Wednesday, May 3, 2017

Corporate Sponsorship

Figure 1. Eddie the Coca Cola Bear
Hi everyone, my name is Eddie the Coca Cola bear. Have you ever heard of Coca Cola? The name is everywhere! You see, large businesses like mine have big offices with lots of employees that make the big important decisions. One of those things they have to decide upon is a way to get their business better known to the public. They use many many strategies to do this, but one of the most important ones is a form of advertising called Corporate Sponsorship. Corporate sponsorship is a long term agreement between a company and another event. This agreement is beneficial for both groups involved.

Corporate Sponsorships come in all different types and are very common in sports. Sponsorships vary in all sizes as well. For example in sports, different companies will sponsor an entire sports league, one team, or even one individual athlete. In this short commercial below, Gatorade and the NHL worked together to create an idea that Gatorade increases the player’s skills. Gatorade is a major sponsor of the NHL and if you pay close attention during a hockey game, you will notice all of the player’s have the same green Gatorade bottle. This is a part of the agreement between the sponsorship.



One man you may know, a basketball legend named Michael Jordan got his claim to fame for his basketball skills and made a lot of money off of teaming up with bigger companies to eventually make his own brand of clothing. Back in 1985, Michael Jordan was at the prime of his basketball career and another company called Nike noticed. The company and the athlete teamed up and collaborated on basketball shoes, which eventually spiraled into Michael Jordan’s own brand called Air Jordan. The very first shoe, called the Jordan I, was an instant hit. Now, we are all the way up to the 31st pair, stylized as Jordan XXXI. This relationship between Michael Jordan and Nike became iconic, and it created many other opportunities for corporate sponsorship that all were because of the Jordan I. Michael Jordan is the highest paid athlete, and while he worked hard all his life, never gave up, and never stopped practicing his unmatched skill earned him the relationship with Nike and the endless fortune to come.

Figure 2. A photo of an Eagles helmet and Wawa hoagies
Sponsorships don’t need to be on a national level, they can be smaller scale on the local level too. The Philadelphia Eagles, a professional football team has a partnership with a convenience store called Wawa. This is different than a company being associated with the NFL. Wawa only has locations in six states and is a relatively small company. To get their name out there they teamed up with the Eagles and during football season Wawa will advertise “the official hoagie of the Philadelphia Eagles” and on the other hand you will see the name Wawa plastered all over the Eagles stadium. Or maybe during an eagles game on television, you might hear an announcer say something like “brought to you by Wawa.” Wawa also has gift cards with the Eagles logo, they wrap hoagies with Eagle themed paper, and many other different things.

Corporate sponsorship is everywhere you look, even when you aren’t looking for it. Sponsorships help both companies make money because of the initial deal they have between them, as well as the long term partnership that will always have the two companies going hand in hand. Eventually, people naturally associate the two without even thinking about it because the most successful corporate sponsorships will last for years.

Competitive Bloodshed

Figure 1 - UFC fighter Conor McGregor with his two championship belts
Do you know who this man is?  For those of you that don't, it's UFC lightweight champion and former featherweight champion, Conor McGregor.  Conor is the face of the Ultimate Fighting Championship, which is the most popular blood sport in the United States today.  Blood sports can be defined as "a category of sport or entertainment that involves the killing or injuring of animals for the pleasure of spectators, or more broadly sports that involve bloodshed" (1).  Blood sports have been around for centuries.  The origin of human blood sports began with the gladiators of ancient Rome.  Today's blood sports include boxing and mixed martial arts.  Blood sports that involve animals began in Europe with the royal families of early European monarchies.  Animal blood sports have seen a rise in popularity today, especially in the United Kingdom.  Due to the cruel nature of these games, there has been much controversy surrounding animal blood sports in today's society, but human blood sports have become the forefront in modern entertainment.

