The NBA (National Basketball Association) has decided to institute
a new marketing concept, jersey patches on uniforms advertising corporations
who pay for the rental space.
Soon your Boston Celtics will be the GE Boston Celtics. General Electric has won the right to put the GE logo on the green and white Boston
uniforms. General Electric wraps its corporate arms around the legacy of Bob
Cousy’s and his behind-the-back passes. Instead of thinking about Bill
Russell’s 11 championships and his titanic battles with Wilt Chamberlain you
are forced to try and wash the GE logo out of
your mind as the players dash down the court.
Memo to Adam Silver, the NBA commissioner:
Basketball is not NASCAR. Men driving high-powered automobiles around a track cannot compare to guys in gym shorts and undershirts creating magic with a
James Naismith invented basketball at the Springfield,
Massachusetts YMCA in 1891 with a peach basket placed exactly ten feet above
the ground and 13 rules. The rule book has expanded but the game remains
essentially the same. Basketball did get re-invented by kids in the urban
playgrounds of America. African-American players increased the speed of the
game and moved much of the action “above-the-rim.” The static set shot was
replaced by the jump shot. The game has benefited from these changes.
NBA teams represent a geographical entity—New York, LA,
Philadelphia, San Antonio, etc. and usually have a second name related to the
location of the team—Knicks, Lakers, 76ers, Spurs, etc.. The jersey ads add a third identity. In Philadelphia’s case the corporate
connection is StubHub. Fans, no doubt, will get a warm feeling inside, seeing a
StubHub patch added to their uniforms. Most amazing—these teams are whoring out
their enterprises out for a mere $15-20 million per year and the league stands
to wring an additional $100 million to their coffers. The teams can compete to pay
their millionaire players even more money.
I’ve heard the rationale that the patches are small and really
don’t make that much of a difference. The
fans do not seem enthusiastic about the change. Mr. Silver, please consider
going even further and eliminate the jersey patch concept altogether.
The negative impact of the jersey patch, though invisible, is
profound. Basketball, a child’s game developed into an art form, should be left
intact and pure as invented and re-invented. Corporations played no role in
making basketball the magnificent game we see today —epitomized by the
graceful, magical dance of a Steph Curry drive to the basket or a flick of the
wrist jump shot.
The NBA swims in so much capital that second level players have
been signed to huge contracts. We are
forced to wonder why the untold millions already being raked in by this very
popular sport had to be raised to a higher level of profit… Maybe it’s just a
case of too much is just never enough.
Team Sponsor
Philadelphia 76ers StubHub
Minnesota Timberwolves Fitbit
Orlando Magic Disney
Brooklyn Nets Infor
(software)
Sacramento Kings Blue Diamond Almonds
Utah Jazz Qualtrics
(5
for the Fight Foundation)
Boston Celtics GE
Cleveland Cavaliers Goodyear
Toronto Raptors Sun Life
Milwaukee Bucks Harley Davidson
Detroit Pistons Flagstar Bank
Denver Nuggets Western
Union
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