It was Michael Jordan who gave the sage advice that aspiring athletes should “Just play. Have fun. Enjoy the game.”
Some may say that it is a great deal easier to utter such words of wisdom when you have earned USD$93million from playing sport. Yet even playing as a professional athlete it is important that you enjoy your work and that you do have fun.
The problem is with sport now being such big business sometimes clubs and coaches forget that their assets are in fact human beings, and that life is to be lived. There should be fun and enjoyment, and that need not only come when you are winning.
So last week we begged that the farce of having Usain Bolt’s trial to become a part of the Central Coast Mariners (Stop The Farce) be brought to an abrupt end on the grounds that he is firstly not good enough to play at that level, and secondly because it is an incredible waste of money, money that could be better spent developing talented Australian athletes.
Following that article a number of people made comment that we had missed the point of Usain Bolt’s presence in Australia. That this was a marketing gamble by the Mariners and the FFA. That it had garnered media coverage for the club and the A-League around the globe and therefore had been a success.
This of course does depend on how you measure success. If it is purely along the lines of any publicity is good publicity than maybe it has been a success. If however people are commenting on how farcical the stunt is then one has to wonder whether the damage will be long term.
Of course we may be underestimating the long term marketing plans of the FFA. Having introduced Marquee players to the A-League, big name players whose salaries fall outside of the salary cap, and then extended that exemption to Australian Marquee players maybe the FFA are planning to announce the option of a celebrity player to the A-League.
Each franchise can have the option of selecting a celebrity from the sporting world such as Usain Bolt, or from the entertainment industry to take up one of the slots in their squad. This Celebrity will obviously open up the A-League to a whole new market of potential fans and will no doubt boost merchandise sales.
It opens up a realm of possibilities. Rod Stewart may well take up the option of coming on as a late substitute as long as his hit “Young Turks” becomes one of the tunes played as the team takes the field.
Maybe American heartthrob Channing Tatum could be lured to Australia to play, having apparently been a handy player at Varsity level in the USA.
Then there is the possibility of one of the Franchises picking up Justin Bieber, who by all accounts like Usain Bolt is a keen footballer of moderate talent. He is reported to be talented by amateur standards, but a fair way of being good enough to have challenged for a professional contract. However with the pulling power of his band of followers, the ever-loyal Beliebers, he could well be an attractive proposition for a Celebrity player slot.
Both of these signings would help garner the A-League support in the USA. Who knows it may end up matching the coverage Sam Kerr already generates through her football performances.
However who would pass up the opportunity of having Liam Gallagher running out for Melbourne City and “Wonderwall” blaring out every time City’s keeper sets up a defensive wall at a free kick?
Imagine having Dr Who line up in the A-League. How many new fans could that pull in? Actor Matt Smith who was the 11th actor to play the time-travelling Doctor, played for the youth teams of Northampton Town and Nottingham Forest and was even approached for trials by Leicester City. Unfortunately a back injury brought an end to his footballing dreams and he turned to acting. No doubt, like Usain Bolt he would welcome the opportunity of seeing his youthful dreams fulfilled with an A-League contract.
Possibly the most interesting recruit could be celebrity Chef Gordon Ramsay. No doubt there would be huge cross marketing possibilities with such a signing, but also there would be the risk of more than a few red cards for abuse of a referee. Ramsay played county football for Warwickshire U-14s and later had a trial with Glasgow Rangers. He did not play for Rangers as was once claimed. Unfortunately his career was hampered by injury before it even started, and he even limped off injured in a charity match. So what with his language and injury history he may be a huge risk as a signing. However from a marketing perspective he could be a huge drawcard.
Who would your celebrity signing be, and who would be the best fit for your club?
The possibilities are endless. Maybe the FFA and the Mariners have genuinely hit on a marketing initiative to pull people back to the A-League. The only thing they need to change is rather than paying the celebrities large sums of money for their image helping publicise the competition, maybe they should offer places in each Franchises side to the highest bidder?
