Two Saturday afternoons ago, I was attempting to give myself a home-facial and read my new book. Often-fortunately though not so in this case, “home” now means “the floor above a bar,” so the US games of the 2010 World Cup were…an adventure. During the first round, my friends came over for brunch, and were leaving just as the boys in red, white and blue scored their first (last?) goal. The simultaneous shouting was so loud that we slammed the door shut and stood in my, let’s say “foyer,” panting like cartoon versions of ourselves.
The UK and Germany played the following weekend, and here’s a Twitter appeasement joke, courtesy of @tannenbaumr:
All this is to say that, for a city that claims not to care so much about soccer, everyone in New York seems to be caring a lot about soccer. You can’t walk by a bar in the city without some kind of World Cup beer or meal special. A bar down the street advertises soccer ball pretzels, though claimed to be out of them when I ordered. Eating that carb ball was going to be the most athletic thing I did all summer!
My question, then, is how are performing arts presenters capitalizing on the World Cup? Have there been any World Cup programs? Programs that can change when countries get eliminated? Scheduling around matches? Clever marketing copy? I want to know, because I haven’t seen anything like this in the city.
And while I’m being sporty (spice), surely you’ve heard about the LeBron James Mass Media Hysteria? There’s a billboard campaign to keep him in Cleveland, while mayors are taking time out of their…OK, I guess not so busy?…days to reach out to him.
Stay in Cleveland ahhhh!
Come to New York ahhhh!
And in case you didn’t hear–how that’s possible, I do not know–there will be a one-hour special on ESPN at 9pm ET tonight. I know about this ( ) much about basketball, but if you ask me, you don’t demand the eyes of the nation to watch you leave your home team for more money.
What is he even doing in GREENWICH of all places, by the way? All I hope is that the proceeds from this ESPN special are going to the Boys and Girls Club of Cleveland, not the Boys and Girls Club of GREENWICH. “Boys and Girls Club of Greenwich” is an oxymoron. According to their website, their annual operating budget is $3.8 million.
But I digress. A friend asked what I thought the classical music equivalent the self-called “King James” signing saga is. When’s Dudamel’s tenure in LA up? Maybe PBS will host a The Decision special for him.
But would it be Dudamel’s Decision? Would he be a “free agent”
I’m a big sports fan, so I admit, I’m buying into the hype of both the WC and the LeBron craziness. First, the WC succeeds in that it’s played only 4 years. It’s spread out so that when it does happen, it’s a big deal. As for LeBron, this thing is WAY too messed up right now. The TV special is too much, if you ask me, but then again, people ARE interested, so they’ll watch (I have DVRd it, but only so that I can see him say which team he’s going to and turn it off immediately after).
But, you’re right, how can classical music learn from this? I guess we need a guy from somewhere like Akron, Ohio to help us figure it out. Has that Messiah come yet?
Hi, I came across your blog from a Lebron James google search and thought I might add my two cents. As a lifelong Cleveland sports fan, it is hard not to be upset right now. However, who didn’t see this coming? He wears a Yankee hat at an Indians game and mingles with the Cowboys at a Browns game. His loyalty was never with Cleveland, it was with Akron.
That being said, I believe this will tarnish his legacy severely. He will now be known as the guy who needed Wade and Bosh to win a championship, not win one on his own.
Here’s to another 15 years of irrelevant Cleveland sports!