@SashaHalima.
Currently Sasha is the VP of Communications for the Gator Club of Miami. Find them at http://www.miamigators.com
Every sports fan has their “teams.” Usually, it’s one team they root for in each sport, or each league. In baseball, you may have teams in the American and National leagues, and since those squads only go head to head every few years (unless they meet in your Dream World Series), you can give 100% to both teams.
From the NFL to NBA to NHL, pro, college, semi-pro and national teams, there are a lot of teams to fill out your roster.
I believe that each fan most have their own “Declaration of Fandependence,” a public statement of who your favorite team is.
There should be a designation for your sports fandom in here...
Now, that list of teams can change over time. In my own life, I have switched NFL allegiances once and rooted for several NCAA teams. (For those wondering, I was born into one football team’s fandom, and I would publicly state my switcheroo here, but I haven’t told my grandmother yet, and she would not be pleased! Maybe another post…)
However, every sports fan has that one team that holds a special place in your heart (right around the aorta, since the team’s colors run through your veins).
This is a team that you are with FOR LIFE…
…Through thick and thin, through championships and cellar-dweller years.
…Through superstar signings and “who the hell is playing left tackle?”
…Through packed stadiums and times when you are surrounded by 10,000 friends and 50,000 empty seats.
…Through draft days and Hall of Fame inductions.
This is a level of fandom so high that you can only support ONE team this way. You can be a fanatic of many other teams…but your dedication to this team is so much more than that.
- My dad isn’t a real big sports fan. Just wasn’t his cup of tea. In fact, I taught him a lot of sports information, and he, to his infinite credit, 1) put up with my incessant ramblings and 2) took it upon himself to learn the subject matter so we could have a two-way conversation. I don’t think he’ll ever know how much that means to me. My grandfather seemingly wasn’t into sports, either. If only I knew then all the Brooklyn Dodger games he went to as a boy, and with my grandmother when they first started “courting,” as she likes to say.
I was about 7 or 8 years old and I went to old Memorial Stadium to see the Orioles play the Milwaukee Brewers (it seemed like we ALWAYS saw them. I couldn’t stand Robin Yount!). This game, I went with my dad, my aunt Amy and my grandfather. To this day, the memory of watching a baseball game with my grandfather (wearing a bucket hat!) stays with me, even after he is gone.
- I was 10 years old and my neighborhood was on a steep hill. All of the kids wanted to see how fast we could go down the hill on our bikes, which formed a “T” with my street. I started to pedaled my way up, filled with excitement. A little bit of sweat dripped down on my Orioles shirt. In just a few minutes, my aunt was coming to take me to the second-to-last game at Memorial Stadium. For 3 years, a new stadium was being built in downtown Baltimore and this was my chance to say goodbye to my first baseball cathedral.
With the adrenaline of the day pumping through my veins, I made it to the top of the hill, turned around and started the rapid descent. With the wind cooling me off, I accelerated down, down, down, pedaling to speed up! What a rush! Going faster than I ever had before, I saw the entrance to my street. I turned left, barely slowing down at all. Ready to come home, I quickly turned into my driveway. On the rotation, my bike hit a rock and I went flying! I crashed into the pavement, tearing my elbow, shredding my knee and bruising my side. I had never experienced pain like that before, coupled with the embarrassment of knowing I went too fast and the fear I would have to miss the game.
Bandaged well enough to head out, I went to the game. In the hot sun, my wounds burned and I was very uncomfortable, but I stuck through it and gave Memorial Stadium a proper sendoff.
- My Bar Mitzvah was baseball themed. I wore an Orioles jersey. A group of female friends made “Mike’s Orioles” t-shirts. My parents even hired the Oriole Bird mascot to come party with us! Seriously, it goes down on the list of incredibly cool things my parents have done for me. The photos are fairly embarrassing, but I’ll try to post one or two of 13-year old me doing a conga line with the Bird.
- By the time I was in middle school, I knew my career would be in sports. And I promised myself I would go to Cal Ripken, Jr’s Hall of Fame induction in Cooperstown, NY either as a reporter or a fan. I didn’t go into the media side, so, along with most of the population of Baltimore, I hopped a bus and spent a weekend in upstate NY to witness my childhood hero inducted into the Hall. To see Cal take his place next to Eddie, Frank, Brooks, Earl, Jim and the rest (Oriole legends are known by their first names only) was a truly special moment, even for a jaded sports professional like me.
- So many games, so many games, so many games. I’ve been to hundreds of games combined between Memorial Stadium and Camden Yards, which is the new measuring stick against which all new parks are measured. I’ve sat our 3-hour rain delays. I’ve hit refresh on the browser hundreds of times on draft day. I followed the games online when I am out of town. If I’m out on the town, I keep checking the score on my Blackberry, even during concerts and theater shows! I check the batting averages and trends constantly, to see who’s doing well and who isn’t.
If the Orioles are losing, I’m always convinced they will come back to win, conjuring up some of this:
With the current management in place under Andy MacPhail and the roster filled with home-grown and shrewdly-acquired talent like Brian Roberts, Adam Jones, Nick Markakis, David Hernandez, Matt Wieters, Nolan Reimold (the 2009 Man-Crush), Brad Bergeson and others, with even more on the way, the future looks bright for the orange-and-black attack.
