Content Post Mr Kraft, The Time has Come To Ask: Whose Side Are You On?

[RobAllan]

Huh?!? We are talking about the Super Bowl here. Do you really think anything that happens with Deflate Gate is going to increase or decrease the viewership of the Super Bowl? Do you really think there were hundreds of thousands or millions of people out there who weren't going to watch the Super Bowl change their minds because the Pats deflated a few footballs?

From a marketing standpoint, this is only negative. The league has already taken massive hits to their brand this year with Ray Rice, Adrian Peterson, and Greg Hardy. This is just another hit. Compared to the other ones, it is a minor hit. But it is still a hit.

1. Yes more will watch. Particularly abroad where they have the most room to grow.
2. It's good for the NFL from a marketing perspective for all the reasons listed above. If you can't see that, we'll agree to disagree. But as a former marketing professional I can tell you- you'd be VERY hard pressed to find any marketer/advertiser that would say this is bad for anyone involved. (It's not even necessarily bad for the Pats... fans get mad but still watch the game and buy stuff. No revenue lost there.)

You're following your head/heart and not the advertising/merchandise dollars. Those two things aren't the same and basic logic does NOT apply to advertising/merchandising. There's no brand suffering here like there is with the domestic abuse stuff. It's "all good" with this.

 

[Rob0729]

And as predicted, Ben Volin just Tweeted it's "gone international" and he'll be on BBC to talk about it shortly. (You'll note BBC is the major broacaster in the country the NFL wants to move to next.) It practically writes itself.

Oh and us stupid Pats fans are more rabid to see our team win than ever now. And people that forgot they hate us, do again. What a great game this is now going to be!

More incentive for the league to squash this quickly. They don't want markets they are trying to get into to think the game is rigged.

 

[1960Pats]

I posted this in the Deflate-Gate thread, but feel it deserves a separate thread.

This has been going on for years since Cameragate. It didn't work then, and it won't work now. Mr. Kraft, it is time to side with your fans - - your customers, and not with your drinking buddies in the boardroom. We are here and loyal to you and the New England Patriots, but that loyalty is a two way street and you WILL be in danger of losing some of that customer base BEFORE Tom Brady and Bill belichick leave if you continue to accept mud being slung at the franchise without fighting back. Accepting a several months delay in the NFL investigation that is so particular and concentrated only ensures that it will be a cloud of the narrative up to and after the Super Bowl. No matter what happens in the Super Bowl, Deflate-Gate will be the dominant story nationwide.

The time has come to finally ask the question:

Who's more important, Mr. Kraft, your customers and neighbors or the suits on Madison Avenue?

Today SHOULD have been a day of tremendous joy.

"I'm po'd at Mr. Kraft right now.

His modus operandi with these things is spineless.

I'm not saying the Patriots are guilty or innocent in this. I have no idea.

But for this owner to accept a cloud hanging over his franchise and, yes it's fans, while the NFL decides to play stonewall for the next several weeks for an investigation that is so particular and limited in scope that it could be resolved in 6 hours is callous to those who support the New England Patriots.

He should tell the NFL to **** or get off the pot. Kicking this can down the road for another several weeks only keeps a cloud that is probably undeserved over the entire franchise.

Bob Kraft is allowing the Jim Romes, the Tomases, the Easterbrookes and Patriotsevens of this world to paint the picture and create the reality.

Mr. Kraft: WE shouldn't have to be dealing with this, YOU come out of the cave and deal with it. Stop worrying about being a "traitor to your class" and fight for your fans for once."

I remember liking this thread originally, but didn't want to comment in the other thread. I will here.

It's like you read my mind with those thoughts. I really believe that we, the fans, need to start thinking of getting more aggressive in our approach with Kraft. We all respect and admire what he did for our team, just as you pointed out in another thread, but the time is now to stop the nonsense. Kraft needs to make a choice.

 

[BradyManny]

What is hanging over the league? One of their Super Bowl participants are accused of cheating. If this is not resolved by next week, it will be the lead story. If the Patriots win, the Super Bowl is tainted because the winner cheated to get to the Super Bowl.

