Wow, we’re all quick to judge, aren’t we? Tonight, ESPN becomes the mouthpiece – or enabler – for the cap-off to LeBron James’ farewell or recruitment tour or constant fete.
No matter the sentiment, however, James’ weeklong will-he-won’t-he-why-is-he junket is testimony to the power of viral marketing, public relations, and the zeitgeist surrounding sports. For someone cultivating his own brand – even the negative judgments rendered by sports media, bloggers, et. al, is actually a good thing. Believe it or not.
Bad public relations is better than no public relations. Designed solely to self-promote, LeBron’s tour hasn’t seemed to win him any more fans – but maybe that’s the point. He’s earned opinions and judgments and pity and disgust. He’s relevant, no matter what shape he takes in the top of your mind. Today, we all know LeBron James. We don’t know him any better or any worse than we did before, we just know that he immediately spurs a reaction.
Sports media shudders at the notion that a popular player views himself as brand, rather than people’s champ. Where was this outrage, however, when Nike helped Michael Jordan launch the Jumpman?
No matter how self-aggrandizing Lebron’s tour might be, there’s no question he’s commanded the storylines, fueled interest in the NBA, and fueled reaction, evaluation and enthusiasm for the rest of his career. Is he what’s wrong with the NBA? Is he really out of control? Is he just a total douchebag? Well, probably, maybe, and no. Slice it any which way, but he’s on everyone’s mind.
Besides, this isn’t going to ruin LeBron James. If LeBron can count on one thing, he can count on popular opinion swinging behind him eventually. Kobe allegedly committed sexual assault, and sportswriters lauded him for jetting to and from Lakers games to Vail, Colorado. Allen Iverson took furious root in the counterculture, drawing ire for his sarcastic “Practice” speech. Neither Kobe nor Iverson are rubber-stamped Americana like Cal Ripken, yet each enjoyed immense popularity aided by a backlash, not in spite of.
Fast-forward to only three weeks ago – and Tiger Woods, replete with scandalous past, furious media antagonists, and requisite drama, earned thunderous applause during his third round at the US Open. We don’t care. We never did. And if we did, it was only for that one minute. Greatness, apparently, survives.
Division over a public figure is actually healthy – James is no longer just a boring extension of sportswriters’ Michael Jordan fantasies. Instead, he’s LeBron. He’s great, he knows it, and he doesn’t care how he has to prove it. If that irks you because it doesn’t fit in your idealistic box, then great: he’s caused a reaction.
The reaction today features sportswriters, casual fans, and Clevelanders lining up to take potshots. Some think the Bulls are a better chance to win now. Some think no one should ever leave their original team. Some are a little uncomfortable with joining a star-laden team, rather than leading one. Some still want LeBron to thrive for a storied franchise, under the brightest lights. To some LeBron will always be a scumbag, his self-aggrandizement totally incoherent to middle-class lifestyle. Yesterday, for example, some argued against college players leaping to the pros. We’d never do that. Today, some imply that in LeBron James’ shoes, they’d gladly accept whatever menial check the Cleveland Cavaliers would provide, simply exuding gratefulness they got to play basketball for ridiculous amounts of money.
The implication is that LeBron’s next move should be totally defensible. But nothing’s ever that simple. No matter what he does, he’s failing someone, if not several. The reaction tonight will castigate him for any of this.
The reaction tomorrow will be a further devoted base, a gnashing backlash, and those in the middle. Some even react to the backlash, and develop a grudging admiration. (Check the archives for Mr. Faded Glory’s own 10 years of Kobe Bryant examination.) But everyone reacts. But that’s the point.
Tomorrow the reaction differs. Most of us will forget. Some of us will start looking forward to his time in New York, just because it’s excitement injected into humdrum NBA basketball. Some of us will gnash our teeth in hate, assuming LeBron a frontrunning punk. But we’ll all forget, and we’ll realize that things are the way they are. In the end, most of us just like to watch great basketball. When someone excels, we all forget.
LeBron James has gone viral. He’s a basketball player, a brand, and a conglomerate, like Jordan before him and Julius Erving before that. His legacy is fifteen years down the road, and his career is in its prime. To act as though anything else is within his control – or within our knowledge, mores, and values is futile. That’s our deal. Not his.
