The occasional European spectator of an NBA game cannot fail to be immediately struck by one detail: the official shirts worn by the players do not feature any kind of sponsor. How is it possible, one wonders, that in the country where every square meter of free space becomes a potential advertisement do you neglect this aspect? What is the reason why one of the most popular sports leagues in the world does not grant the now classic rectangle on the chest of its champions to the colorful logo of some multinational?
Yet the NBA hasn't been impermeable to advertising: mini-spots every break, sponsors everywhere, bright billboards, stadiums bearing airline names. But official T-shirts don't; until today they have remained such a taboo as not to accept, the only case among American sports, not even the logo of the technical sponsor (Adidas) on the jerseys used during matches. But something is changing. The not rosy economic situation of many clubs is prompting owners to ask super commissioner David Stern to hand over the latest romantic tradition to advertising that incredibly survives in this sport.
This will be the topic that will be discussed at the beginning of April at the Board of Governors, the meeting where strategic decisions are made for the future of the league. It seems that Stern's last resistance will give way to the demands of the teams, to the great displeasure of the highly spoiled American fans, who pay handsomely for tickets and merchandising and will hardly get used to the change. But money is money and it certainly won't be the anachronistic desires of some purist, and not even the declining popularity of the patrons worn down by the lockout, to stop the craving for liquidity of a handful of fierce tycoons. Forecasts on the economic value of this type of sponsorship are conflicting. Front Row Marketing Services predicts that the cost of having the logo appear on the beefy chest of the stars will range from a million dollars for provincial teams up to just under ten for the most titled teams, but there are those who argue that to sponsor a top team it will take between 15 and 20 million dollars.
The figure does not seem unrealistic when one considers that the Qatar Foundation pays out 30 million euros a year to link its name to Barcelona's victories. Nothing to do, therefore, for fans and enthusiasts who will have to stop considering the uniforms of their favorite teams as the cult object that has remained practically unchanged over the last 30 years, as an intangible and vintage icon of sporting passion. The needs of modernity link the fate of the stars and stripes public to that of European football fans now accustomed to the spread of the wild brand, perhaps even fond of certain brands linked to pleasant sporting memories. TAmong the English, the first to have to accept the change were those of Liverpool who, way back in 1979, saw the glorious red shirt adorned with the writing Hitachi. They didn't take it well and the BBC didn't take it well either, which initially refused to broadcast the Reds' games. More than 30 years later, the bitter pill was digested throughout the old continent. And overseas, how will they react to the end of this umpteenth sporting tradition that gives way to the needs of show-business?
