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Posts Tagged ‘mark-cuban’

18 Jan 2010

#sportsgeektrip so far

Well with under a week to go on #sportsgeek I thought I’d give a quick recap of the trip so far…

I started with a Sports Geek Bucket List…

Here’s just some of what I’ve done so far:

  • Attended a College Tailgate but also the game! BCS Championship Game at Rosebowl with 94,000 of my closest friends.  Go Longhorns!
  • Got my picture taken with the BCS Coaches Trophy.
  • Saw the NBA’s best player Kobe Bryant (3 times) unfortunately he hasn’t been at his best but does enough to win.  Including a cross town match against the LA Clippers with Baron Davis at his best & Aussie Andrew Bogut’s Bucks who unfortunately had no fight left in them.
  • Watched Dirk Nowitski score his 20,000th NBA point against the Lakers from the a private suite at American Airlines Center.
  • Saw Mark Cuban at Mavs game unable to meet him he is too excited about his Mavs in season.
  • Toured the American Airlines Center with CEO Brad Mayne including the terrific facilities the Mavs in their locker room.  Terrific facility Brad, best HD scoreboards I’ve seen (excluding the ridiculous screen at Cowboys Stadium).
  • Fell in love with the beauty & history of Dodger Stadium, will be back for a game.
  • Jaw dropping amazement of the magnitude of the Cowboys Stadium with the Cowboys on the field practicing!
  • Saw Big Ben Wallace from the Pistons turn back the clock against the Knicks at Madison Square Garden.  Great history in that arena, even walking around met Walt “Clyde” Frazier & John Starks.
  • Watch some great hockey thanks to the LA Kings at the Staples Center & Dallas Stars at American Airline Center.

That is just the venues, games & sports stars you may know but I’ve met a lot of cool people as well. All the time taking notes on the promotions, marketing and watching offline fans to see how to best connect them with online fans.

If you’re in New York come & say G’day as I’m hosting a #sportsgeektweetup on Wednesday night 7pm at ESPN Zone.

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Posted in News | No Comments »
16 Jan 2010

Great night at the AAC

On Wednesday night I went to check out two of the NBA powerhouses Dallas Mavericks and Los Angeles Lakers at the Mavs’ home court American Airlines Center.

One of the reasons that Dallas was picked for the #sportsgeektrip was to meet Mavs’ owner Mark Cuban who I consider a fellow Sports Geek.  Unfortunately, he was unable to meet me during the season but he was kind enough to reply and wish me well on the #sportsgeektrip. Outside the AAC there was a definite buzz with the Lakers in town.  The Mavs Street Team ran promotions with inflatable hoops keeping the young fans entertained as well as a DJ & host promoting the game and firing up the fans.

One promotion I liked was free tickets to fans who made the “extra” effort.  Fans turned up in costumes, full body paint, wigs, etc and for that they received a standing room ticket at the end of the court.

I did a lap of the American Airlines Center concourse, it wasn’t as spacious as the Staple Center but it used every inch efficiently for concessions, promotions & merchandising.  I was seated just above the visitor’s tunnel behind the Maverick’s bench.  As luck would’ve have it Mark Cuban was sitting 30 feet in front of me.  It was quite funny to seem him motion to the bench to turn the music up during the introductions to get the fans fired up.

The Mavs provide great entertainment value for the fan outside the great talent on the floor.  With the Mavs Surround Sound Drumline & the ManiAACs providing plenty of energy during the game (check out video below).  One nice touch was the fact the rims were miked up, if a shot clunked out you heard it likewise if Dirk swished a 3 -ball you caught that as well.  The video production work on the scoreboards were both more entertaining (Ron Burgundy provided the security notices) and more informative with stats provided throughout the night than the Staples Center.

What happened next I can only explain in one word… awesome!

After a few tweets pre-game..

@seancallanan – G’day @mcuban, Sports Geek here… If you sitting near me in Section 115, Row H, Seat 7 stop by and say hi ;) #sportsgeektrip #gomavs 3:52 PM Jan 13th from Tweetie

@seancallanan – G’day @bradmayne, I’ve arrived at your arena to see the Mavs hand the Lakers a lesson #sportsgeektrip #gomavs http://twitpic.com/xz8ka 3:40 PM Jan 13th from Tweetie

Brad Mayne, CEO of American Airline Center, stopped by seat and invited me back to his suite at the Platinum Club.  At half-time I checked out the Platinum club level and met up with Brad at his suite.  Great view of the game and in the second half Dirk Nowitzki scored his 20,000 NBA point.  With a Foster’s in hand (apparently the Aussie reputation for liking beer precedes us) I was able to meet some great people who manage facilities around the globe for Global Spectrum as well as learn more about IAAM (International Association of Assembly Managers Foundation).

Great facility Brad, I highly recommend taking in a game at the AAC if you’re in Dallas.  I’ll be back on Saturday to see some more NHL when the Dallas Stars take on the Detroit Red Wings.  Tweet me @seancallanan if you want an impromptu #sportsgeektweetup, but it will take a but to beat that one ;)

For more photos of #sportsgeektrip become a fan of Sports Geek on Facebook
Contact Sports Geek for more info on the  Sports Geek Study Trip.

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Posted in Stadiums | No Comments »
23 Nov 2009

AFL Draft Machine, keeping fans involved

AFL Draft MachineOver the past 10 years the AFL Draft has grown in profile, just 3 years ago it was a 1 hour highlight show on Saturday afternoon, this year it will make it’s debut in prime time on Fox Sports on Thursday night.

Some purists may suggest that this is just another example of the AFL following the lead of US sports like the NFL and NBA, but why not follow? The NFL draft is so successful it is covered by TWO networks!  USA Today describes the NFL Draft as “the next step in the evolution on the highest-rated TV sports where nobody moves much”.

