Opinion:
A pop star's deleted tweet sparked debate in the football world over the Americanisation of sport – and presented a lesson in how the Super Bowl model, while admirable, isn't a one-size-fits-all solution for
Opinion:
A pop star's deleted tweet sparked debate in the football world over the Americanisation of sport – and presented a lesson in how the Super Bowl model, while admirable, isn't a one-size-fits-all solution for many other sports in the constant search for monetisation.
New Zealand Rugby is the latest sporting organisation to look to the US in search of a larger audience and new revenue streams, with its recent approval of the $200m private equity deal with Silver Lake another step towards an American sporting model.
While there are many things in American sport to be envious of – from fan engagement and forward-looking technology to, well, the money – the Uefa Champions League final provided a warning that adopting the States' commercialised sporting culture doesn't always translate to success elsewhere.
In what was an already botched start to last Sunday's Champions League final between Real Madrid and Liverpool – where thousands of Liverpool fans with tickets to the match were stranded outside the stadium, with some even teargassed by police, forcing a delayed kickoff – the packed Stade de France in Paris was then treated to a musical performance from pop star Camila Cabello to open match proceedings.
The performance from the 'Havana' singer was fine, a colourful medley of her chart toppers, showcasing why she's one of the better and more interesting popular artists of her time. Unfortunately for Cabello, the majority of the stadium didn't care and started singing club anthems throughout her performance.
In a now deleted tweet, Cabello hit out at the fans who were singing – not with her – over the performance.
"Playing back our performance and I can't believe people were singing their teams anthem so loud during our performance," she tweeted. "Like my team and I worked tirelessly for so long to bring right vibes and give a good show."
Despite deleting the tweet shortly after, screenshots of her comments circulated social media and football fans hit back, saying they were there for the game not a concert.
"This serves them right for trying to Americanise football," said one fan in response to Cabello's tweet. "They paid to see a football game not a Camila Cabello concert. Do you think that Peter, 53, from Toxteth is gonna be singing Señorita after drinking lager since 8.30am in Central Paris?"
Even Dutch football legend Marco van Basten chimed in: "Uefa and Fifa are trying to make money with a football match. Keep this stuff away from us, we want to watch a football game."
This you? pic.twitter.com/wC35RovHsI
— 𝕄𝕚𝕔𝕙𝕒𝕖𝕝⚫️⚪️💙 (@MichaelNUFC_) May 29, 2022
Marco van Basten: "We want to see football but we are forced to watch someone sing with dancers. UEFA and FIFA are trying to make money with a football match. Keep this stuff away from us, we want to watch a football game." pic.twitter.com/QKmwiQ44Dn
— SPORTbible (@sportbible) May 31, 2022
The whole debacle was clearly a poor read from Uefa organisers, who in trying to market the sport to new audiences failed to cater to its loyal paying fans.
It's a lesson NZ Rugby should take into the new Silver Lake era, where there are already worries over how a new emphasis on winning new eye balls could alienate fans at home.
There's nothing wrong with searching for new audiences – in fact, it's increasingly a must in modern sport – but the "vibes", to quote Cabello, has to be right for existing fans.
A slap incident emerged this week in the MLB that might be even stranger than Will Smith's infamous slap at the Oscars.
According to The Athletic, Reds outfielder Tommy Pham slapped Giants outfielder Joc Pederson over an old fantasy football league disagreement.
The slap occurred during batting practice before the Reds' 5-1 victory on Saturday, with footage of the incident later leaking on social media.
BREAKING: 96.3/92.5 The Big Jab has obtained exclusive rights to a never before seen video of Tommy Pham slapping Joc Pederson (via Chad McCormack’s sources) #JocPederson #Pham #tommypham #Joc @MorningJab @MannixBrothers @ThePMJab pic.twitter.com/0oXBwDDRdH
— Chad McCormack (@mccormack_chad) May 28, 2022
"He kind of came up and said like 'you remember from last year'?" Pederson told The Athletic after the game. "And I was like 'fantasy football'? He was like 'yeah'."
Pederson said Pham then slapped him on his left cheek, before players from both sides quickly stepped in to separate the two.
The weird beef, according to Pederson, started from a fantasy football league dispute, where Pham accused Pederson of cheating because he was "stashing players on my bench". Pederson said everything he did was fine under the fantasy rules: "It was an unfortunate situation over a fantasy football league rule that wasn't a rule."
Disagreements would kick off in a group text for the fantasy league, which reportedly includes several MLB stars, ultimately leading to Pham finally confronting Pederson IRL months later.
Pham was suspended for three games.
A new trend on football TikTok has lionised two of the sport's great commentators Martin Tyler and Peter Drury via tributes, memes and parody on the social media platform.
It's created debate over the two commentator's contrasting styles: The legendary gravitas – and possibly anti-Liverpool bias – of Tyler versus the poetic, verbose calls of Drury.
Whichever way you lean, the TikToks are a great way of reliving some of the sport's great moments and showcases the subtle art of football commentary.
Canada have lost their points they won against New Zealand.