Nevermind the Yankees, Red Sox, Blue Jays and Rays ahead of my team in the standings…I’m a believer! This is my team.
What is your favorite team? E-mail your Declarations to michaelgschaffer@gmail.com and I’ll post them! (They don’t need to be this long!)
Longtime readers of The Buzz know that I am a professional wrestling fan. Always have been, and I’m pretty sure I always will be.
World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) is the top organization in the world. A publicly-traded company, it is a live-event/Pay-Per-View/TV machine, not to mention licensing, publishing, films and several other revenue streams. Even if you aren’t a wrestling fan, you’ve heard of Hulk Hogan, Andre the Giant, Bruno Sammartino, John Cena, The Undertaker and several others. Those are/were WWE guys.
Kurt and Karen Angle with the championship belts
In wrestling, storylines give context to the matches, a morality play unveiled in the ring, involving athleticism, craftsmanship and drama. Sometimes comedy, but that’s not relevant here. A writing staff (or “bookers”) come up with the stories and the wrestlers provide the action.
No writer could have come up with the current situation in the #2 wrestling organization in the United States, Total Nonstop Action (TNA) Wrestling.
Founded early this decade by veteran wrestler Jeff Jarrett, TNA provided opportunity to the emerging wrestlers. First, the company ran weekly pay-per-views featuring a mix of established stars like Jarrett, Ken Shamrock, Ron Killings, short-term guest stars like Scott Hall, Sting and Randy Savage, and the “next generation” of wrestlers, such as AJ Styles, America’s Most Wanted, Low-Ki, Christopher Daniels and others.
As the company grew, they landed a weekly timeslot on Fox Sports Net before moving their current home, SpikeTV. With Spike’s investment, TNA was encouraged to increase the budget and acquire big-name talents. Former WWE and World Championship Wrestling (the previous #2) stars like Jeff Hardy, Kevin Nash, the Steiner Brothers, the Dudley Boys and many more led that wave. Soon, some of the biggest names in the business, like Christian Cage, Booker T, Mick Foley, Sting, and the only Olympic gold medalist in pro wrestling history, Kurt Angle, found their way into TNA. Sure, some of these guys were past their prime, but they were still a big draw. Angle’s wife, Karen, came to manage Kurt.
Within a year or so, Kurt and Karen filed for divorce and Karen left the promotion. Kurt’s career continued to blossom in TNA, as he was always in the World Title picture. He eventually helped create a stable of those veteran performers, the Main Event Mafia, which he currently leads.
Jeff Jarrett stepped back from his on-screen performing role as his wife fought–and lost her battle to–cancer. Once the most despised bad guy (or “heel”) in the organization, he returned as a widower, single father and TNA founder to thunderous ovations.
He has spent much of the past year or so feuding with Angle and the Mafia.
An anonymous person, identifying themselves as a TNA “employee” called into the Bubba the Love Sponge radio program. Using a voice distorter, they proclaimed that Karen Angle, Kurt’s ex-wife, was romantically involved with Jeff Jarrett and had moved into his house–with her and Kurt’s children.
Let me say that one more time: Founder of company loses wife. Star of company divorces wife. Founder and star’s ex-wife now involved.
Apparently, Kurt was aware of the situation for some time and was dealing with it professionally, to his utmost credit.
Once the word leaked out, TNA had a difficult and quick PR decision to make.
The organization immediately pulled Jeff out of his ongoing storyline and off the road. They did not confirm or deny the report, but Jarrett wasn’t behind the scenes at their big show on Sunday, while Kurt Angle walked out as champion.
As an organization, who do you side with: your founder or your top performer?
And as professional wrestling organization, while WWE has worked to shed the “hillbilly/redneck” stereotype, creating a high-profile, sanitized product that the entire family can enjoy, how do you explain the founder shacking up with his talent’s ex?
Here is my take on the situation. Performers, even the best ones, come and go. The founder of the company is the rock on which the entire organization was built. In this situation, if you must put one person in front of the entire organization, you chose the behind-the-scenes leader, even though his reputation with the rest of the company may be tarnished. Sending Jarrett home was the perfect move. However, it had no storyline reason. One week he was in the thick of the story and now he’s at home. They could have at least filmed an attack on him to explain his absence to those not “in the know” of the truth behind the matter.
Kurt Angle comes across here looking like a superstar. His boss is living with his recently-divorced ex-wife and he continued to deliver the goods on-screen without being a distraction in the company. He easily could have said “screw this, I quit!” and I doubt anyone would have blamed him. Hell, I’m sure that’s what I would have done, myself.
While TNA sends it’s founder away for a while, Angle is still the champion and star of the company. And in that, TNA made the right move. Don’t mess with the championship program, which would leave the fans feeling cheated. Removing Jarrett from the equation is the path of least resistance and the right call to make, from a PR sense.
Given these facts, even if you aren’t a wrestling fan, what do you think of what TNA did?
Favorite time of day: Good Good Time
that means to me. My grandfather seemingly wasn’t into sports, either. If only I knew then all the Brooklyn Dodger games he went to as a boy, and with my grandmother when they first started “courting,” as she likes to say.
