chompin' at the bit

thisadvertisinglife:

when I’m waiting on someone to compliment my clever copy

how I feel when a project is finally finished

when I start noticing changes I wasn’t told about

when I realize the cleaning lady is in the restroom

when I’m the first in the office to find the newest internet thing

pitching a bunch of concepts that nobody likes

and finally: when the client says, “make this go viral”

Its all about consistency. How ‘bout the Knicks? The Rangers? The Jets? Islanders? Mets? Just named you five other teams. But in the city that made this country what it is today, beautiful Beantown, we only have 4. 4 teams that we live, breathe and die for. We dont have to hear about other teams representing the same huge, uneducated city. Boston is a mold; a framework for how proud Americans can live together, work hard, drink hard, and prosper.

For a few days, a few beautiful winter days in Boston, most of the defending Stanley Cup Champs hit the snooze button, kick back and look forward to the second half of the 2011-2012 season.

There’s one thing we can say so far about this season. It’s that work ethic has provided this puck squad with a sort of consistency that this town has been waiting for for decades. Oh! And that the Canucks are still pieces of shit; the vermin of the NHL. The Bruins have played confident, humble and determined hockey. They have shown pride in defending not only that sexy piece of silver, but each other. Night in and night out, our speed, physicality and endurance on all four lines has obliterated weaker opponents, and has sent the better teams to the ice-bath.

Obviously we cared less about the 3-7 start. More important was the way this team would respond to adversity, and they did it gracefully. The B’s won the next 10 games, outscoring their opponents 47-17 in what was the most memorable Movember in history. It was something that happens once in a hockey era, with the Bruins capturing 25 out of 26 possible points. The only one they didn’t get (for an entire month!) was a years-off-your-life loss to Detroit in a shootout.

Goaltending as well as team defense has been about as good as it gets. But in the past three weeks are so, it hasn’t been there.  I’m not worried, but the Bruins of late are giving up breakaways, chasing in their own zone and struggling to get the puck out. I’m waiting to see Steve Montador hop over the bench and line up with Johnny Boychuk. Tuukka and Timmy have each lost their fair share of leads, and I believe they just need a little break (after last night at the ASG, maybe not Thomas).

Here’s some things to look for in the second half:

INJURIES - Fine, I’ll say it. The champs have been beyond lucky in the injury department, and with superstars dropping like flies let’s hope that stays the same. We simply can’t afford to lose a defenseman or an impact winger.

DEFENSE - It’s the root of all their success, but as I mentioned has been lacking as a unit.  No surprise they’ve dropped to 4th in the league in goals against and 7th in penalty kill %.

GOALTENDING - I hope I’m wrong when I say that the starting goalie “competition” will hurt this team in the end. Timmy hasn’t done enough to warrant a benching, but Tuukka has done plenty to prove he can be anyone’s numero uno. Just keep stopping pucks when Claude tells you to, boys.

*****Written May 5th, 2011

It used to feel so special, being a Sox fan and all.  Perpetual disappointment, missed bedtimes, Pedro’s Jheri curls.  My dad used to say we were the best fans in sports, and I felt it.  I felt it when we lost in the run-up to the World Series in 2003; only to win our first in 86 years the next season. 

But now?  Not so much.

If I was to tell you that a sales and marketing agency owned a baseball franchise, the most successful soccer club in history, and the face of the NBA, you would think success should come easy.  Well that’s not the case for Fenway Sports Group, whose recent acquisitions of “Lebron James” and “Liverpool FC” are leaving a bad taste in the mouths of their bread-and-butter client, the Fenway faithful.

When the group acquired the Boston Red Sox, their main goal was to rid Beantown of its 86-year championship drought.  The tough task was met with a brilliant PR campaign, which many know better as “Red Sox Nation.”  The owners probably couldn’t have imagined the rise in popularity, as people from all over the world began to adopt the unique fervor of Red Sox Nation.  People were allowed to purchase “citizen” cards, and Fenway Park began its record-setting “sellout streak.”

After two championships, Red Sox fans had a lot to cheer about and the team couldn’t have done it without their support. 

But how do the owners repay their fan-base?  By buying a soccer team and rights to arguably one of the most disliked athletes in Boston.  All the money in the world can’t replace the most unique B2C relationship in all of sports, yet FSG continues to throw their financial success in the face of their most successful asset.  

So what has come of this campaign and the recent business ventures by the Red Sox ownership?

The result is simple: mediocrity. Keeping caddies and driving ranges in business, the team finished third in the division, missing the playoffs for the first time since winning the World Series in 2007.  And this past offseason, in attempts to relieve their fans’ disdain, the Sox spent more money than any team in the offseason, acquiring two players within two days that cost over $300 million (reminds you of a familiar foe, no?). It’s no wonder that last year NESN television (also owned by FSG) saw its “worst overall ratings” in years.

Maybe I should have expected that Red Sox Nation would become just another pot on the executive stove.  But when a PR campaign relies on the dedication of its customers, the latter must be reassured that the product at hand is a priority.  Otherwise, no one could afford a hundred dollar balcony seat, a nine dollar draft beer, or better yet, 86 more years of agony and defeat.

So as the money continues to pour out of Fenway Park, and the Red Sox look to right the ship on their 0-7 start of 2011, I ask you one simple question: is Red Sox Nation in need of a revolution?  I think Bostonians know a thing or two about that.