The AFL Draft will be a HIT in prime time as fans are missing their footy fix. The draft provides one thing to all footy fans, hope.  The televised AFL Draft will be slightly different to the NFL as the top 10 picks will be announced in reverse order from 10 to 1. Will this work? We’ll see on Thursday.

The AFL is promoting the Draft on AFL.com.au with the AFL Draft Machine . It allows fans to sift through draft prospects and try to determine who their team may pick up. Online promotions like this are terrific in allowing fans to participate in an event. It allows the AFL to “crowd source” data regarding the popularity of picks and report back to the fans. This exactly what Mark Cuban was talking about on why Live Sports is still the king on TV.

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Posted in Sports Marketing, Web | 1 Comment »
22 Nov 2009

Sports Geek US Study Trip

Sports Geek is heading to the USA in January to study great sports & great technology.

Why leave the world’s best sporting city, Melbourne, to study sports, you might ask?

The US sports market in the biggest in the world and they lead the way in the use of technology to connect with fans.  The NBA has shown themselves to be a market leader in the use of social media in sports.  The NFL is a world leader in producing a premium sports television product.  The NHL is embracing Twitter to connect hockey fans and help build buzz around the NHL.

I’ve been lucky enough to study US sports when I was in the touring party with the Western Bulldogs after developing Bulldogs TV.  That trip saw us visit in 2 just two weeks the Hamilton Tiger-Cats (CFL), NFL franchises Indianapolis Colts, Seattle Seahawks and NCAA football operations at Mountain West Conference schools Airforce Academy & Colorado State University.  It was an awesome trip, it was great to see how much the Australian sports market can learn from US sports.  However it was terrific to see how the Australian sporting culture presents solutions that are applicable to US sports.

Sports Geek US Study Trip Goals

  • Find great tech products that work in sports market
  • Connect with passionate sports professionals and fans
  • Discover what sports promotions are hitting the mark
  • Investigate how franchises are adapting the changing media landscape
  • What can the Australian sports market learn from the US sports market (and vice versa)

Along the way I’ll be keeping the trip fun by setting some challenges to achieve during the trip.

Here’s the Sports Geek Bucket List, please feel free to suggest more via the comments or @ reply on Twitter (@seancallanan).  If you can help me with these tasks please get in touch.

  • Twitpic with a championship trophy
  • Meet a commissioner – NFL, NBA, MLB or NHL
  • Get a twitter shoutout from @The_Real_Shaq
  • Tour of a new or unfinished stadium
  • Organize a #sportsgeektweetup
  • Have a beer with Bill Simmons AKA “The Sports Guy”
  • Tweet from a College Tailgate party
  • Appear in a YouTube clip with a champion (NBA, NFL, MLB, or NHL)
  • Be interviewed on a US sports radio station
  • Shake hands with Chevy Chase (see my twitter avatar for why)

Where am I going? I’m going study sports in 2 of the biggest sports markets in the world Los Angeles and New York.  Keep an eye on this blog as you’ll know where I’ll be and who I see.

Operation Cuban

In between I am going to stop over in Dallas.  I am a huge fan of Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban as he is also an unabashed “Sports Geek”.  If you don’t know Mark Cuban you should his Wikipedia gives an overview but his blog (Blog Maverick) tells you much more about him.  My goal is to shoot some pre-game hoops with Mark and talk sports & tech.  Stay tuned to see how I go.

Keep an eye out for the #sportsgeektrip hashtag on Twitter for updates.

[UPDATE - Sports Geek Travel Schedule]

Jan 5 2010 12:00pm – Leave Melbourne, Australia

Jan 5 2010 10:00am (Groundhog day) – Arrive in Los Angeles, California

Jan 12 2010 12:30pm – Leave Los Angeles

Jan 12 2010 5:40pm – Arrive Dallas, Texas

Jan 17 2010 1:00pm – Leave Dallas

Jan 17 2010 7:30pm – Arrive New York City, New York

Jan 25 2010 6:00pm – Leave New York

Jan 27 2010 11:30am – Arrive Melbourne

If you work in sports please join the Sports Geek LinkedIn Group

Contact Sports Geek to be profiled on Sports Geek Study Trip.

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Posted in News | 4 Comments »
04 Nov 2009

How sports can use new Twitter lists

NHLTwitterListsTwitter recently released new functionality to allow Twitter users to be grouped into “Lists” to provide easier access to follow groups of your followers.  If you want a full Twitter run down check out this TwipTip post.

At Sports Geek this new feature is a great way to help connect fans, a leader in this area is the NHL who have transformed the NHL Twitter account into a giant fan connection platform.  A simple tweet from the NHL got hockey fans into action.

@NHL Hey guys–we want to create lists of #NHL fans by team! Please Tweet @NHL your favorite team or teams w the hashtag #myfavoriteNHLteam

This allows more fans to connect with their favorite hockey team, which will only help create more buzz around the NHL.  It’s this kind of internet buzz that Mark Cuban believes (as do we) that can enhance the sports TV experience and ratings.

Unfortunately Twitter only allows 20 lists to be created so not all NHL teams are currently listed but it is a great start in building a strong passionate fan base.  The lists allow the fans to engage each other allowing more discussion and creating a strong social media voice for the franchises and league.

Lists also can help leagues and franchises solve the problems of fakes (previous post) by providing their own “Verified” lists like the AFLPA have done for AFL players.

We’ve been playing with lists with our SportsGeeksStars account which follows all Twitter account that interest Sports Geek – sports, leagues, athletes, brands, geeks.  Check them out.

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Posted in Communications, Social Media, Sports Marketing | No Comments »

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