Becoming Hard to Watch Hard Knocks (Assigned School Work)

            Partnering with the National Football League (NFL), the premium cable television network Home Box Office (HBO), is currently in the process of airing its ninth season of the popular reality sports documentary known as “Hard Knocks.” Debuting in 2001, the show follows one NFL team per preseason throughout its preparation for the upcoming season. The show includes footage of front office operations, training camp, scrimmages, and preseason games.

            To present elements of the people for the viewers to identify with, the show follows a more personal route of four-to-eight players, coaches, and staff members of the roster, by attempting to capture an idea of what life is like for an NFL player, coach, or staff member when they’re not at work. This can be a wise decision, if the candidates are selected carefully. More often than not, the candidates that are selected are nauseating at best. Somewhere, somebody thought it was a good idea to invest more camera time into these candidates. In my own opinion, there isn’t a tolerable person in the entire lineup this season.

            HBO is documenting the Atlanta Falcons franchise this year. According to Ledbetter (2014), the first episode of the season attracted just over 3 million viewers (¶1). Apparently, not all teams are eligible to be filmed by the show. There are certain rules or credentials that would make an NFL franchise ineligible for being selected for an upcoming season of Hard Knocks. I should replace the word “selected” with the word “chosen,” as the chosen team really has no choice and would be forced to participate or force serious consequences from the league. According to Graziano & Weinfuss (2013), certain teams would be exempt from being forced to participate, those with new coaches, those that reached the playoffs in one of the previous two seasons, and those who have appeared on “Hard Knocks” within the preceding 10 years” (¶2). Of the nine years that HBO has broadcasted this series, seven NFL teams have been chosen, including both the Dallas Cowboys (2002, 2008) and the Cincinnati Bengals (2009, 2013) twice.

            While the entire idea behind HBO’s “Hard Knocks” is a golden egg, the network’s executives must keep it from turning into a goose egg by focusing more on capturing the “documentary” side of things and less on staging the “reality show” side of it all. A “shutout” is what a zero equates to in the NFL, and unless the show cares to focus more on the original concept, then I’m going to shutout HBO’s “Hard Knocks” from my viewing schedule.

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Works Cited

Graziano, D. & Weinfuss, J. (2013). Nfl owners ok ‘hard knocks’ rule. ESPN. Retrieved on August 26, 2014 from http://espn.go.com/nfl/story/_/id/9791975/owners-ok-nfl-pick-hard-knocks-team

Ledbetter, D. O. (2014). Falcons a ratings hit for hbo. The Atlanta Journal Constitution. Retrieved on August 26, 2014 from http://www.ajc.com/news/sports/falcons-pulling-down-ratings-for-hbo/ng2W6/

NFL Hard Knocks: About the show. HBO.com. Retrieved on August 26, 2014 from http://www.hbo.com/hard-knocks/about#/

Under Armour No Longer The Underdog If Durant Deal Is Approved (Assigned School Work)

Kevin Durant, photo courtesy of NBA.com

            In a market ruled by Goliaths, a David has emerged. The athletic apparel company known as Under Armour could be on the brink of carving out a much larger share of the athletic footwear market, if the rumor of the lucrative offer sent to Oklahoma City Thunder star Kevin Durant were to develop into the truth. If this were to emerge as a fact, traditional fans of the National Basketball Association (NBA) may be stunned to learn that the reigning Most Valuable Player (MVP) of the league isn’t inking a deal with a typical athletic footwear giant like Nike or Adidas, but instead choosing to sign with an underdog in the market; much like himself being casted in the shadow of league-megastar LeBron James. That shadow, however, is quickly fading as records show that Kevin Durant’s shoe sales are on pace to pass “King James” very, very soon.

            According to Stock (2014), “Last year U.S. sales of Nike’s Durant line of sneakers rose fivefold, according to bar-code data collected by Princeton Retail Analysis, which tracks the sports apparel industry. If Durant posts a similar jump this year, his shoe sales will surpass those of James” (¶3). Many believe his success to be driven by leading the league in points for five straight seasons (Warren, 2014, ¶8). Others feel it is a combination of many factors like his humble personality, natural-born talent, and his excellence in execution when he’s in his element on the court.

            Unfortunately for Nike, Durant’s seven-year, $60 million deal is expiring soon. In that time, Nike has released six versions of specialized “KD” shoes. Under Armour has relatively recently executed a deal with Golden State Warrior star Stephen Curry. The partnership has recently released the first edition of “SC” shoes since the deal was struck last October. Durant can expect the apparel company to do the same with their partnership if a deal is struck. According to Isola (2014), this deal could be worth up to $320 million over a 10-year period. To put that into perspective, LeBron James’ current deal with Nike brings him around $20 million per year, this would be a cool $12 million more per year. To rationalize this amount, let’s have a look at the sales of the four top selling sneakers in the NBA, from 2011-2013. 

            We can expect a company like Under Armor to be extremely aware of these trends and numbers displayed on the graph. According to Rovell (2013), Under Armour’s key attributes in players they are interested to have on their team are, “young, underdog, and next” (¶2)and Thunder forward Kevin Durant. They are also both very humble athletes who always display sportsmanship when they play the game. They are very well respected as players and are even more respected as people.

. These are qualities that describe Warriors guard Stephen Curry

            According to Rovell (2013), Under Armour’s market share currently sits at 0.35 percent of the U.S. basketball retail market, according to SportsOneSource. Nike, which includes the Jordan and Converse brands, owns 92.6 percent of the U.S. retail market” (¶7). Both Under Armour and Nike can expect to see their numbers fluctuate accordingly if Durant decides to sign that astronomical contract. Only time will tell.

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Works Cited:

Isola, F. (2014). Kevin durant could sign with under armour for $30 million a year, a deal that could help push nba mvp to wizards. New York Daily News. Retrieved on August 19, 2014 from http://www.nydailynews.com/sports/basketball/kevin-durant-earn-30m-year-armour-article-1.1891586

Rovell, D. (2013). Stephen curry joins under armour. ESPN. Retrieved on August 19, 2014 from http://espn.go.com/nba/story/_/id/9752857/stephen-curry-golden-state-warriors-signs-armour

Stock, K. (2014). Durant’s sneaker stats approach lebron’s. Businessweek. Retrieved on August 19, 2014 from http://www.businessweek.com/articles/2014-02-07/durants-sneaker-stats-approach-lebrons