The Bob Cole
Ohhhh Baby.
This is posed more as a question, but it's definitely up for discussion.
The other major sport leagues have huge budgets committed to improving the league's and player's images through community outreach. The NFL and NBA (MLB too? Not familiar, but I assume so) market the hell out of it (David Stern has slowly made sure to transform the perception of the type of people that NBA players are). It's a PR hype machine and regardless of whether you buy into it or not (come on, we know they're forced into it), it helps clean up the image and show some connection and commonality for a fan to share with their heralded players.
Just quick examples. We know there are many selfless players in the NHL that give in their own time. And most teams have requirements for visiting local hospitals/charitable functions. However, I never really see any PR from the NHL with regards to community outreach. Is this something they are missing out on? Should it be done? Is it done and just something I am unaware of?
The other major sport leagues have huge budgets committed to improving the league's and player's images through community outreach. The NFL and NBA (MLB too? Not familiar, but I assume so) market the hell out of it (David Stern has slowly made sure to transform the perception of the type of people that NBA players are). It's a PR hype machine and regardless of whether you buy into it or not (come on, we know they're forced into it), it helps clean up the image and show some connection and commonality for a fan to share with their heralded players.
Just quick examples. We know there are many selfless players in the NHL that give in their own time. And most teams have requirements for visiting local hospitals/charitable functions. However, I never really see any PR from the NHL with regards to community outreach. Is this something they are missing out on? Should it be done? Is it done and just something I am unaware of?