Saturday, June 13, 2015

FIFA Versus NFL - Butter Versus Margarine?

 National Football League 2008.svg

FIFA: The Hits Just Keep On Coming!

FIFA just can't seem to catch a break. First, it lost Gregory Mertens; then it lost Tim Nicot; the world was in shock over the tragic deaths of 2 talented young footballers & still trying to make sense of the idea that they both died of cardiac arrest. Of all the things that could have killed 2 strong, young athletes, who would ever have expected a heart attack!

And now the news is out that 7 top FIFA officials are facing indictment for a whole slew of financial crimes & influential FIFA President Sepp Blatter has announced his resignation barely 4 days after he was elected for his fifth term. The actual handing-over-taking-over may take months, but it is a very grave step to announce one's resignation just days after a spectacular victory.

The Principles Of Market Economics

One of the first concepts taught in Economics is how to identify "Complementary" & "Substitute" goods. According to www.businessdictionary.com, these 2 terms are defined as follows:

COMPLEMENTARY GOOD:

"Material or good whose use is interrelated with the use of an associated or paired good such that a demand for one (tyres, for example) generates demand for the other (gasoline, for example). If the price of one good falls & people buy more of it, they will usually buy more of the complementary good also whether or not its price also falls. Similarly, if the price of one good rises & reduces its demand, it may reduce the demand for the paired good as well."

SUBSTITUTE GOOD:

"Different goods that, at least partly, satisfy the same needs of the consumers &, therefore, can be used to replace one another. Price of such goods shows positive cross-elasticity of demand. Thus, if the price of one good goes up, the sales of the other rise & vice versa."

Hollywood, FIFA & NFL

A number of the international financial journals are already discussing the effect the FIFA investigation will have on the economies of Russia & Qatar (on account of the cloud of suspicion that currently surrounds the 2018 & 2022 World Cup tournaments). But they have missed out on one very interesting potential outcome of this chain of events: the US-based National Football League, which features American Football, could be on the road to international popularity if it aims for & successfully takes the market position that was occupied by FIFA (especially in Europe).

The world's most efficient marketing tool is Hollywood. It is said that when "E.T" came out in 1982, the sales of "Reese's Pieces" (the peanut butter candy produced by The Hershey Company & featured prominently in the film) shot up & when "Top Gun" starring Tom Cruise & Val Kilmer was released in 1986, US Air Force recruitments spiked dramatically. While FIFA has maintained its European reserve & mostly steered clear of Hollywood, the NFL has done the sensible thing & already has a number of blockbuster Hollywood productions under its belt, 5 of which are listed below:

-Friday Night Lights (2004)

"A small, turbulent town in Texas obsesses over their high school football team to an unhealthy degree. When the star tailback, Miles (Derek Luke), is seriously injured during the first game of the season, all hope is lost, & the town's dormant social problems begin to flare up. It is left to the inspiring abilities of new coach Gary Gaines (Billy Bob Thornton) to instill in the other team members - &, by proxy, the town itself - a sense of self respect & honor."

-Gridiron Gang (2006)

"A counselor (Dwayne Johnson) at a juvenile detention facility decides to turn the young inmates in his charge into a football team to give them a sense of self respect & social responsibility, but he faces opposition from high school coaches who do not want their players facing criminals on the field."

-The Game Plan (2007)

"Bachelor football star Joe Kingman (Dwayne Johnson) seems to have it all. He is wealthy & carefree, & his team is on the way to capturing a championship. Suddenly, he is tackled by some unexpected news: He has a young daughter (Madison Pettis), the result of a last-minute fling with his ex-wife. Joe must learn to balance his personal & professional lives with the needs of his child."

-The Blind Side (2009)

"Michael Oher (Quinton Aaron), a homeless black teen, has drifted in & out of the school system for years. Then Leigh Anne Tuohy (Sandra Bullock) & her husband, Sean (Tim McGraw), take him in. The Tuohys eventually become Michael's legal guardians, transforming both his life & theirs. Michael's tremendous size & protective instincts make him a formidable force on the gridiron, & with help from his new family & devoted tutor, he realizes his potential as a student & football player."

-Draft Day (2014)

"Sonny Weaver Jr. (Kevin Costner) is the general manager of the Cleveland Browns. One of pro-football's most important days, NFL draft day, is drawing near, but Sonny has much more on his mind than just which players to recruit. His lover (Jennifer Garner) is pregnant, & the team's owner (Frank Langella) wants to fire him. After Sonny accepts a deal with Seattle that nets him that team's first-round pick, he immediately wonders if he has made the right choice for himself & the Browns."

These films, each of which has generated high levels of interest in the sports fan community, are just a few examples of the excellent job Hollywood has already done to make American football synonymous with honor, hope & progress. Unless FIFA scrambles to repair its damaged reputation, there is a strong chance that sponsors like Adidas & Coca Cola will find a new destination for their cash.

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