Sport Blogger

Twitter, the 140 character social media outlet has undoubtedly changed the way we look at icons we revere. What once started out as a forum for sport athletes to stay connected with their fanbase is now taking the shape of harnessing brand engagement viz. sport marketing. Notice, I will not use the term ‘sports marketing’ throughout my piece as I’m a firm believer of Stephen Hardy and his thoughts on ‘sports marketing’ connoting an industry of highly diverse and un-coordinated segments with little commonality. 

Twitter is a boon for sport fans tracking every move of their much cherished sport athlete and wanting to stay connected with their idols beyond the tube or at a distance from the action. Sport brands till date have utilized Twitter as a means of creating noise for their campaign as an ancillary through hashtags. Hashtags though do not ensure foolproof success or top of the mind recall for any particular campaign. Just as the concept of a product life cycle, even Twitter Sport Marketing campaigns in my view have a life cycle spanning a few days or at most a couple of months. 

In order to effectively engage the audience and fans who track every movement and development of their favorite athletes, brands need to reach out via personal endorsement on Twitter. Imagine the sway avid sport athlete tweeters like Rafa or Djokovic will have over their loyal followers when they imbibe the brand and its characteristics within their daily tweeting routine. Personal brand endorsement will not only help major sports brands reach its intended audience in a cost effective manner but also ensure brand advocacy and top of the mind recall which is extremely difficult to achieve via mass media campaign.

The trick here lies in sport athletes advocating brands sporadically and not as a TVC wherein one is engulfed by commercial aspects of the product. Through a right mix of moral judgment and indirect consumer appeal, brands can effectively evoke the consumer to take action thereby directly impacting demand.

Another day, another disappointing injury withdrawal from the Indian camp. The latest culprit (high profile) caught in the so called quagmire of injuries is Sachin Tendulkar. What this means is that the wait for Master Blaster’s 100th century gets agonizingly longer.

As if the existing injury woes were already not a headache for the aggrieving Men in Blue, Tendulkar’s exit is bound to leave a slight psychological dent on the entire team. Waking up to unpleasant news each day is really not an ideal situation for any team touring England, regarded as one of the most difficult places to come up with the goods without assessing the conditions.

India has astonishingly used up a total of 28 players till date in this series and the number just seems to to be getting bigger by the day, with an average of almost  two casualties every week!

Luck sure seems to be favouring the out of favoured in this series. Whoever would have thought of Manoj Tiwary being called up to the Indian camp as a cover-up for the untested Sharma?! The poor lad had no inkling whatsoever of him being considered as ‘cover-up’ and was busy representing the Bangalore Electricity Board in a League match before being called up as a last minute replacement for the injured Little Master. The Bengal skipper has been duly rewarded for his superlative performances with the India ‘A’ squad. S. Badrinath has joined the coveted list of the Great Indian Injury cover-up as a replacement for Sachin Tendulkar.

Bad luck as well as MSD & Co. seem to be running on the same track, with neither refusing to let up. After a promising batting performance in the first ODI c/o some sensible strokeplay and solid foundation at the beginning of the innings, the match was unfortunately washed away after India seemed to be in the driver’s seat. Dravid was third time unlucky with the DRS, being adjudged out after by third umpire inspite of Hotspot failing to detect even a faint edge.

With four remaining matches, India must now focus on what little is left on the once widespread platter. It is essential that the blue brigade end the series on a high, not letting injuries, bad luck and gross umpiring flaws come in the way of their quest to regain the lost respect and pride rampantly crushed by England till this point.

After last evening’s debacle against Liverpool, Wenger must be left wondering how to flay the aggression of Arsenal fans who are now wearing thin of patience.  Gunners performance to say the least, was sorry. Its shocking to see one of the most dominant teams in EPL over the years, being reduced to resemble an amateurish side that has just been promoted to top flight. If yesterday was any indication of worse times to come at the club, a complete overhaul is needed to restore the image of the club.

Coming back to yesterday’s game, it was an unpleasant sight to watch one of the most elegant passing clubs in the world, struggling to string a series of passes together and getting stuck for majority of the match in a third of the pitch. Emmanuel Frimpong was red-carded thanks to a horrendous tackle which once again raises questions on his ability to handle pressure in top flight. In an already woe ridden club grappling with more issues on hand than what they can handle at the moment, centre-back Laurent Koscielny had to be substituted out of the encounter.

Samir Nasri seemed intent on proving why he’s considered one of the safest bets of EPL going into the future, delighting fans in what may be one of his last appearances for Arsenal. With the ball under his feet, Nasri not only oozed the sense of authority but also came close to scoring on a couple of ocassions for the Gunners.

Arsenal suffered their first hiccup after Aaron Ramsey’s own goal and were subjected to a last gasp strike c/o substitute Luis Suarez. Suarez sprung like a buck after a carefully executed counter attack, handing The Reds their first victory at Arsenal, which was no doubt well deserved, after more than a decade.

It is up to Wenger now to silence the irate fans who were agonized after the thrashing meted out to them yesterday. Fans once again reiterated their stance for the Arsenal management to invest in at least a couple of well known names before it becomes too late. Wenger has his task well cut out before the next game; repose fans faith in the club as well as rally the players to come up with a stellar performance.

To sum up Arsenal and their slim chance of finishing within the top four this season, if the club does not get its act right in the beginning of the season itself, it risks becoming a victim of its own backfired strategy.

M.S. Dhoni was in for a rude shock yesterday when it was confirmed that the Singh duo namely: Yuvraj Singh and Harbhajan Singh will play no further part in the ongoing test series due to their respective injuries. The Turbanator has been sidelined for the next 4 weeks with a Grade 1 Abdominal Muscle Strain whereas, Yuvi will be laid low for 3 weeks due to a fracture in the left index finger.

