Normally when some sports organization proposes a significant new fundamental change, I line up with the army arrayed against this "progress."
I was opposed to the designated hitter, I fought against permitting the zone defense in the NBA, and I can't stand rules that prohibit taunting.
But that string of opposition has now been broken by the venerable minds of the National Basketball Association. At the annual Board of Governors meeting owners decided to allow advertising patches to be placed on uniforms.
I love this one.
The idea, of course, is to raise more money for the teams and the league. Obviously the NBA has taken notice of NASCAR, where everything in the race is plastered with commercial signage. You can't even tell what color a driver's uniform is for all the commercial tags sewn on.
What the league is talking about is a 2-½ inch square on the left front of the uniform, right where the NBA logo is now.
Implementation will be delayed for a year to give everyone time to get sponsors lined up for the patches. I love this idea so much I think they should have gone much further. The possibilities seem virtually endless. Let's allow advertising on everything.
You could sell ads on the basketball itself. Imagine Titleist advertising itself on a basketball. And there are so many other possibilities. Think about it. Ads on...
- Jon McGlocklin's headset
- The Energee Dancers' bare bellies
- The wrist, knee and elbow bandages the players wear
- The ties worn by all coaches
- The backboard
- Bango's butt
- The championship banners hanging from the rafters
- Beer cups and nacho containers
- The back of the seat in front of you
- Warm-up jackets (This could be a bargain because they are only visible part-time)
- Sponsor each message from the PA announcer. "Number 34, Jennings, in for Ellis, brought to you by Speedy Lube
- Ushers and concession workers
It seems like the possibilities are endless. But who can the Bucks get to take advantage of all these advertising opportunities? I think the advertisers should be uniquely Milwaukee and we have an abundance of candidates.
The natural candidate for the jersey patches themselves would be Kohl's Department Stores. A match made in heaven.
Given how the Bucks have been known to go into slumps putting up the ball from all corners, on the backboard we could place the logo of the famed South Side bar At Random.
On the flat, tanned tummies of Energee dancers I'd put the logo of another South Side bar, Beer Belly's.
Take three coaches and make each one wear a tie featuring a different dome from Mitchell Park.
On Bango's butt we could advertise Sciortino's great burger buns.
Froedtert Hospital could put its logo on every bandage, support stocking and wrist band worn by the players.
You get the idea and if you have ideas, let me know and I'll pass them on to the Bucks.
If we all get behind this idea we could drastically increase revenue for the team and, who knows, we might not even need a new arena?
With a history in Milwaukee stretching back decades, Dave tries to bring a unique perspective to his writing, whether it's sports, politics, theater or any other issue.
He's seen Milwaukee grow, suffer pangs of growth, strive for success and has been involved in many efforts to both shape and re-shape the city. He's a happy man, now that he's quit playing golf, and enjoys music, his children and grandchildren and the myriad of sports in this state. He loves great food and hates bullies and people who think they are smarter than everyone else.
This whole Internet thing continues to baffle him, but he's willing to play the game as long as OnMilwaukee.com keeps lending him a helping hand. He is constantly amazed that just a few dedicated people can provide so much news and information to a hungry public.
Despite some opinions to the contrary, Dave likes most stuff. But he is a skeptic who constantly wonders about the world around him. So many questions, so few answers.
