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by Shawn Bean
It's like you can't go to the bathroom without having it sponsored by Taco Bell. You know what I'm saying. The past few years have seen a massive advent of corporate sponsorship in sports. For those of you thinking you've haven't noticed it until recently, it's because it has been recently. I mean, why would Michael Jordan prompt men to buy cologne? The man was a deus ex machina for professional basketball, but his bald melon doesn't make me think of checking myself for proper eau de toilette. And now, advertisers have surpassed putting their logo on shorts and shoes. Now they're on stadiums, arenas, even jersey sleeves. How are men supposed to swallow this, along with all the tailgate food? Take a listen and see what you think.
Joe Robbie set out to do something that no one thought would come to pass. He had plans to build a stadium in Miami with private funds. He announced his plan in 1984 that he would build a stadium for $115 million. He put up his stake in the Miami Dolphins as well as everything he owned as collateral. It slowly arose, a white circular complex flanked by circular walkways, snaking up the sides of the compound like concrete coils. Then on April 30, 1987, they cut the steel umbilical cord and out came the 60 ton, eight ounce baby they named Joe Robbie Stadium, after its determined and proud father. After that, Joe Robbie Stadium stretched its legs and began its run in history. The stadium buzzed with green and orange-painted life when the Dolphins played their first game in the new arena against the Chicago Bears on August 16, roughly four months after the stadium's birthday. SuperBowl XXIII was named to held in Miami, even before ground was broken for the stadium.
In 1990, Blockbuster Video mogul H. Wayne Huizenga, who also owns the Florida Marlins and the Florida Panthers, bought 15% of the stadium. In 1994, he bought 85% of the Dolphins and the remaining interest in the stadium. In a very controversial decision that enraged Miami fans, Pro Player purchased the rights for the stadium name for $20 million. A move befitting the owner of Blockbuster, "The Joe Robbie Legacy" movie poster didn't have big names, co-branded product endorsement or a catchy soundtrack single, so it was put on the back shelf with Corey Haim's "Blown Away" and Anthony Michael Hall's "A Gnome Named Norm."
Does this story seem funny to you? It's like Dan Dierdorf began the story, but Lee Iacocca wrote the third act. Corporate names are popping up like Starbucks (pun intended.) And it doesn't stop there. The Miami fans aren't the only ones getting upset. Ask the fans in San Francisco what they think of Candlestick Park being changed to 3Com Park. San Diego fans curse having to call Jack Murphy Stadium Qualcomm Stadium. 3Com and Qualcomm were glimmers in the giant calculator's eye when Jack Murphy was making sure his boys had a play to throw the pigskin around (1967 to be exact.) How about Baltimore thinking it was going to have a cool younger brother for Camden Yards, then finding out they miscarried with PSINet Stadium. PSINet? It rolls off the tongue like dog hair. Not to mention part of the stadium's initiation ritual was the simultaneous flushing of 600 toilets. Sounds like PSINet came out of his cardboard hideout to pull a little prank with his buddies 3Com and Qualcomm.
That's not the game whistle either, brother. See which one of these stadium names makes you think of sports Adelphia, Ericcson, TransWorld, RCA, Cinergy, Network Associates, Alltel. Nothing ringing a bell? Let's take a look at arenas around the country as well then. Conseco, Phillips, Staples, MCI, First Union, Target, Compaq. Still nothing? Let me break this down even further. Of the 17 arenas built during the 1990's, 14 of them have names associated with corporate sponsors. 11 arenas were built in 1989 or prior to it, and only three of them have corporate titles. And the corporate presence has affected the layout of the arena as well. As a benchmark, let's make note that the Orlando Arena, which was built in 1989, has 26 luxury suites. Of the arenas built in 1999, Pepsi Arena in Colorado has 95 luxury suites, Phillips Arena in Atlanta has 96 and LA's Staples Center has 160. During his recent tour, Bruce Springsteen remarked on the Staples Center, saying there were too many corporate boxes. The Boss has spoken. The 1990's have begun to slowly erase the No. 2 pencil line between the integrity of sport and what it's worth on the market.
Okay. You say professional sports are professional. Money is needed to make professional sports happen. Let's say for a moment that you're right. Where's an area that these sponsors couldn't touch? How about college sports? I mean corporate endorsement of a player, or private for that matter, is highly frowned upon in college sports. So how can the suits get around that? I know, let's endorse bowl games and exploit the players by plastering oversized gaudy patches on them! That's right, corporate sponsorship has virtually saturated the college bowl games. The winner of the "We Thought of It First! Ha!" award goes to Tostitos, the sponsor the Fiesta Bowl, who finally brought some integrity to the Fiesta Bowl's cultural roots. The Nokia Sugar Bowl. The Chick-Fil-A Peach Bowl. The CompUSA Florida Citrus Bowl. The Micron PC Bowl. The Norwest Sun Bowl. And the worst of the lot, The Outback Bowl, proudly pitting the SEC against the Big Ten on New Year's Day. In an effort to better understand the parallel between the two, I contacted Outback and asked how do they felt Outback and college football make a good advertising pair. No response was received. On the brighter side, all the players will hopefully begin the new millennium with a collectable jersey with an Awesome Blossom patch sewed on the sleeve.
It may be a waste of breath or finger strength to pursue this agenda. The bottom line is the corporate sponsor is like Grandpa Earl: you gotta listen to his bullshit stories, but he always picks up the bill. But gentlemen, remember Joe Robbie, Jack Murphy and the like. The men who built football before Einstein figured out we should put facemasks on the helmets.
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