Nike Urges Fair Soccer Coverage in U.S.

This is hilarious and so very true! If you go to..

http://www.nikesoccer.com (or)
http://www.nikefootball.com

Nike has various pre-written letters you can send to a network executive under their 'create a zine/letter' link. They even held a competition to select a winner with the best letter on how to eliminate soccer stereotypes in our country. I've included the Nike letters below so you can read them for yourselves, they're hilarious and hit the bullseye!...



>>DEAR NETWORK EXECUTIVE

Judging by what’s on TV, the networks must think there’s a big market for a 4-HOUR POKER MARATHON, ‘CAUSE THEY’RE ON ENOUGH. Put a real sport on. Not some fat guy sitting at a table chainsmoking. Put that dreck on the old maid channel.

Yes, we know that there are digital cable channels and channels where soccer is broadcast in foreign languages. At least you offer those. And we appreciate them. But not all of us want the thousands of channels. We deserve soccer without being subjected to and having to pay for things like the Knitting Network or the Light Bulb Channel.

Let’s compare. Only about 2000 people enter strongman/woman competitions. Let’s see… 18,000,000 vs. 2,000… what would the network put on the air… WHAT WOULD IT RUN?... It would run Honkin’ Helga pulling an 18-wheeler with her teeth, that’s what it would do-because you’ve got a special place in your heart for women with big teeth and big muscles pullin’ big trucks.

AND THE SPORTS TICKERS You know, the strips of game updates at the bottom of sports networks? If we’re lucky, they give a soccer score-but don’t even tell who scored or when. But for EACH baseball game (and only 162 precious games per year per team), the tickers tell who the winning and losing pitches were, what their records are, what their ERAs are, who got the save, who hit home runs, who stole bases, and who had a big toe injury that will keep him out for at least 2-3 weeks. (Thanks for the big toe update!).

Even our team – OUR OWN U.S. NATIONAL TEAM is seldom put on TV. Oh, but we can turn on the tube and watch some guy sawing logs or turkey hunting. YEEEE HAWWWWW!! Gobble gobble! Pow! Pow! Pow!

Your sports pages are disgusting incomplete. They rarely include soccer, or sometimes just print the scores – not who or who played. In Spain, FOUR national sports paper (ie., soccer papers) hit the streets DAILY. In our thick, sports-intensive Sunday papers, we’re lucky if we find some standings for a league (any league). Time to put soccer on the front pages and write stories on the players and not bury this HUGE sport in a small corner of page 9 next to the ad for hair plugs for men.
<<

 

This article from Sports Illustarted sums up the whole situation regarding the lack of TV coverage for soccer:

http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/soccer/us/news/2002/10/16/my_view/

A MUST-READ ARTICLE THAT OPENS YOUR MIND

 

I'm bumping this thread so the RangerHypocrite who glorifies TV ratings as the best data tool, but yet stays mute when talking about TV ratings corresponding to the NHL, poker, billiards, hot-dog eating contests, bowling, skateboarding, strong-man competitions, etc. - things you see FREQUENTLY on ESPN-1 (ONE) AND Updates on SportsCenter.