Halftime Hype

With nothing really legitimate to blog about these past couple of weeks, I've decided to dig back into an old draft and finish it for all you elite readers out there.


In our day and age, more than ever, we are seeing sports and media, specifically music, come to a crossroads. Sports stars have plenty of references in rap songs and are branching out in the entertainment world. Plus, many players have some form of strange discography on their record (The Big Diesel and Ron Artest with their rap albums and even Kobe has made a song). On TV, just flip to Channel 7 on a Tuesday night and you'll find not one, but two or three athletes competing on Shaq vs. Of course, this whole concept isn't new. But it suddenly struck me after reading about Lebron's new form of promotion.

In very obvious referencing, Kanye West titled a song on his Graduation album after the infamous "Barry Bonds." Only a few months ago, during the NBA Finals, Lil Wayne made it clear that he was rooting for #24 upon the release of "Kobe Bryant." The point is, this shows that NBA players are embraced as part of pop culture. Frankly, I haven't heard any songs with rhymes for David Beckham or Roger Federer. Furthermore, Drake's "Uptown" features fellow rapper Bun B paying tribute to the "great Mike." Jay-Z has named several NBA players in his tracks, most recently, D-Wade and Lebron in "Empire State of Mind."And those are just a few mainstream references. Looking at the big picture, it shows just how relevant professional basketball has become.

The NBA continues to complete with the NFL, MLB, (and the rest of the world) for ratings. What better way to promote themselves than by branching out? We need more appearances by Lebron James on the Jay Leno Show. More tweets by Shaq. I'm probably biased in saying this, but from a pure entertainment standpoint, the NBA is more versatile than the most sports leagues. Additionally, at least in Los Angeles, chances are that people are more up to date with the Lakers' recent victories than the Dodgers standings. I can't speak for other cities, but I'm sure the L.A. example applies to numerous other cities across America.

Maybe, though, we should look outside of the U.S. to promote our homemade produce. Why not create an ad featuring Steve Nash and Christiano Ronaldo. True, marketing of this kind would probably come from Nike and companies not directly affiliated with the NBA. Or we can get Phil Jackson and Tiger Woods together for a 30-second slot. I know I couldn't stop laughing when I saw Jackson in a new T-Mobile commercial. However, at the same time, his presence made me pay more attention to the product. So, instead of hitting one demographic with a single sports star, those marketing experts should get a couple of ballers and entice multiple demographics. International appeal is the key.

One surefire way for the NBA to attract viewers is by convincing marketing. One of the best ads I've ever seen came during the playoffs last year, in which Kanye's "Amazing" played over a memorable playoff highlight. Besides the excellent selection of highlights, the song made the commerical all the more special. I'm not saying that the NBA has to go with Kanye year after year - although, I wouldn't mind - but that it should continue to use promotional skills to put out its product.

In today's world, media is bustling. We live in an age where players have blogs and twitters. An age in which the stars of our league are friends with the stars of other leagues and industries. Why not take advantage of it?

For your amusement: