Twitter Is Changing The Game in Sports

In a recent Q&A with the Sports Business Daily, Bob Ryan—who recently retired after 44 years as a journalist with the Boston Globe-lamented, “The Twitter world has perverted any concept of perspective.”

Them’s some heavy words, Bob. The concept of perspective is still out there. Very much so. It’s just that sports fans aren’t gaining perspective via 950 words on page 1C the next morning anymore. Instead, they are getting it in 140 characters within 90 seconds of whatever is said, done, shot, scored. Their sources are from everyone and everywhere. And, in many cases, they are giving perspective, too. The fact is you don’t need to be a columnist to be a taste-maker anymore. Not in a world of retweets.

Twitter is also changing the way teams market themselves. The Seattle Mariners (our client), now run a brand radio tag urging fans to follow them on Twitter, Facebook, Pinterest and Google+. That’s real estate teams have long reserved for moving tickets and spotlighting promotions and events.

The Brooklyn Nets are set to open their new arena this fall. One of the final touches? Painting the org’s Twitter handle on the court.

It’s not only shaping the way big plays are viewed, but big business issues, too.  The NHL and the NHLPA are learning quickly that Twitter—which wasn’t around during the last work stoppage in 2004—is going to play a large role in how the deals and sentiments surrounding the current lockout are communicated.

Twitter’s CEO, Dick Costolo, knows the value of the sports audience to his product. When asked who he would most want to get on Twitter, he said Tom Brady.

Sports remains one of the few things we consume almost wholly in real-time. Which means its exposure and coverage will continue to evolve and play out in real time. Which is why Twitter has become a perfect companion for the sports experience.