A Rose by Any Other Name

Names are important in business. It is the first impression you make with a potential consumer and you always want that to be great. Or even if it isn't great, you at least want it to be memorable. I'm going to begin talking about basketball in a moment, and you may get confused why I would start a post discussing the importance of a name, and then delve into a conversation about sports, but bear with me.

New York sports teams are usually global brands or at least have a sizeable national following. Part of that comes with marquee players and championships, and the other part comes with the fact that the city they represent is the worldwide center for business. This is certainly a case with the Yankees, as well as the Giants and Jets (the football teams don't have a global appeal because it is very much an American sport despite how many games they stage a year overseas).

In basketball, it seems to be a different case though. In basketball, the storied franchises are the Celtics and the Lakers. New York just doesn't have the appeal of those other two. Part of it is the fact that they have become a laughing stock, and the other part is that they really have no identity. And here is where we come back to this name business.

They are known as the New York Knickerbockers. Knickerbockers are a pair of baggy knee-length trousers that were worn while playing baseball in the late 1800s and early 1900s, and was eventually adopted as the name of the sports club who played the first game of baseball in Hoboken in 1846. Because of this legacy the first owner of the basketball team adopted it as his team's name. It would work fine in baseball where teams are named after the color of their Sox (baseball apparently doesn't care for spelling), but in basketball it doesn't quite fit. Might as well call yourselves the Manhattan Pantaloons.

While we're on the subject of names, let's turn to a team that will soon make New York it's home. The current New Jersey Nets, who in three years will become the Brooklyn Nets. That's like a football team being called the New Jersey End Zones, or a hockey team known as the Brooklyn Goals, or maybe if the United States wants to try out a new name for their Ryder Cup golf team they can go with the Holes.

I understand the importance of a name and a tradition. The Devil Rays changed themselves to the Rays because omitting that one word was meant to erase their long penchant for losing (which it did). But teams need to understand the importance of a name as a marketing tool. Do you know how many people root for the Titans because of their awesome name and sweet uniforms. Or the Buccaneers because of their name, uniforms, and the fact that they have a pirate ship in their stadium. Are these true fans? Some could argue no, and if they don't follow the players and the teams progress I would agree with them. But do they buy jerseys, hats, and if they live around the area...tickets? Yes, and that's reason enough to do it.

Fans want to be excited by sports. And in order to attract new fans you need an enticing name, and stylish colors that even people who aren't fans will buy, so you can make money on merchandising. Do the Nets and their Navy, Silver, and Red appeal to anyone? Do the Knicks and their Orange and Blue?

No, but they have their history and to change a name would be to alienate the fans that are invested in that history. I would never expect a team with a legacy like the Knicks to do such a thing. But the Nets are a different story. They're moving to a new city in a new state, so why not have a new identity for your new fanbase. Especially after the historically bad season they're having this year.

-- Steve Creswick
Ad Doctor

NBA All-Star Weekend

Comparing the major sports in this country is a difficult task that can never really be done definitively, because they all bring different enjoyable aspects.

For instance, Major League Baseball has the single hardest act in sports (hitting a baseball), an underlying mental match-up between pitcher and hitter, and also between manager and manager, that the common fan might not know about, or realize the severity of, and it is the only sport where time can not run out on you. You will always have a chance to come back until you give up that very last out.

The National Football League has unparalleled parity, whether for good or ill, jaw-dropping hits, and an emphasis on teamwork, as every single player in the field has an impact, whether directly or indirectly.

The National Basketball Association has constant scoring, unlimited highlight plays, and as I mentioned in my Olympics post, one of the most important facets of American Sports, star athletes. This last bit being the one area where the NBA far-and-away beats both Major League Baseball and the National Football League. That's not to say it is a better sport, just that it's all-star game offers something the other Big Two cannot.


The Pro-Bowl has long been a joke, and while Baseball does have all of its well-recognized stars in attendance, the sport can be so fickle based on so many aspects that they don't always excel during the all-star exhibition, not to mention the aspect mentioned before (about the clock never running out) can make the event go too long, and often does.

But the NBA has an excellent showcase of all their talent, where everyone has a chance to put up points and make a few highlight plays. Not to mention contests like the Dunk Contest and Three-Point Contest that can wow the audiences, and leave them talking about it the next week, further exposing their star talent. (The Home Run Derby did that same for Josh Hamilton, though it is rarely an exciting event.)

So since the NBA has a head-start when it comes to promoting their best players, what can other sports do to catch up?

MLB could have better talent in the Home Run Derby which might make things more interesting, and perhaps add some sort of fielding competition. But when it comes to the exhibition game the old mantra that good pitching beats good hitting is often proven true, so there is an unfixable fundamental flaw right there that might prevent an overly exciting exhibition.

The NFL has a harder time because it is such a physical game that the toll taken on the bodies of its best athletes prevents them from wanting to take part in the unneccesary punishment. And part of the appeal was that they at least got a week vacation in Hawaii out of the deal, but now with the game moved to the Super Bowl city, it is not nearly as appealing for the players. Maybe if they made it a flag football game, so people weren't afraid of injury? No, people like to see hitting too much. They would never go for that watered-down a version of the sport. I guess there's really nothing they can do.

Maybe the NBA's ability to host a compelling all-star weekend is just another innate aspect that differentiates it from the other two major American sports.

-- Steve Creswick
Ad Doctor