#Brand #Brand #Brand: On Syracuse's MetLife Endeavor

I didn't catch Chris Carlson's chat with Syracuse Athletics Executive Senior Associate Athletics Director/Chief Communications Officer/External Affairs person Joe Giansante about what Syracuse really gets out of playing so many games at MetLife Stadium until late on Friday, but, oh man, it's something. I had to share some thoughts on the whole thing. Go read the whole thing and then meet me at camera two...

1. Reading this article, it instantly made me realize how few times someone at Syracuse Athletics gets pressed about...anything. When was the last time you've seen DOC Gross have to defend the department from a determined media member? Have you ever? I can't think of any non-press conference media op when someone at SU was pushed to speak past generic business-speak to the truth behind it.

Obviously, SU has the fact that it's a private institution to work with and they work that angle well. It speaks volumes that Gross isn't the one being interviewed here and the only time he is interviewed about the MetLife deal, it's the local radio station SU has a partnership with.

Anyway, good work, CC.

2. Everybody loves to tell me that Notre Dame would never play in the Carrier Dome. And yet, they literally did ten years ago. I know the game has evolved, but, not so much that the idea of playing in the Dome is unheard-of. Not to mention, they're contractually-obligated to play in the Dome now with the whole ACC scheduling deal. Plus, as Carlson notes, Notre Dame signed a home-and-home with Wake Forest (WAKE FOREST) a year after our deal. Anyway...

3. When asked about the proliferation of neutral site games, Giansante says...

You have to look at the brand, look at recruiting, look at the student-athlete experience.

In that order, doesn't that sum up college football perfectly?

4. Takes about four questions and a whole slew of double-speak, but we eventually get to Syracuse getting $5M for this game. I get why SU doesn't want to disclose that stuff, but, to be honest, if you just came out and said that's how much we're getting, I bet a lot of people who are iffy on the deal would feel a whole lot better. To me, by trying to be coy about it, it's a case of over-thinking things.

5. That brings us to my favorite paragraph in the whole piece.

I don't think a lot of people understand the idea of brand. The advertisement for this game has been on ESPN SportsCenter all week. It's been on Dancing With the Stars. It played three times on Monday Night Football. You're seeing Terrel Hunt going into the end zone over and over again. That attention alone is worth $10 to $15 million and we're not even calculating that. It's not just the football program. It's a prime-time game that everyone is watching. It's attracting higher-level athletes for all our programs. It's helping improve our academics, attracting a higher level of student. We have a tremendous alumni base. We don't forget our alumni. There's a huge number of them in New York. It's important for them to be able to root for their team. It's been fun to see the Syracuse name out there this week.

Let's break it down...

"I don't think a lot of people understand the idea of brand."

DOOOOUUUUUCHE-CHILLS. I'm not used to having sports mansplained to me so this is a new experience.

"The advertisement for this game has been on ESPN SportsCenter all week. It's been on Dancing With the Stars. It played three times on Monday Night Football. You're seeing Terrel Hunt going into the end zone over and over again. That attention alone is worth $10 to $15 million and we're not even calculating that."

This program has been missing something all these years and the critical DWTS demo is what's going to fix it. Mark my words.

It's helping improve our academics, attracting a higher level of student.

No you didn't...

We don't forget our alumni. There's a huge number of them in New York. It's important for them to be able to root for their team.

As we all know, it's impossible for anyone to root for a team that doesn't play within driving distance to you. It's a scientific fact. That's why we're going to have yearly home games in Los Angeles from now on as well. "It's important for them," right?

6. This...

You don't see one commercial and decide that's the one that made me decide to buy Nikes. It's about building a lasting impact. Apple, McDonald's, Nike. There's an impact those names make in your brain when you hear them. That's what a brand is. It's that feeling that something is desirable, attractive.

College athletics, ladies and gentlemen. Man, with all this talk of brands and media and advertisements, it's a good thing these players are paid so well...