The image of Michael Jordan with his arms and legs outstretched, the ball high in his hand, flying toward the rim is forever ingrained in my mind. But the thing is, I never actually saw him do that (well, unless you count Space Jam). The image I have of Michael Jordan comes from an athletic shoe. This represents the ultimate commercialization of sport as discussed by Kellner. When a man or woman’s image and persona is used to sell a product, you can say that he or she has effectively been commercialized. Michael Jordan was the first, but he certainly wasn’t be the last. Other titans of sport such as Roger Federer and Tiger Woods have built their undoubtedly stellar careers on their image along with their game. The problem with this is that it can all come crashing down in an instant, as Tiger Woods found out. Tiger’s carefully crafted public persona was shattered with the crunch of an Escalade against a fire hydrant and he has yet to recover. With the loss of his “image”, Tiger lost a great number of endorsement deals, fans, donations to his foundation, a marriage, and a whole lot of golf tournaments. While I do believe that the commercialization of sport is just part of the natural progression of sport and the economy in general, those with a vested interest in that commercialization would do well to remember that “what is given can be taken away.” As Tiger Woods has proven, investing in a product is a risky business. And when that product has thoughts, feelings, and is capable of producing actions, there is a lot more risk involved. Because when you invest in Tiger Woods the product you also get Tiger Woods, the man. But as the saying goes, the greater the risk, the greater the reward. As long as this holds true, commercialization of sport is here to stay.
No comments:
Post a Comment