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The KFC T20 Big Bash League. The Hyundai A-League. The Toyota AFL Premiership. Matador BBQs Cup. Blundstone Arena. Etihad Stadium. Ricky Ponting for Swisse Ultivite. Mark Taylor for Fujitsu Air Conditioning. Everywhere you look around the Australian sporting landscape can be seen a flurry of corporate brands, products and images.
The question now has to be asked, has the commercialisation of sport gone too far?
The answer is a convoluted one. Everyone knows that sport is big business, nowadays sports competitions, teams and individuals rely on the support of the private sector in order to pay their bills.
However, when matches become more about entertainment, merchandising and advertising than about the game being played out in the middle, eyebrows must be raised and questions asked.
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An example of one such situation reared its ugly head in Saturday night’s BBL05 Melbourne derby between the Stars and Renegades.
As opening batsmen Luke Wright and Marcus Stoinis took to the centre following the innings break, a 15-minute hold-up in play ensued thanks to a superfluous fireworks display. Smoke filled the air and made play impossible, leaving the umpires no choice but to halt proceedings until the air cleared.
Now, this is not a common occurrence, but it should stand as a lesson to sporting organisers to hold the action out in the middle at a higher priority than off-field crowd entertainment.
Further, the proliferation of advertising in and around sport has become almost sickening. From KFC classic catches to the Harvey Norman man of the match or the KIA highlights, it has become impossible to simply watch athletes do their thing without a flurry of corporate nonsense being shoved down your throat.
Don’t get me wrong. I have no issue with commercialisation in sport – to a point. I am well aware of the surplus in funds which corporate sponsorship brings to teams and competitions alike. However, surely there is a way in which blatantly outright marketing of products and brands can be reduced without a massive hit to the budgets of sports themselves.
Perhaps more subliminal forms of advertising should be favoured rather than outward, public statements like lending a brand name to a team or competition.
Our sporting staples are being altered and associated with brands which change their entire message and meaning. I would rather small children not associate the game of cricket with KFC or any other brand for that matter. Sponsorship is not an issue in my eyes, however shameless plugging of a brand when it should be about the sport itself is too much.
I dream of a sporting world where I can listen to commentators speak purely about the action on the field rather than the latest hit television show or spouting allegiance to corporate sponsors. Hopefully, that dream can become a reality sooner rather than later.
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