It is human nature to be intrigued by violence in society, and the Romans were the first civilization to turn this attraction to sport.  They were a violent society to begin with, due to
Figure 2 - gladiatorial battles of ancient Rome in the Colosseum
their many military triumphs.  "This appetite for violence not only manifested itself in Rome's imperialist policy, but also in its most well known sport - the gladiatorial combats" (2).  Those warriors fought to the death for the entertainment of the public in a famous arena called the Colosseum.  Gladiators were the superstars of their day (2), and the most famous were rewarded with fame, glory, and fortune (2).  Fighters like McGregor are the modern day gladiators.  He is a mixed martial artist, which is a full combat sport that can be performed either standing or on the ground, and features striking and grappling from all martial arts (3).  Along with MMA, boxing is also a modern day human blood sport, although not as popular.  Boxing is a stand up punching match between two fighters that wear big padded gloves.  Although these two are the main blood sports of modern entertainment, they differ in many ways.  The main way that they differ is in intensity, MMA can be described as a much more savage sport with a no rules feel to the fight, whereas boxing is a sport that has a more tamed feel and is built on respect.  Despite their differences, they have evolved from the ancient tradition of gladiatorial battles and have turned into the blood sports for today's society.



Figure 3 - a fox tossing tournament
Animal blood sports are defined as practices that involve bloodshed or include the death of animals for sport.  These began in the 16th to 17th centuries and are still being practiced today.  Originally, the blood in blood sports didn't refer to the blood of the animals being shed, but the royal blood of the people that participated in the events, because it was a thing only done by royalty (4).  Ancient examples of these games were very simple and very gory.  Fox tossing and goose pulling are two popular ones that featured very simple rules and a high death toll.  Fox tossing consisted of throwing animals in the air and seeing whose throw could reach the greatest height, and the object of goose pulling was to try and pull the head of a greased goose clean off without letting it slip out of your grip (4).  Modern animal blood sports involve more animal on animal combat, including hare coursing and badger baiting.  These games feature wild animals being hunted and ripped apart by dogs (5).  The dogs that are the best at this kind of hunting are called sighthounds, as they are able to use their speed and vision to catch the quick animals rather than their sense of smell (5).  These modern day blood sports are illegal and are seeing a rise in popularity, especially in the United Kingdom.

Animal blood sports are very cruel and unforgiving to the animals because of their inability to defend themselves during the participation of these games, which has led to these types of practices being illegal.  There are many reasons as to why blood sports are illegal, some being that they promote animal cruelty, they go hand in hand with illegal gambling that
Figure 4 - an ASPCA ad

happens with the participation of these events, and they lead to the selling of illegal drugs at these events as well (6).  In the UK, government agencies have been tasked with confronting the crimes and putting a stop to them (5).  In the United States, illegal blood sports such as dog or cockfighting, are being cracked down on by local police forces and some animal welfare groups such as the ASPCA or PETA.  What started out as a leisure sport played by European royalty has become a cruel, widespread game that is being tracked down and stopped by authorities all over the globe.






References

(1) Blood sport. Wikipedia. Retrieved from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blood_sport 

(2) The Gladiators of Rome: Blood Sport in the Ancient Empire. Ancient Origins. Retrieved from http://www.ancient-origins.net/history/gladiators-rome-blood-sport-ancient-empire-002574

(3) Mixed Martial Arts. Wikipedia. Retrieved from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mixed_martial_arts

(4) Blood Sports - A Cruel History of Sports. Topend Sports. Retrieved from http://www.topendsports.com/sport/blood-sports.htm

(5) Brutal Blood Sports are on the Rise in the UK. Vice News. Retrieved from https://news.vice.com/article/brutal-blood-sports-are-on-the-rise-in-the-uk

(6) ACT Newsletter - Animal Bloodsports. Petfinder. Retrieved from https://www.petfinder.com/helping-pets/animal-cruelty/animal-cruelty-animal-fighting/

Figure 1 - https://www.thesun.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2016/11/dsc_8765.jpg?w=960&strip=all 

Figure 2 - https://www.realmofhistory.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/07/12-facts-ancient-roman-gladiators.jpg 

