Can you imagine waiting in line,
through the wee hours of the morning, just to score a pair of new sneakers at 5
a.m.? I recently read a story about a man that was stabbed seven times while he
was waiting in line to get a pair of Nike Air Jordan XI Concord sneakers. Now
while I think that’s just the most ridiculous thing I’ve heard of lately, I can’t
help but think back on all the crazy things I thought were worth waiting for
all night. *cough* Harry Potter *cough*. At what point do we get sucked into total obsession over athletic endorsements
and how exactly can that celebrity endorsed cool factor be applied to Corpus
Christi athletes?
Corpus definitely has the potential
to pack arenas, after the hordes of people I witnessed on Black Friday I’m sure
of that, but that still doesn’t seem to be enough to pack the stands at
sporting events. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve gone to a Hooks’ game and
been allowed to choose a better seat because What-A-Burger Field was basically
deserted. So then what exactly are Corpus teams missing? There are a lot of
excuses like, tickets are too pricey, Corpus teams are boring to watch, or my
favorite “I just didn’t know anything was happening.” Honestly though, I think
the only thing Corpus teams are missing is support. Unfortunately support only
comes during successful seasons and successful seasons only come from
supporters cheering, for all they are worth until their voices go hoarse. It’s a vicious
cycle.
Excited to start the new school year right, a friend and I attended the Islanders
women’s basketball game against UTSA on the 11th hoping to get tastes of that school spirit energy; you know the kind that has you rooting on the edge of your seat at each basket. What we got was a scattered group of students with really only about a third of them making any effort to root the team on. For the most part though, the "cheering" was more drunken slurs at the opposing team if anything. I think I saw more support for Shaun White’s clothing line at Target recently. Fans support the Flying Tomato because he’s a two-time Olympic gold medalist, and can work a half-pipe as easily as he would a snow covered mountain. On the other hand, take Lebron James- the man hasn’t won one ring since he was drafted to the NBA in 2003 yet he has billboards dedicated to him, a Nike clothing line and millions of fans worldwide. In James’ case winning doesn’t appear to be everything.
But what all of these sports celebrities
have in common is the connection to their fans and community. Some of them
achieve this by touring the state and motivating the youth, others endorse
items that give the common-man something to come together over and some win
games with such grace and modesty that it’s impossible to ignore. Though it’s
been a rough season for just about all my favorite Texas teams I think they
still have what it takes to turn things around and ignite the interest they
have been thirsting for. We really just need a few hometown heroes to remind us why we
fell in love with the game.
No comments:
Post a Comment