But we talk about it. We judge today, we’ll judge differently tomorrow, but his marketing team reviews hits and scores and clicks, and knows this whole ordeal has been a success. Brand level boosted, no matter the location, no matter the message. And you thought that stuff mattered?
Instead, LeBron’s saga is a case study in public relations. It doesn’t matter what your opinion is.
Only that you have one.
LeBron James and Public Relations
We’re all quick to judge, aren’t we? Tonight, ESPN becomes the mouthpiece – or enabler – for the cap-off to LeBron James’ farewell or recruitment tour or constant fete.
No matter the judgment, however, James’ weeklong will-he-won’t-he-why-is-he junket is testimony to the power of viral marketing, public relations, and the zeitgeist surrounding sports. For someone cultivating his own brand – even the negative judgments rendered by sports media, bloggers, et. al, is actually positive.
Bad public relations is better than no public relations. Designed solely to self-promote, LeBron’s tour hasn’t won him a lot of fans – but it has drawn opinions and judgments and pity and disgust. He’s relevant, no matter what shape he takes in the top of your mind. Today, we all know LeBron James. We don’t know him any better or any worse than we did before, we just know that he immediately spurs a reaction. Even though this hasn’t boosted a Q rating, it has boosted his stature among the sports sphere and even into worlds beyond.
No matter how self-aggrandizing Lebron’s tour might be (Drew/dsp), there’s no question he’s commanded the storylines, fueled interest in the NBA, and fueled reaction, evaluation and enthusiasm for the rest of his career. Is he what’s wrong with the NBA? (Woj) Is he really out of control? Either way, he’s on everyone’s mind.
Besides, if LeBron can count on one thing, he can count on popular opinion swinging behind him eventually. Kobe allegedly committed sexual assault, and sportswriters lauded him for jetting to and from Lakers games to Vail, Colorado. Allen Iverson took furious root in the counterculture, drawing ire for his sarcastic “Practice” speech. Neither Kobe nor Iverson are rubber-stamped Americana like Cal Ripken, yet each enjoyed immense popularity aided by a backlash, not in spite of.
That’s no doubt in LeBron’s mind now. Division over a public figure is actually healthy – he’s not just a boring extension of sportswriters’ Michael Jordan fantasies. Instead, he’s LeBron. He’s great, he knows it, and he doesn’t care how he has to prove it. If that irks you because it doesn’t fit in your idealistic box, then great: he’s caused a reaction.
The reaction today is sportswriters, casual fans, and Clevelanders lining up to take potshots. The reaction tomorrow will be a further devoted base, a gnashing backlash, and those in the middle. Some even react to the backlash, and develop a grudging admiration. (Witness Mr. Faded Glory’s own 10 years of Kobe Bryant examination.) But everyone reacts. And that’s the total point.
To some he’ll be a scumbag forever, his self-aggrandizement totally incoherent with our worldviews. Yesterday we argued against college players leaping to the pros. Today we act like in LeBron James’ shoes, we’d gladly accept whatever menial check the Cleveland Cavaliers would provide, simply exuding gratefulness that we got to play basketball for ridiculous amounts of money.
None of us is that simple. And none of us would react the same.
Tomorrow, however, the reaction differs. Most of us will forget. Some of us will start looking forward to his time in New York, just because it’s excitement injected into humdrum NBA basketball. Some of us will gnash our teeth in hate, assuming LeBron a frontrunning punk. But we’ll all forget, and we’ll realize that things are the way they are, and in the end, most of us just like to watch great basketball. When someone excels, we all forget.
LeBron James has gone viral. He’s a basketball player, a brand, and a conglomerate, like Michael Jordan before him and Julius Erving before that. His legacy is fifteen years down the road, and his career is in its prime. To act as though anything else is within his control – or within our knowledge, mores, and values is futile. That’s our deal. Not his.
But we’re talking about it, and his marketing team scores a success. Brand level boosted, no matter the location, no matter the message. And you thought all this stuff mattered?
Instead, LeBron’s saga illustrates public relations perfectly. It doesn’t matter what your opinion is.
Only that you have one.