Figure 3 - https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_AQmDA4PDAXznhVvXo0_j1MIOmjSbMBkyyPGroCR6OvJuZPodD14YzfhpAEAWCdNa0QQUlMAAQFu4BbifhXE5r5XaSxg3DIes2yzZ_J63XA3aAwygLM0lCBcp-55RFxeQ7AEmOuaZ12I-/s1600/THE+SPORT+OP+FOX+TOSSING+A+FAVORITE+AMUSEMENT+AT+THE+GERMAN+COURT+200+YEARS+AGO+PRINCESSES+AND+THEIR+LADIES+PARTICIPATING+IN+IT.jpg 

Figure 4 - http://myhero.com/images/guest/g261992/hero91123/ASPCA-&-mei-mei.jpg

Where did my Show Go!

📺Commercialism On TV📺


Hi, I'm Tommy Pickles! Playing in the sand and chasing around the twins all day makes me very tired! To relax sometimes I'll watch TV and during my favorite shows there's commercials. Have you seen commercials on TV? Commercials are all around us! The average amount of time commercials run for is 15 minutes. Wow, that's a lot time just spent on commercials! 
Commercials are short breaks between TV shows that help to sell products and services and make announcements. (Click Example to the right       Commercials might also show previews of new episodes of TV shows.They can be funny😂, serious😑😐, or light-hearted💗. The main goal of for a company's  is to reach YOU the viewers and grab their attention. To grab your attention the commercial producer will make the commercials interesting to a certain group of people. The commercials that are made can cost billions of dollars! Commercials rely on acting, presenting information, and product highlights. Have you ever noticed that a McDonald's cheeseburger looks better on TV than it does in real life? That would be an example of commercial marketing.  Now my pal Chuckie will tell you why companies pay for commercials.


Hi i'm Chuckie Finster, you may wonder why companies pay for commercial advertising? Well' companies pay for commercial time slots, A commercial time slot is Small, specific period during which a commercial is aired.(1)  Company's pay a lot of money to get a prime time time slot because more people will see it.when people pay attention to advertisements the company is able to sell more of their products or ideas. The commercials also can be spread by word of mouth. When a commercial is surprising😱, extremely funny😁, or just acknowledged by many people. such as a Superbowl commercial, people tend to bring it up in conversation which will later allow people to talk about the actual product or advertised idea.

The biggest day for commercials is the SUPERBOWL🏈 it is the biggest sporting event in america over 111 million people watched the Superbowl in 2017 (2). That's a lot of people that would see your prodcuct. The average cost of a commercial during the Superbowl is 5 million dollars. (3)
Many companies bid for a time slot during the Superbowl because of the large number of viewers and they all try to appeal to the emotions of the viewer so they leave a lasting impression.

I hope My buddy Tommy and I left a lasting impression on you. Hopefully next time you are watching our show you will think about what you learned while reading this. See ya later👋👋.











Works Cited

(1)What is slot? definition and meaning. (n.d.). Retrieved May 03, 2017, from http://www.businessdictionary.com/definition/slot.html

(2)Game, T. (2017, March 3). More than 111 million people watched Super Bowl LI. Retrieved May 03, 2017, from http://money.cnn.com/2017/02/06/media/super-bowl-ratings-patriots-falcons/




Tuesday, May 2, 2017

Becoming Pro

Becoming a Pro-gamer
                                                                           Figure 1
Faker SKT T1 Esports player
As you probably already know playing video games is one of the most popular hobbies in the world. There are probably kids all over your middle school that love to play video games. But have you ever wondered how much someone could love video games? The answer is a lot, there are several groups of people all over the world that dedicate their lives to video games. These people are Pro-Gamers and there jobs are to play Esports and video games all day. I know it sounds like a dream come true, but what people don't realize is how hard it is being a Pro-Gamer.

