Keeping the Past in Mind
I’ve never seen a full NASCAR race on TV. Honestly, the sport never appealed to me and probably never will. I grew up in Chicago, where football, baseball and basketball rule. However, over the past two years I’ve read at least five separate books on NASCAR. Each book discussed the business or growth of the sport and through these readings I now have an appreciation for NASCAR, mostly because of how it directly relates to our great sport.
NASCAR grew in an era where few sports can go from middle tier to upper tier in only a few years. I don’t know if we’ll ever see a sport flourish at such an alarming rate as NASCAR has during this decade. Time and time again I talk with friends about our sport, and time and time again NASCAR comes into the picture. Their business plans, marketing models and creation of characters is something every sport should take a deep look at.
Despite all the benefits NASCAR received with their growing sport over the past few years, the head of NASCAR Brian France now believes that his sport lost some of their die-hard fans from the “early years” because it became too mainstream and lost its character. This is something our sport should take into consideration at all levels as meet directors, USATF, agents and others try to propel our sport into the twenty-first century idea that a sport is a business, and that our sport can be a viable one.
No second or third tier sport can survive these days with a business only approach. These types of sports, which ours falls into, need to keep the character and history it had, but also improve upon its marketing and management techniques. It’s a fine line to follow, but one our sport can accomplish if the right minds execute the right ideas in coming years.
Last 5 posts by Scott Bush- Who Should Be the Face of Our Sport? - June 4th, 2008
- Welcome to the Internet Age - April 7th, 2008
- Robinson v. Symmonds, Now We Need More - February 26th, 2008
- College T&F Should Downsize - February 13th, 2008
- Hello, (Running) World! - January 21st, 2008
January 24th, 2008 at 9:28 am |
I’ve always wondered how thousands of spectators can fill a stadium and watch cars go around in circles for hours, yet, only hundreds show up to watch runners go in circles for a short period of time. If it’s about marketing, then what is stopping our athletes from going out and getting uniforms that have several sponsors logos on it, like the cars, so they don’t have to worry about money and can soley focus on training and racing? In other words, why are runners so focused on getting just one shoe company to sponsor them and ignoring all the other companies/products out there?
January 24th, 2008 at 11:51 am |
Runguso,
You have made the cardinal mistake in dealing with all issues running; you have delved into that abyss of logic. What you must understand is that the IAAF - and by extension all federations - has strict rules about the size and number of logos that can appear on runner’s singlets. It is a huge problem limiting growth. But the issue involved is one of control. The IAAF is the last of the great oligarchies, answering to no one, beyond any national control. As long as they are calling the shots, the marketplace can never fully engage in running.
January 24th, 2008 at 1:05 pm |
I’m reminded of an April 1st article I penned a few years ago. It made the NASCAR to running analogy. The article explained how USATF decided to allow advertising on uniforms. Of course, the extension of that concept meant that throwers would become the most sought after athletes since their uniforms held over twice the advertizing space of a skinny runner.