The Religion of Sport

In lecture this week we looked at advertisements that use large profile sport figures to sell products. What was special about these advertisements was the way in which they used the sport figures to resemble Christ. For example, the Nike ad with Lebron James in a Christ-like pose and the slogan “we are all witnesses” can make a few Christians uneasy. However, we have to realize that these figures are Christ-like. For any die-hard sports fan, like myself, the dedication to sport is much like a religion, and the greatest athletes on the team are often seen as a Messiah. As a classmate pointed out in lecture, Lebron James was Cleveland's Messiah - they were a terrible team before he arrived, and just as bad when he left. He single-handedly lead the team; he was God-like, a miracle even. It is also important to realize that sport figures do not only have ads to sell athletic related products. Tom Brady, my favorite superstar in the world of sports, has done ads for Stetson cologne, UGG for men, and Movado watches. These advertisements do not highlight the fact that he is even a football player! Why? Because advertisers realize his face and name alone will make his fan base curious about the product. Even I’ve wondered what Stetson smells like after I saw Brady’s ad. A fan’s dedication can be so great that they will try and buy anything they see his or her favorite player endorsing.  

Sport figures are an amazing marketing tool. After all, almost every season of Dancing with the Stars features an NFL superstar. In the second last season, Heins Ward, Pittsburgh Steelers megastar, won the competition, and for anyone who watched, the in-house audience was not short of terrible-towels (a yellow rally towel associated with the Steelers), Ward even waved one in one of his dances. When Ward was asked to comment on his performance on the show he shouted “Steelers Nation!” and raised his arm to show a black and yellow Steelers rubber bracelet he was wearing. Undoubtedly, Ward got a few extra votes from the Steeler Nation that night.

Ultimately, sport superstars do not need to be depicted as Christ-like figures in ads for one to realize religion is already intertwined with sports. Dedication to a team or one athlete alone can boost sales for a product a player endorses, or increase a shows ratings because of the appearance of a sport superstar. Religious elements in sport advertisements are just playing on the fact that these players and teams already have a huge fan base who would call themselves disciples. I think it’s much more interesting to focus less on how companies use religion in marketing techniques for athletes, and spend more time on athletes who believe Christ himself is helping their team win like Tim Tebow.