Figure 2                                 
Overwatch Victory screenshot
Well first things first becoming Pro in Esports is just like any other sport, it takes a lot of hard work and countless hours of practice According to the (2) there are only 9000 Pro-Esports players in all of the world. That's less then one percent of players. For reference 1.6 percent of college football players make it into the NFL(1). The next part of becoming pro is getting noticed and showing teams your own individual skills. How most players get recognized is by a games own ladder system. What a ladder is systems is a you start at the bottom of the ladder and play against other people on your step of the ladder. If you win you'll ascend the ladder and If you lose you'll descend the ladder. All of the Pro-players are at the highest point of the ladder. These area's are usually given cool names to help incentivize people to get there. These names consist of Challenger- League of legend , Grand-master - Overwatch , Global Elite - CS.GO. for some of the popular games. Now if you think once you get to be one of the very few Esports Pro's that it becomes easy, you are wrong


Professional Esports player have a very stress filled life style that in many cases is more than the traditional sports pros. Most Pro Esports player clock in around 8-10 hours a day 6 days a week,but sometimes even more than that (2).So it also makes it hard for these Pro's to hang out with friends or have any kind of relationship out of Esports. This is all possible because in most cases when you become a Pro Esports player you will be in a house living with your teammates and coaches. Another stress factor is that in team games, tension can always arise with you and your teammates and at least in other sports your not living with that person all year long. Lastly Esports Pro's have to deal with physical ailments like back strains, Arthritis, deep vein thrombosis and carpal tunnel. But this is all worth it if you can make it to pro status.
Figure 3
League of Legends Final in 2013

Being Pro in Esports can mean that so many glorious things are in your grasp. Several Esports Pro's made over millions of dollars. Also with the growing popularity of Esports it could mean that you could be like League of legends Pro-Player Bjergsen, and have over one- million twitter followers. So next time you hear about someone saying that they want to become a pro gamer you'll know how difficult the process actually is and why the rewards are so great.



reference page
(1)Beer, A. (2014) NFL implementing changes to address underclassmen issue. nfl.com.
Retrieved May 1, 2017, from

http://www.nfl.com/news/story/0ap2000000365987/printable/nfl-implementing-changes-to-address-underclassmen-issue

(2) Horridge, K. (2016, September 26) Going Pro Against the Flow: An Interview with an eSports Athlete. Casino.org. Retrieved May 1, 2017, from

https://www.casino.org/blog/going-pro-against-the-flow-an-interview-with-an-esports-athlete/

Pictures references

Figure 1(2016) Esports “God” Faker’s new SK Telecom T1 contract estimated by insider to be worth $2.5 million: The Esports Observer. Retrieved May 1, 2017, from

http://esportsobserver.com/fakers-new-sk-telecom-t1-contract/

Figure 2 Self produced

Figured 3 Chong, I. (2016, May 9) League of Legends: Riot Games Bans Renegades and TDK From LCS. Gameranx.com. Retrieved May 1, 2017, from

http://gameranx.com/updates/id/51794/article/league-of-legends-riot-games-bans-renegades-and-tdk-from-lcs/




High School Sports

                                                     

                  Figure one                                              
                                                                                                                                                 
                                                                           Going...Going....GONE!!

The shot goes up, the shot goes in, the crowd goes wild! You just hit the game winning shot for your high school basketball team. You drop back, send the pass flying. Game over, you just threw the game winning touchdown for your football team. Have you ever wondered if you would ever be able to experience moments like these? These are some of the moments experienced by high school varsity athletes. Some sports that have varsity programs are football, baseball, basketball, soccer, and track and field.The thing
is, not everyone who plays high school sports is on the varsity team, some of them are on the junior varsity team. What's the difference? Junior varsity teams often have different practices, games, and jerseys than their varsity counterparts. Varsity athletes are the best competition your school has to offer, junior varsity athletes are attempting to get to the varsity level.
                                        
                           Making The Cut                                                             Figure two

When you get to high school, there will be an event called a tryout for high school sports. A tryout is a series of tests that a coach has you perform in order to asses how well you will perform in a certain sport. For example, imagine a basketball tryout. For a basketball tryout, some tests could include sprints, passing, and shooting the ball. For track and field, a coach may test an athlete's ability to run, jump, and throw. These are just some tests coaches may use for these sports. If you do well enough in the tryout, then you make the team. Just because one makes the team doesn't mean they will dress for the varsity sporting events. Once someone makes the team, they will continue to be assessed through practices. Coaches will then place them in either the varsity or junior varsity level. While skill is an important trait when it comes to selecting who plays for the varsity team, it is not the only thing a coach looks for. 


