BetweenThePipes00 Posted July 20, 2006 Report Posted July 20, 2006 This raises an interesting question ... http://www.hockeybuzz.com/blog.php?post_id=2429 Basically, for those who do not want to click, it describes how tickets to elite hockey leagues in Europe are relatively cheap because the teams sell all those crazy sponsorships and plaster company logos all over the players' uniforms. And in the end it asks the queston if North American fans would ever go for it if it cut ticket prices in half. (Now, we all know if they ever did this it would NOT cut prices, it might keep them from going up for a year and slow the rise down, but I don't remember prices going down when the NHL started selling ads on the boards. The players would want their 54% cut of the new revenue and the savings would not trickle down to the fans.) But in theory, with all the bitching we have been doing about the logo and the jersey (myself included), would you let it all go and let them look silly if it made it cheaper to go to games? What if it didn't make it cheaper but it gave the Sabres a fighting chance to pay bigger bucks for their players? I think it would drive me nuts for a while (just like the ads on the boards did) and then I would get used to it ... not like it, but get used to it. And if it helped keep the Sabres successful in Buffalo it would be worth it.
apuszczalowski Posted July 20, 2006 Report Posted July 20, 2006 Caniacs may attend more games with the players looking more like Nascars
Taro T Posted July 20, 2006 Report Posted July 20, 2006 This raises an interesting question ... http://www.hockeybuzz.com/blog.php?post_id=2429 Basically, for those who do not want to click, it describes how tickets to elite hockey leagues in Europe are relatively cheap because the teams sell all those crazy sponsorships and plaster company logos all over the players' uniforms. And in the end it asks the queston if North American fans would ever go for it if it cut ticket prices in half. (Now, we all know if they ever did this it would NOT cut prices, it might keep them from going up for a year and slow the rise down, but I don't remember prices going down when the NHL started selling ads on the boards. The players would want their 54% cut of the new revenue and the savings would not trickle down to the fans.) But in theory, with all the bitching we have been doing about the logo and the jersey (myself included), would you let it all go and let them look silly if it made it cheaper to go to games? What if it didn't make it cheaper but it gave the Sabres a fighting chance to pay bigger bucks for their players? I think it would drive me nuts for a while (just like the ads on the boards did) and then I would get used to it ... not like it, but get used to it. And if it helped keep the Sabres successful in Buffalo it would be worth it. My guess is that within a few years we are going to see players become billboards whether we like it or not. I think the teams will fill up the face off circles 1st (like the Euros did), but reality is most likely NASCAR type uni's are coming. Starting in '07-'08, in order for the lower revenue clubs to get their full portion of revenue sharing, they have to have revenues that grow faster than the league average. Coming up with "creative" ways to generate revenue will probably be necessary. Assuming the big market clubs agree to it, I'd expect to see lower revenue teams start wearing sponsor patches a couple of years after that and then in a season or 2 see the big guys start to do it as well. (I REALLY hope I am wrong about this one. Of course, if I'm not, maybe it's not such a bad thing that the Sabres are planning on going with the phantom falling fornicating feeble ferret as a logo; because it would really be a shame to see ads for Tops and Delta Sonic surrounding the "classic" logo. Heck, it would be a shame to see that around the Shatanic goathead as well. But anything that helps obscure that abomination is alright in my book.)
That Aud Smell Posted July 20, 2006 Report Posted July 20, 2006 Caniacs may attend more games with the players looking more like Nascars now that is comedy. brilliant!
That Aud Smell Posted July 20, 2006 Report Posted July 20, 2006 This raises an interesting question ... how tickets to elite hockey leagues in Europe are relatively cheap because the teams sell all those crazy sponsorships and plaster company logos all over the players' uniforms. ... would you let it all go and let them look silly if it made it cheaper to go to games? Great question. While it's a little off the mark, I note that over at espn.com, Bill Simmons recently did a 6000 word (ugh) piece on "choosing" a team from the Engligh Premier League. One of the factors he considered was who the team's sponsor was, since that company's name, etc. is feature prominently on the jersey. (The sponsorship angle made Newcastle appealing to Simmons, since Newcastle's beers are very tasty. Also, I seem to recall that Carlsberg has the EPL club with the scarlet jerseys. Anyway, Simmons wound up going with Tottenham Hotspur - not sure who their sponsor is.) As I was browsing through that piece (6000 words - I wasn't "reading" the thing), I got to thinking of this very same issue with respect to my teams, both the Sabres and the Bills; would it be unpalatable for the Sabres to feature prominent endorsements on their jerseys? Would it matter if it was EPL style -- with one major sponsor -- or NASCAR style -- with as many as space will allow? What if it were something in between, a la HSBC's name and bowtie logo prominently across the abdomeinal area, with big Rich Products patches on the arms? At the end of the day, I think I'd be okay with it. Eventually. If a future team came together and made a run like '05-'06, it just wouldn't matter what their jerseys looked like. Wait. I mean, it wouldn't matter what their jerseys looked like owing to advertisements appearing theron. It would matter if their jerseys sported that hideous slug crest.
PTS Posted July 20, 2006 Report Posted July 20, 2006 My guess is this day will come in American Pro Sports. However, I don't think it will be tacky like the Euro hockey teams do it. I can see a logo on a helment and maybe one on the back of a jersey.
TM8-PL16 Posted July 20, 2006 Report Posted July 20, 2006 I would approve the Pepsi logo on the jersey's... but that is about it :P :D ;) (inside joke... I am a huge Pepsi fan and am on a personal crusade to rid the world of coca-cola... ) but seriously, a few small patches placed properly wouldn't be the end of the world, but if they go all out Nascar style or go to naming the teams by the company names, that is too much.
BetweenThePipes00 Posted July 20, 2006 Author Report Posted July 20, 2006 I would approve the Pepsi logo on the jersey's... but that is about it :P :D ;) (inside joke... I am a huge Pepsi fan and am on a person crusade to rid the world of coca-cola... ) I wish he was kidding ... I am a huge Pepsi guy too but ... some of the things he says to innocent waitresses ... :blink: ;)
X. Benedict Posted July 20, 2006 Report Posted July 20, 2006 I would approve the Pepsi logo on the jersey's... but that is about it :P :D ;) (inside joke... I am a huge Pepsi fan and am on a personal crusade to rid the world of coca-cola... ) but seriously, a few small patches placed properly wouldn't be the end of the world, but if they go all out Nascar style or go to naming the teams by the company names, that is too much. That was the Bisons original logo, so I could live with that.
Orange Seats Posted July 20, 2006 Report Posted July 20, 2006 I remember when Tops logos showed up on the Buffalo Blizzard jerseys. I kinda knew that was the beginning of the end.
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