Yes.
:smack:
I saw this earlier. The people running baseball are even bigger whores than the players. If you can believe that. :rolleyes: They’re also considering corporate logos on uniforms…
Hah, check out a cricket ground one day. We cricket fans have to put up with ads on the ground itself, the sightscreens, the fences, the scoreboard, the drinks cart, the players’ uniforms, the umpire’s uniforms, the bat, and the goddam stumps. Disgraceful.
Next up are lasers to inscribe ads onto the spectators’ eyeballs.
Didj’a ever see a NASCAR guy or car?
As AndrewT said, we Americans are such amateurs when it comes to advertising in pro sports. On NPR this morning I heard an opinion piece by a chief writer for Sports Illustrated. He was talking about how a major trade of a soccer player in Europe shows the guy in both uniforms, no team ID, just one cell phone maker to the next cell phone maker. He was talking about the current dustup at the Kentucky Derby.
Yeah, but fortunately nobody cares about cricket. 
Defining “nobody” as “the entire English-speaking world except the USA”, yes, I agree.
Considering that football players have had the Nike “swoosh” on their jerseys for over a year now, that shouldn’t be surprising.
You want corporate sponsorship, come to Australia. I was watching the recent Australia - NZ test match with my girlfriend and we started to get the giggles at the ludicrousness of what had a company name on it. Not were there brand names instead of player names on the jerseys, their official name is the “Vodaphone Wallabies.” Instead of half-time there was Holden-half-time. When one of the guys smashed head first into a goalpost the commentators talked about his neck being saved by the new-alcoholic-beverage*-goalpost protectors. There was lots more.
*I honestly can’t remember the name of the liquor that was being advertised. Sponsorship overload!
When I lived in Tokyo, about 18 years ago(!), there was a baseball team that was, as I understand it, owned and run by a company and not affiliated in name with a city at all. They were…
I still think “the Ham Fighters” is just about the coolest team name I’ve ever heard.
There’s an English speaking world besides the USA?!
What’s next, speaking
If only the ads were akin to the old Burma Shave signs, and the player would have to round all the bases to see what the full advert was.
This movie stars
Peter Parker
Just like the first
Only darker
BURMA SHAVE
This is not unusual in Japanese baseball, cf., Yomiuri Giants and Seibu Lions.
There was a recent commercial like that on the radio:
Announcer: The quarterback’s broken leg is brought to you by Honda…
There’s an intersection near my office that has a lot of visual clutter. It gives me a headache because there are so many adverts on sandwich boards, banners, posters, flags, stickers, signs, etc.
The problem is that everyone ignores all of it without even thinking. They automatically just disregard it all so completely it’s like it’s not there.
And why is this a problem? Because amoungst the visual clutter are the all-way stops signs. Accidents abound because everyone ends up “not seeing” them too!
Isn’t it fun when you’re bashed with thousands upon thousands of messages each day saying “BUY ME NOW!”? And what’s even better is that they’re in competition for your attention, leading to a ‘arms race’ of sorts… Brighter, flashier, more buzzwords and more locations they’re placed. I love taking a piss while looking at Ronald McDonald’s big face smiling at me, “HEY, YOU’RE PISSING RIGHT IN FRONT OF ME! BUY A BURGER! DON’T FORGET A MOUNTAIN DEW!”
“NOBODY WILL LIKE YOU IF YOU DON’T HAVE $100 OAKLEYS!”
“YOU HAVE TO OWN THE NEW RALPH LOREN SHIRT OR YOU WON’T BE ‘IN’”
“DRINK COKE BECAUSE… well… um… COKE COKE COKE COKE COKE COKE COKE!”
Oh well… The people get what they want… or rather the people get what the corporation tells them they want while they sit apathetically on the couch consuming copious amounts of Pepsi (because Brittney drinks it) while they prepare for their next bland trip through the Wal-marted suburbia to the mall for an orgy of impulse buys and some fast food from the depressing food court that is seen in every single mall across the nation.
Wasn’t it fun when causes like environmentalism, feminism, & activism were things to rally behind? When we had a feeling that we could change things? Make a difference?
eh, nevermind… We’ve got consumerism, capitalism, and globalization to passively watch while we wash the Hummer and wait for the next blockbuster or series finale.
sorry if I’ve gone off topic…
There was a commentary of public radio this morning (I think it was on Public Radio International’s “Marketplace Morning Report”) that basically said that ads everywhere is coming to baseball and we should just get used to the idea.
Good post though.
We don’t care about it here, either.
Jackelope, that’s true of MOST Japanese League teams:
The Yomiuri Giants are named after Yomiuri, a media conglomerate, sort of the Time-Warner of Japan.
The Hanshin Tigers are owned by a rail company, Hanshin.
The Nippon Ham Fighters are, of course, owned by Nippon Ham. Regrettably, their nickname is “Fighters,” not “Ham Fighters.” But I call them the Ham Fighters anyway.
The Orix Blue Wave are named after Orix, an investment firm.
The Yakult Swallows are owned by Yakult, a large food processing firm.
The Chunichi Dragons are owned by Chunichi, another media conglomerate.
The Daiei Hawks are named after the supermarket chain that owns them.
The Chiba Lotte Marines are owned by a food company named Lotte. I am not sure what the “chiba” part means.
The Kintetsu Buffaloes are owned by a corporation called Kintetsu; I’m not sure what they do.
The Seibu Lions are owned by Seibu, a retail chain.
Only two teams, the Hiroshima Carp and Yokohama Bay Stars, seem to be named after their home cities. Of course, you have to understand that almost all the other teams play in Tokyo or Osaka. If they were named after their home cities, you’d have the entire league called “Tokyo” or “Osaka,” which would be pretty confusing.
Must … buy … Coke … now!!! Can’t … help … myself …
Plus it’s 3 in the afternoon and I need my caffeine buzz! 
Looks like the fans have spoken
I liked the Burma Shave idea, though.