               Figure three                                        Bigger Than the Sport Itself

While having skill is important in the eyes of a coach, it is often not the most important factor when it comes to making the cut. Working hard on the field or court is important, but possessing the ability to work hard outside of competition is something that they look for as well. Sportsmanship is another big thing that coaches like to see in their athletes. Being a good sport, regardless of what the outcome of the sporting event is, serves as an important factor as to whether or not a coach may want you representing their team. 

                                                    What Can You Do?

The biggest thing for you to do as a hopeful varsity athlete would be to work hard, not only in your sport but academically as well. If you don't take care of your academic requirements, you may limit your ability for athletic participation. Many schools have academic standards that student athletes must meet in order to participate in sports. Working hard will show your coach how much the sport means to you and how dedicated you are. A coach will want someone who will give everything they have during a competition. Along with working hard, keeping a good attitude is key to finding yourself on a varsity squad. Staying positive will only benefit you as a hopeful varsity athlete. Work hard, stay positive, and create your own varsity moments. 

If you have any further questions about varsity athletics and how they work, you can talk with a coach or gym teacher within your school.





Sources:

(1)Clip art (2017). ClipArt of Basketball. Retrieved from http://cliparts.co/clip-art-of-basketball

(2)Kelly (2011). High School Sports. Team Sportswear. Retrieved from http://www.shop4teams.com/blog/high-school-sports/

(3)Getty images (2015). Five Hidden Qualities College Coaches Look for In Athletes. retrieved from http://www.stack.com/a/5-hidden-qualities-college-coaches-look-for-in-athletes


W

Sponsorship is Cool!




                
Figure.1 A Picture of me
          Introducing Sponsorship!

Alright, kids! Listen up, Coach C. is speaking! Today we're going to talk about corporate sponsorship. Whats that you ask? Well, Have you ever been a part of a sports team ? Or a school club? Well, have ya? if you have, you'll remember seeing different company names and all sorts of logos on the back of the game jerseys and I bet you wondered what the heck that could possibly mean and why did the coach give us a shirt with names that don't have anything to do with us! This is what we call corporate sponsorship(CS). There are plenty of types of sponsorships but the one we going to be talking about is sponsorship with a nonprofit, I will explain what a nonprofit is in the next paragraph. Sponsorships do not only apply to little guys like you but, also to professional athletes or anyone famous. Remember seeing all those baseball teams wearing the same brand of uniforms? Either Nike or Adidas? well, that's because the baseball teams are sponsees of Adidas or Nike. It is all pretty simple. I will explain it all in the following paragraph.
                   
How it Works
Figure. 2 Sponsorship in Play!
The way sponsorship work is pretty simple, there is a sponsor and a sponsee.The sponsee in this particular event is a nonprofit. A nonprofit is a club or company that does not make money off of what they do, like a little league team. Let's say your local sporting goods store is the sponsor and our little league baseball team is the sponsee. The sponsor offers to pay for the team's jerseys in exchange the sponsee put their company names on the back of the jerseys! Its basically they scratch our backs we scratch theirs. You might be asking "Why would they benefit from putting their company name on the back of a jersey?" Well, if you people from the local community see the local sporting goods store, the sponsor, helping out the little league team with their baseball jerseys and everything else they will be more likely to go to that shop to buy sporting goods. Why? Well because the sponsor is helping out the community by investing in your future! So your parents and your community will support them by shopping at their store. Think of your best friend and how you always help each other out, well the sponsor/sponsee relationship is like that, they have what is called a co-dependent relationship (2). Sponsorship doesn't only happen for sports teams or school clubs, it could be for anything it could be for a for a park clean up or just to help out the local community. If it weren't for corporate sponsorship, a lot of little league sports teams would not be able to afford those cool game jerseys, or some school clubs would not be able to do all the fun things that they do.

Is it Advertisement?