Clearly you have forgotten seven Februarys ago when we were hung out to dry in a similar fashion. Rob, they don't care. They really don't. Because they have no reason to. There are zero practical negative repercussions to the NFL.

 

[Rob0729]

To quote Glen Ordway: "you're making my point..." No, if anything, Deflate Gate only increases intrigue and viewership. How is it a bad thing for the NFL?



Rob, no. It's not a hit. It's a hit on the Patriots. A hit would be activist groups showing up at media day next Tuesday to boycott the Super Bowl because of the NFL's embarrassing handling of the domestic violence situation. This is not a hit, it's a diversion, and the NFL knows its audience - stupid beer-drinking men who want to watch the big bad Patriots against the big bad Seahawks next Sunday. Ball-gate doesn't hurt, maybe helps that storyline.

Proving your point? How is it a bad thing? Are you joking?

Just ask boxing and MLB what cheating scandals can do to your sport. People stopped watching boxing because they believe it is like professional wrestling except wrestling is more real. And baseball took a hit with all the steriods stuff.

The NFL isn't in danger of folding, but this type of publicity is not a good thing.

 

[RobAllan]

What is hanging over the league? One of their Super Bowl participants are accused of cheating. If this is not resolved by next week, it will be the lead story. If the Patriots win, the Super Bowl is tainted because the winner cheated to get to the Super Bowl.

It is a trivial issue, but not if you let it snow ball. If the league doesn't resolve it quickly and lets it linger weeks, it is telling the public that this is a significant accusation of cheating and demands attention. A trivial issue is resolved quickly. If the league needs weeks to resolve it, it is on the level of Spygate or worse. Or at least that is the message they are sending.

They already let it snowball.

And people already think that one of the teams playing are cheaters. No change. (The people that don't think we're cheaters also don't think Cameragate was a big deal.)

This story is getting huge and the only real, honest impact it has is increased ratings and merchandising. Even for us as fans, we're getting stressed out. But we're still posing on message boards, getting ready to watch the game, and probably buying Pats gear the same as always.

If you're able to be detached from the situation, it's actually kinda beautiful.

 

[BradyManny]

Proving your point? How is it a bad thing? Are you joking?

Just ask boxing and MLB what cheating scandals can do to your sport. People stopped watching boxing because they believe it is like professional wrestling except wrestling is more real. And baseball took a hit with all the steriods stuff.

The NFL isn't in danger of folding, but this type of publicity is not a good thing.

I'm not arguing the NFL's behavior isn't short-sighted: it is. It's much more short-sighted on issues of domestic violence & player safety, which in time we'll look back at and see it may have been their undoing.

But, those sports took hits. The NFL has not. So for now, why would the NFL behave as if they were boxing or MLB? If anything, the NFL isolating their cheating to one team and letting the Patriots be their scapegoat has been a PR thing of beauty for them. No one gives a crap about other teams cheating at this point. There's plenty of examples of other teams cheating and they never get reported on because no one cares because its not the Patriots. The NFL's integrity has never been questioned.

 

[RobAllan]

More incentive for the league to squash this quickly. They don't want markets they are trying to get into to think the game is rigged.

That market is already dominated by Pats fans. (Or people that don't care about the teams yet anyway.) There's been several stories on that already.

And nobody comes out thinking this is rigged. It's about something nobody thinks impacted the game meaningfully with regard to a team people already view as cheaters. (or don't... and those that don't won't care about this thing either)

NOTHING CHANGES except more viewers/dollars and a TON of free publicity that the NFL didn't even have to pay for.

 

[Rob0729]

That market is already dominated by Pats fans. (Or people that don't care about the teams yet anyway.) There's been several stories on that already.

And nobody comes out thinking this is rigged. It's about something nobody thinks impacted the game meaningfully with regard to a team people already view as cheaters. (or don't... and those that don't won't care about this thing either)

NOTHING CHANGES except more viewers/dollars and a TON of free publicity that the NFL didn't even have to pay for.

