Keeping the Sports Business Alive
By: Nam Duong
Tags: Sports, Covid 19, Premier League, MLB, NFL

As most people are aware, all sports competitions, no matter how big or small, have been cancelled until at least the fall. This includes the NBA, the NFL, college NCAA divisions, most notably the cancellation of March Madness, and also the high school organizations like NFHS and MHSAA. Due to the rapid spread of COVID-19, the spirit of sports have been taken away from people who are either playing or just watching it on the TV. Because of the cancellation and demonetization of professional sports, the sport business is losing both the interest and the money needed to keep the grand-scaled events that are so popular to everyone around the world. In order to keep the business alive, big sport companies are depending on a platform that spreads faster and to more people than the virus, social media. They are dependent on the power of the marketing, advertisement, and on the effort that their players put on to keep the fans interested and excited for the return of sports.

One of the worries that comes with the hiatus of sports events is the deterioration of the bodies of athletes. With no access to practice fields, players share the common concern with an average person that their bodies won’t be able to handle the physical requirement that sports will demand once they return. Even with the money to buy an entire gym in their backyard, because the season is uncertain and far away, it is hard for seasoned athletes to keep up the motivations to work out and keep their body fit. A tactic that the athletes are using to keep up the motivation is by engaging and interacting with their fans. Famous athletes, like LeBron James and JuJu Smith-Schuster, have been very active on their Instagram social media pages, broadcasting live almost daily. In a lot of their lives and stories, these athletes are working out with their fans and showing them around. Not only is this good for the teams’ business because it’s keeping the fan engaged and excited, it is also keeping the athletes motivated and working out.

LeBron James working out on his Instagram.

Another trend that has been going around Instagram is the #See10Do10. In this challenge, a person records themselves doing 10 push-ups, and then uploads it to their Instagram story, nominating 3 other friends to do the same thing. These 3 friends do the same thing, and then each nominates 3 other people to do the same thing. This challenge is very popular, and is a very good way to get more people involved in being active. Even famous athletes and celebrities are participating, which makes even more people, keeping the motivation and activeness in people up.

Tottenham U18 players delivery food to fans.

Professional sport leagues are hit the hardest, as that is the players’ and staff’s most reliable source of income. So, to cope with the losses and maintain interest, the leagues had to be creative and active on social media to interact with fans. For example, the Premier League, arguably the most popular soccer league in the world, has done many things to keep fans from losing their spirit. Big clubs, like Manchester United and Liverpool, are keeping their Instagram and Twitter very active, while also posting videos and updates on Youtube. Smaller clubs, like the newly promoted Norwich, have a smaller and more localized fan base, and they are interacting with them by having the players call specific fans from a list to check on their well-being, per The Independent. Other clubs, like Tottenham, are actively helping out their local community, with players and coaches delivering food for fans. Because of this, the soccer spirits in these fans are still raging on, especially when their favorite players are calling and spending time with them.

Other leagues, like the NFL, are helping the fans remain calm by trying their best to maintain business as usual. Even though the upcoming season still hangs in doubt, they are still planning to still have the Draft this week, perhaps in a more distanced format. This helps the fans stay positive, and still hoping that league will start as planned in the fall.

MLB, on the other hand, is tackling this issue by adapting to the circumstances and coming up with alternate ways to resume the season as soon as possible. It has devised a new plan, called the Arizona Plan. This plan states that all players and staff of the 30 teams will be housed in the stadium in Phoenix for the next 4 months to play at the empty stadium. Although the plan has been rejected and criticized by the players and staff, as they don’t want to be away from their families for that long, fans are excited that the organization is putting in a lot of effort to resume matches as soon as possible. Independent sources, like the Chicago Tribune, even pitched its own plan, offering alternatives to the Arizona Plan, where the teams are divided into smaller geographical divisions to limit traveling, and to temporarily replace the World Series with a new MLB Championship title. If these plans were to happen, not only would baseball fans be enthusiastic, but sports fans in general would also be glad to have a sport playing on their televisions.