Figure. 3. Advertisements Everywhere!
Sponsorship is not advertisement, an advertisement could be shown anytime anywhere and the ad could be selling anything while. A good example is that you could be watching a cartoon and then be shown an advertisement selling air fresheners. While in there is no relationship between the two. Where in a sponsorship, you could be at the World Cup soccer, which is a huge sporting event,  and see that Adidas sponsors this event. As many people know, Adidas sells sports equipment so it makes perfect sense to buyers that Addidas would sponsor a sporting event (1).
Conclusion 

Sponsorships are a great way to raise awareness, they can support and improve the quality of programs around you like environmental programs, park or city clean-ups, recycling, and restoration. Not only this, but it could also support and improve the performing arts at your schools, scholarships for low-income students who want to go to college, and all sorts of activities for kids like you! like after school programs, and much more. The possibilities are endless. Who knows, maybe when you're older and own a business you'll be sponsoring the next little league team!

                  Here's a video of Adidas sponsoring the FIFA World cup in 2014.






Reference
(1)Pappu, R., & Cornwell, T. B. (2014, February 16). Corporate sponsorship as an image platform:
            Understanding the roles of relationship fit and sponser-sponsee similarity. Retreived

(2)Horrigan, S. (2016, July 20). The Five Things Corporate Sponsors Want From Nonprofitss.

💪 Don't Forget to Eat Protein 💪


Krabby Patty = Protein 
SpongeBob loves working at the Krusty Krab making the famous Krabby Patties, with the fresh bun, juicy burger, perfectly sliced tomatoes, and the a slice of cheese placed perfectly on top of the meat. In fact he loves it so much that he forgets to feed himself a yummy Krabby Patty because he is too busy making them for the customers at the Krusty Krab. SpongBob began to notice that his muscles were not as strong anymore. He could not figure out why. Perhaps SpongeBob's muscles needed some PROTEIN so they could grow big and strong again! But why does SpongeBob need protein to make his muscles big and strong?




Food Pyramid 
PROTEIN is very important to SpongeBob's diet as well as yours. Protein is important because it gives your body energy so you can play tag with your friends on the playground. Protein gives SpongeBob energy so he can make all those yummy patties. In order for SpongeBob to have big and strong muscles he needs to eat food that has a lot of protein like eggs, beans, peanut butter, chicken, and fish (1). The food pyramid shows all the foods that our body needs to be healthy and strong (3). What is your favorite protein food that is on the pyramid?



SpongeBob, Patrick, and Sandy exercising and working all those muscles 👍 
SpongeBob began eating Kraby Patties and started to exercise by catching jellyfish with his best friends Patrick Star and Sandy. Eating protein alone does not make your muscles big, you have to also exercise and work all those muscles. Is SpongeBob using any muscles to catch all those jellyfish? Of course he is! He has to use his leg muscles to run fast and jump high and his arms to hold the net tighty. Since SpongeBob has been eating so much protein, his muscles are able to move and they can repair much faster (2). This also makes SpongeBob excited because he can beat his friends and catch the most jellyfish and run the fastest. 


Ever since SpongeBob has started eating the required amount of protein and exercising daily for at least 30 minutes, his muscles have been very happy and started to grow. As you can see, SpongeBob went from being weak and could barely pick up a stick, to being so muscular that his shirt kept ripping every time he put it on.


SpongeBob after eating protein and exercising daily.  


 
SpongeBob before eating protein.













SpongeBob could not believe how much his body changed just by eating Krabby Patties and exercising. All of his friends were so amazed and they wanted to learn what Spongebob's secret was. Of course there is no secret! SpongeBob simply answered, "KRABBY PATTIES AND CATCHING JELLYFISH!"








References


Kids Health.(2017). Learning about proteins. Retrieved from         http://kidshealth.org/en/kids/protein.html (2)


United States Department of Agriculture. (2016, July 29). All about the protein food group.   Retrieved from https://www.choosemyplate.gov/protein-foods (1)


United States Department of Agriculture. (2016, July 29). MyPlate kid's place. Retrieved from  https://www.choosemyplate.gov/kids (3)