Why Obama Is Not A (Sports)Fan-Favorite

Sports fans are predominently Republican, according to a recent study. (Image via Snagwire Media)

It turns out your favorite sport may predict whether you are more likely to vote along Republican or Democratic party lines.

A recent study by GOP think tank, National Media Inc. analyzed the correlations between viewers’ favorite sports and their voting habits.

According to the study, the PGA Tour has the strongest Republican base.  GOPers also tend to follow College football, Nascar, and the NHL more than their Democratic counterparts.

Meanwhile, the WNBA  has the greatest percentage of left-leaning fans. Democrats also tend to favor NBA, the WWE, and Men’s and Women’s tennis.

Overall, however, sports fans are more likely to swing right.  Dedicated fans are also more likely to vote than those who are not.

As Hotline On Call points out, these statistics could have important implications for those running political ad campaigns.  The Republican base is notoriously harder to reach through ads, and viewers typically stick around more for commercials during a sporting event.

So next time you sit down to watch the Lakers play, or watch Tiger hit the course in the PGA Tour, keep an eye out for politically aligned commercials trying to reach their target base.

EA Games One of Few to Stick with Woods

In my last post of 2009, I argued that Tiger Woods’ sponsors and true fans would not abandon him because of his “transgressions.”

Luckily, I included this disclaimer: unless – that is – his personal life starts affecting his professional life, because only two of his sponsors have faithfully stood by him.

If Woods had immediately hit the course, he would have reminded his fans – and his sponsors – why he was their favorite in the first place: the guy can golf.

But Woods is M.I.A. and the majority of his sponsors responded by ditching him.  As I said in my last post, this is a bad move because Woods will be back.  And when he is, corporations will be lining up to sign deals.

EA Sports' Tiger Woods PGA Tour 11 to be released in June (http://tinyurl.com/yjtsn2r)

Nike and EA Sports seem to be the only original sponsors who will still be with Woods when he decides to step back onto the course.  Since the golfer’s Thanksgiving accident, the two brands have continued their sponsorship deals.  EA Sports is continuing its plans to release its Tiger Woods PGA Tour 11 in June.

EA Sports president Peter Moore recently talked to USA Today about the company’s decision to stick with the Tiger Woods brand, as well as the impact of Tiger’s absence on the PGA:

Tiger the golfer is what this is all about and we recognize some of the personal challenges he is having right now because he is very important to us. He is the world’s greatest golfer of this current era. He is (the Associated Press’) greatest athlete of the decade. We stand by him for everything he has done to build our franchise. And this latest announcement both of the new console games, Tiger Woods PGA Tour 11, which we announced in conjunction with our open beta of Tiger Woods Online, which is a strategic imperative for the company not just EA Sports — it all comes under the brand of Tiger Woods and we continue to stand by him as the world’s greatest golfer.

The video game’s release will be the first true gauge of Woods’ fan appeal.  If the game lives up to previous tours’ sales, fellow sponsors will likely lighten up, and – hopefully – Woods will hit the course.



Why No One (Except his Wife) Should Care about Tiger’s Trangressions

Ever since he ran his Escalade into a tree, the world has been a buzz with everything Tiger Woods. As scandalous details continued to be uncovered, the discussion fell to just how much this story will hurt the icon’s business.

Notice that this discussion didn’t last long. While Woods’ sponsors surely took a moment to lament his “transgressions,” it is extremely unlikely that any of them will ditch the player anytime soon (unless – that is – his personal life starts affecting his professional life.) In fact, each of his big-name sponsors followed his public statement with their own, in which they showed their unwavering support for the world’s number one golfer/ their cash cow.

It is unlikely Tiger's trangressions will cost him more than his marriage (http://tinyurl.com/ykaqt6s)

In the past few years, Woods has partnered with some of the greatest corporate brands on the planet. In doing so, he not only planted himself on the fast track to becoming the first billionaire athlete, but also made millions for his sponsors. According to Forbes.com, “Nike has built an $800 million (sales) business on his back; The Tiger Woods EA Sports PGA Tour series – now in its 12th incarnation – is one of the most popular videogames on the market; and Pepsi-Co launched a line of Gatorade Tiger sports drinks last year.”

Not only do these sponsors not want to lose this business, they more importantly do not want to lose this business to someone else. If any one of these corporations were to break contract with Woods, it would only take seconds for another competitor to cash in on the golfer’s success. And it’s not like these corporations have another golfer to turn to. According to the E-Poll Market Research on Forbes.com, Phil Mickelson is the golfer with the second highest public awareness – of 25% – a number that pales in comparison to Woods’ 82%.

The idea that true sports fans are going to stop rooting for their favorite athlete based on infidelity is unsubstantiated. If that were the case, very few athletes would have fans at all. Sponsors – and fans – do not adore Tiger because he is a good guy. Padraig Harrington is probably a good guy, but the majority of people haven’t heard of him. That’s because he can’t pick up a golf club and do what Tiger can. In fact, no one can.

Tiger Woods made golf popular. As Kurt Badenhausen points out in his article, Save The Tiger, “the top three TV ratings in the history of the U.S. Open were all Woods victories, in 200, 2002, and 2008. The ratings during the fourth round of the 2008 U.S. Open where Woods completed on a torn knee ligament and a double stress fracture in his leg beat those of Game 5 of the NBA Finals  between the Los Angeles Lakers and Boston Celtics, which played the same day.” And when Woods missed that year’s PGA Championship due to his injuries? Ratings plummeted 55%.

As long as Tiger Woods continues to play the course as only he can, the idea that any sponsor would want to part ways with the golfer is incredulous.  Fans and advertisers will continue to watch in awe, as he dominates the game of golf.