How is this going to increase viewers? Did people actually not know the Super Bowl is on? Did people not want to watch the Super Bowl until the Pats were accused of cheating? This doesn't make sense. We are talking about the Super Bowl here. This will do very little for the viewership either way.

And how does it make the league more money? Advertising dollars are already committed. They cannot go back to advertisers and ask for more money.

 

[neuronet]

Why would the league need to let this run out for weeks? What evidence could they get two weeks from now that they wouldn't already have? That is the only reason they would extend the investigation is if they need to gather more evidence.

They could expedite the investigation and there is no evidence they are doing this. I think you underestimate how much they don't care about bad press, especially toward the Pats. My guess is they think it is good for ratings. There is no bad press.

 

[RelocatedPatFan]

Question: wouldn't increased transparency let us know what their schedule is and what steps they plan on taking? I have seen nothing from the NFL as to what they will do, when they will do it, and how it will be done.

Isn't that the opposite of transparency?

 

[Rob0729]

I'm not arguing the NFL's behavior isn't short-sighted: it is. It's much more short-sighted on issues of domestic violence & player safety, which in time we'll look back at and see it may have been their undoing.

But, those sports took hits. The NFL has not. So for now, why would the NFL behave as if they were boxing or MLB? If anything, the NFL isolating their cheating to one team and letting the Patriots be their scapegoat has been a PR thing of beauty for them. No one gives a crap about other teams cheating at this point. There's plenty of examples of other teams cheating and they never get reported on because no one cares because its not the Patriots. The NFL's integrity has never been questioned.

The league usually moves quickly on things like this. Even Spygate was resolved in about a week. Other cheating allegations were resolved quickly. The league will do the smae here.

The league is not scapegoating the Pats. The Pats are targets by other teams because they don't like them. If the Broncos had a deflated ball, I don't know if the Colts report them. But since it is the Pats, they do especially since the Colts can't beat them on the field.

 

[Rob0729]

They could expedite the investigation and there is no evidence they are doing this. I think you underestimate how much they don't care about bad press, especially toward the Pats. My guess is they think it is good for ratings. There is no bad press.

There is plenty of bad press. You think Roger Goodell loves the bad press he got for the Ray Rice thing?

And the league likes to make Super Bowl week a showcase of the the superiority of the NFL. I think you guys are underestimating how much they want this to not be a storyline next week.

 

[RobAllan]

How is this going to increase viewers? Did people actually not know the Super Bowl is on? Did people not want to watch the Super Bowl until the Pats were accused of cheating? This doesn't make sense. We are talking about the Super Bowl here. This will do very little for the viewership either way.

And how does it make the league more money? Advertising dollars are already committed. They cannot go back to advertisers and ask for more money.

Your assertion is simply not true.

1. It brings interest to people who were aware of the game but had no intention to watch.
2. It brings interest to people looking for a reason to jump on board the first time.
3. It gives a great opportunity for free publicity abroad where people just don't care as much.

The game is HUGE. And it can get bigger.

Also, advertising dollars are (mostly) committed (some contracts will likely have viewership clauses,) but they need viewership this year to set the mark for how much they charge next year. And they want to charge more, that's just how it works.

Look, you don't have to agree. I can't convince you if you're not already convinced. But you're way off the mark here, you really are.

 

[BradyManny]

The league usually moves quickly on things like this. Even Spygate was resolved in about a week. Other cheating allegations were resolved quickly. The league will do the smae here.

The league is not scapegoating the Pats. The Pats are targets by other teams because they don't like them. If the Broncos had a deflated ball, I don't know if the Colts report them. But since it is the Pats, they do especially since the Colts can't beat them on the field.

We'll see - this thing easily could've been resolved yesterday. I agree other teams target the Patriots. I disagree the league does not scapegoat them - they do very little in the way of defending the Patriots from these things. The Spygate punishment, swift or not, was ridiculous and not good for - or fair to - the Patriots.

