The NetSational Dancers made yet another appearance Saturday on the Today Show. In the story, the Dancers spoke about the music, the dancing and the fans...as well as how much the group means to them...as friends and as a lifeline.
Even as Barclays Center construction goes horizontal as well as vertical --with steel for the first floor being installed last week-- there remains within the sports industry, and among the team’s fans, confusion about the move to Brooklyn.
By committing $4 million to break their lease at the IZOD, the Nets took a gamble that the easy access afforded by the Prudential Center would lure more fans, particularly those from New York AND improve fan experience. So far, that first rationale hasn't panned out but no one can deny "The Rock" is a lot better place to watch the Nets.
The Times profiles Brett and Michael Yormark, who run two of sports' most distressed franchises, the NBA Nets and the NHL Panthers. They claim they like the challenge and in the words of the Times, "have become two of the most aggressive, innovative and sometimes controversial salesmen in sports".
Smoking inside NBA arenas has long been banned, so why is lighter maker Zippo buying signage at the Prudential Center? It's not about US sales, the Times reports, but selling more lighters in Russia, where smoking is still very prevalent--and a major health issue.
Smelly socks and jock straps, mens' cologne and hair gel...these are the things of NBA locker rooms...and in the case of the Nets, add Nivea skin care products. The Nets have signed a two year deal with Nivea to promote its mens' care products in their new locker room at "The Rock".
The Nets' social networking visibility has dramatically increased over the last several years with a presence on Facebook, Twitter, Flickr, YouTube and MySpace. Their traffic on Facebook is up 350% and Ben Couch's offerings on NetsBasketball are now followed by 23,000 tweeps.
In an interview with Sohu, the big China website, Brett Yormark talks about how he hopes Chinese firms will use the Nets as their global entre, in spite of the team's trade of Yi Jianlian in the off-season.
The Nets are thinking globally and expect to arrive in Brooklyn in 2012. In the meantime, they will be acting locally, as in Newark. And Newark is thinking about them, too, despite that temporary address. Some see it as an audition for a new NBA team in New Jersey. Others are just happy to have a team downtown.
The Nets keep talking about branding themselves as the World's Team. The NBA's first international owner wants it. And certainly, they're pushing the product. A game against an Israeli team to open preseason, an Open Practice in Russia, two preseason games in China, and two regular season games in England. But is that enough?
