Having two young children under six means taking a trip to the movie theater is a rarity. In a typical year, Vegas may put the over/under at three (3). Well, we’re not even out of February and my initial pilgrimage of the year is complete. I saw “The Blind Side” and it reminded me of something I learned a long time ago when I entered the sports marketing industry; we’re selling passion!

I’m not just talking about the Tuohy’s passion to facilitate Michael’s (Oher) education, embrace him as their own, or nourish him with the love and material things that so eluded him his whole life. I’m talking about the passion of SEC College Football.

Being a graduate of the University of Pittsburgh, I’ve enjoyed my fair share of over-the-top “passion” experiences (Penn State and West Virginia come to mind) and my world still stops for an occasional Football or Basketball game. However, I recognized SEC Football was on another level when I managed a sponsorship for GSK’s BC Headache Powder (BCHP) several years ago. My experiences with BCHP, a regional phenomenon unto itself, provided a window into the world of Southeastern college football fans. You see, these fans consume football differently than you or I and it was the essence of this passion that was captured extremely well in the movie.

What struck me most was the scene of the family eating buffet style on the couch (watching Ole Miss on TV) on a holiday as opposed to sitting formally in the dining room. It took the addition of Michael for Leigh Anne (Tuohy) to relocate her family to the dining room, thus pulling them away from the game and their long-standing tradition. I really believe it was this scene and the one when Michael tells the NCAA investigator he wants to attend Ole Miss because “his family went there” that truly captures the essence of their passion.

As sports marketers, we are constantly educating companies on the value of leveraging fan affinity and pushing the importance of brand equity transfer. Intersecting a consumer who shares a like-minded interest at a passion point is the most direct approach to developing an emotional bond with the target audience. The movie accomplishes many things for me but the one area they didn’t turn a blind eye towards was replicating the passion of SEC Football and how it impacts the lives of its rabid fans.

Link to story on Michael Oher:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9FhlbsJUJ9Q

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Back in July of 2003 Ken Hein from BRANDWEEK asked my opinion on Kobe Bryant’s sexual assault accusations.  My two prominent responses were “there used to be a group of guys you knew would deliver” meaning they wouldn’t find themselves in any “off the field” trouble.  The second was, “morals clauses will be tougher” and for the most part, they have been.  Holly Sanders Ware’s article in the NY Post tackles this issue very well. http://www.nypost.com/p/news/business/tiger_ad_tale_j6FkiixiLLO9lNpAZp8WgJ

 Most sports marketers, brand decision makers and fans thought Tiger would be one of those athletes I defined in my former opinion.  We now know this is not the case.  Tiger is about to learn the consequences of mismanaging a PR crisis.  Think back to the vastly different approaches taken by Roger Clemens and Andy Pettitte when they were cited in the Mitchell Report last year. 

 More recently, look how David Letterman handled his office infidelities, with a pro-active announcement on National TV no less.  Both Pettitte and Letterman were ahead of the press and didn’t allow rumors to develop because they robbed the media from formulating their own (potentially false) stories.  Both Pettitte and Letterman’s situations were then relegated to lesser covered news stories soon after. 

 The Tiger fallout will be with us through the holidays and the impact on his endorsement contracts is something we in the industry will be closely watching.  Keep in mind this will be no easy decision for his sponsors if more damaging fallout occurs.  Tiger’s partners, especially Gatorade and Nike have literally built their brands around his image.  There is simply too much revenue at stake.  Stay tuned.

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