The phenomenal question reeling everybody’s mind is, how did Bhajji actually  manage to pick up an Abdominal Strain when he has seldom strained himself in this series? Receiving flak from every quarter due to his poor bowling performance in the first two tests, the offie, who has claimed more than 400 wickets in test cricket, has looked a shadow of his old self. What may be interesting to note over the last two tests is the fact that even Dhoni’s patience seems to be wearing out thick and fast with the temperamental Punjab bowler. The man who was essentially India’s second bowling change in test matches was virtually reduced to an extra in the second test, fielding near the boundary. Harbhajan was brought on by the Indian skipper only around the 40th over during the second innings of the second test held at Nottingham which showed a complete lack of faith in MS Dhoni’s belief in the Turbanator’s ability.

Technically, Harbhajan seems to still possess the same sting, but, what is lacking is the self-confidence to grab wickets. The lynch pin of Indian spin bowling attack post Kumble’s retirement has been reduced to an incumbent bowler over the past year. The once wicket taking bowler is now a run containing bowler, looking to stem the flow of runs rather than go for the kill. Maybe, Bhajji just needs a sports psychologist who is able to analyze his mental block and reform himself.

Coming to Yuvi, bad luck continues to mar his growth as he seems to be grappling from one injury to another. Though, he seems to be in the pink of his health over the past few years, looking extremely fit and agile, the Man of the Series of ICC Cricket World Cup 2011 has no option but to pack his bags and head home.

Another burning issue which can be raised with so many injuries striking key Indian players is- injury management. It is whimsical to witness so many key Indian players break down after every match due to some injury, most of which are related to stress and work-overload. With BCCI laughing its way to the bank, players are the individuals bearing the brunt for a cramped schedule. The Great Indian Cricket Dream seems to be coming to a grinding halt with the Men in Blue looking dejected and really dis-spirited on field. Most of the Indian players seem to be craving for a well deserved break to cool down their breaking bodies.

The England tour is proving to be a major embarrassment for the Men in Blue staking their claim as the numero uno test team in the world. Now is the time for the Indian team to get their act/s right before its gets too late. With third test round the corner, India have to lift themselves to have any chance of leveling the series.

The Indian pace trio pulled off a Robin Hood-esque spectacle on the opening day of the first test in Nottingham, bagging three wickets apiece. Whether or not they had an inkling of Nottingham being known as the Robin Hood county had little to do with their renewed performance, after a largely sporadic effort in the first test.

Sreesanth or rather Sree ‘Shaanth’ was the pick of the bowlers, completely bamboozling the opposition with his disciplined bowling. What was noteworthy during his bowling effort was the realization to stick within his limits, consistently pitching the ball fuller and letting the pitch do the rest. It was really a sight lo and behold, not to notice him losing his cool or performing his usual on-field antics due to frustration the entire day. It was almost as if he was on a leash and at his best behaviour, trying hard to please the principal of a college after serving a suspension notice. The principal in this case being MS Dhoni who appeared to be really pleased with Sreesanth’s effort through the day.

Not far to be left behind, Praveen Kumar carried forward his incessant pegging, seldom giving an inch to the opposition. Kumar dried up one end with his precision bowling, in turn applying additional pressure on the English batsman, majority of whom were victims of not giving due respect to the seaming and swinging ball. 

After having England on the mat at one stage for 120-8, Broad and Swann staged a fantastic partnership taking attack to the pacers. Broad especially seemed to have come out with a clear brief from coach Andy Flower, play his natural game and try to give each ball the kitchen sink treatment, or so it seemed. The entertaining partnership which added precious runs to the England kitty came to an abrupt end when Swann gloved an unplayable delivery that rose like a cobra, into the waiting hands of the second slip.

Thanks to the resplendent knock by Broad, England did manage to avoid posting an embarrassing total. The day at large was dominated by the Men In Blue who have gotten into the habit of staging a magnificent comeback, time and again after a not-so-great start to the series.

Does the following name, Luís André de Pina Cabral e Villas-Boas, strike a chord with football fans? If the name sounds a bit familiar, the man commonly referred to as André Villas-Boas (AVB) is currently the center of attraction in EPL, even overshadowing the luminous Chelsea players in the pre-season build-up.

So, why is there so much hype surrounding the latest entrant to the Chelsea coach/es club, entrusted with the responsibility of ensuring EPL as well as most importantly UEFA Champions League success?! Lets analyze the enigma engulfing AVB. 

Firstly, André Villas-Boas is the youngest coach to win a European title during his highly publicized stint at FC Porto. Secondly, his whopping 13.3 million pounds move to Chelsea from FC Porto is the most expensive ever in the history of football. Thirdly, (here’s when things get better) he is considered to be a prodigy of the famed Jose Mourinho, working as an as an assistant coach under Mourinho at FC Porto.

No wonder then, that the man who got his first UEFA coaching license at the age of 17 has been a subject of much adulation by fans and media alike. Delving further into the functioning of AVB, like his mentor Mourinho, he considers it a prerogative to technically analyze every opponent in the League, chalking out their strengths and weaknesses well before going into the match. His astute understanding of the game and motivational ability to derive the best out of what he has on his hands are two highly spoken qualities of the Portuguese.

Therefore, in fact, it comes as no surprise that Roman Abrahamovich hastily scrambled to sign André Villas-Boas and pay the buy-out clause to land him at Stamford Bridge. This move has surely increased Abrahamovich’s dipping rating points after a disappointing season under Carlo Ancelloti, who after a wonderful start to the last season lost the plot without any discerning reason. Fans and players at Stamford Bridge seem to be pretty kicked with AVB coming in; its as if he has brought in a fresh belief in the club that required an assuring influence.