Rob - I don't think the NFL is as smart as you give them credit for. They aren't made up of very intelligent people, and they don't behave rationally. What they do do is just keep doing what's working for ratings & advertising dollars. The Patriots reputation as cheaters has not hurt them, and I assure you is of little concern to them. I think we'll leave it at agree to disagree beyond that.

 

[dales804]

Proving your point? How is it a bad thing? Are you joking?

Just ask boxing and MLB what cheating scandals can do to your sport. People stopped watching boxing because they believe it is like professional wrestling except wrestling is more real. And baseball took a hit with all the steriods stuff.

The NFL isn't in danger of folding, but this type of publicity is not a good thing.

I don't really follow boxing but steroids brought MLB back (McGwire/Sosa home run chase). I'd say it's more likely the game has grown so specialized and drawn out/long that it became boring. I don't think steroids hurt MLB. I grew up in a baseball home and played at high levels and I haven't watched a game in forever. It's just boring now.

 

[RobAllan]

We'll see - this thing easily could've been resolved yesterday. I agree other teams target the Patriots. I disagree the league does not scapegoat them - they do very little in the way of defending the Patriots from these things. The Spygate punishment, swift or not, was ridiculous and not good for - or fair to - the Patriots.

Rob - I don't think the NFL is as smart as you give them credit for. They aren't made up of very intelligent people, and they don't behave rationally. What they do do is just keep doing what's working. The Patriots reputation as cheaters has not hurt them, and I assure you is of little concern to them. I think we'll leave it at agree to disagree beyond that.

Well, and that's the thing. It could've been expedited and done already. Or the league could choose to frame it as procedural and not write and broadcast a number of fluff pieces on it. (Blandino's statement was sufficient and could've stopped there.) But they're getting views and clicks soooooooooooooo

 

[Rob0729]

Your assertion is simply not true.

1. It brings interest to people who were aware of the game but had no intention to watch.
2. It brings interest to people looking for a reason to jump on board the first time.
3. It gives a great opportunity for free publicity abroad where people just don't care as much.

The game is HUGE. And it can get bigger.

Also, advertising dollars are (mostly) committed (some contracts will likely have viewership clauses,) but they need viewership this year to set the mark for how much they charge next year. And they want to charge more, that's just how it works.

Look, you don't have to agree. I can't convince you if you're not already convinced. But you're way off the mark here, you really are.

Who are they these people? Last year, an average of 111.5 million Americans watched the Super Bowl (at the height of the game it was 117 million). That is over a third of the country.

Who are these people who are on the fence on watching the Super Bowl, but decided to go all in because the Pats deflated a ball or two?

The Super Bowl is broadcasted in 24 countries around the world. There is literally going to be thousands of international reporters and media outlets in Arizona next week. It gets plenty of exposure world wide.

And Super Bowl ads are a set rate. There is no viewership clause.

 

[RobAllan]

I don't really follow boxing but steroids brought MLB back (McGwire/Sosa home run chase). I'd say it's more likely the game has grown so specialized and drawn out/long that it became boring. I don't think steroids hurt MLB. I grew up in a baseball home and played at high levels and I haven't watched a game in forever. It's just boring now.

Yeah and a lot of people were still frazzled about the work stoppage before as well. Also important to note that the baseball thing was multiple players on different teams cheating, which isn't the same perception as just one team. And I don't think anybody thinks a deflated ball affected the game like Sosa, Bonds, and the boys did. Besides, the Pats are already cheaters in the eyes of the fans of other teams. So who cares but us?

 

[Rob0729]

I don't really follow boxing but steroids brought MLB back (McGwire/Sosa home run chase). I'd say it's more likely the game has grown so specialized and drawn out/long that it became boring. I don't think steroids hurt MLB. I grew up in a baseball home and played at high levels and I haven't watched a game in forever. It's just boring now.

Steriods brought people back. The scandal that followed hurt the sport. The McGuire Sosa home run race was prior to the major steroid scandal.