Enough is enough already.

Just saw the update on the Internet and saw the report on NFL Network that James Harrison has been fined another $20,000 for another hit Sunday night on Quarterback Drew Brees. Harrison tackled Brees from behind after the quarterback threw a pass and was penalized for roughing the passer. In the last month, Harrison has been fined $100,000 three separate times. Oddly enough, he was only flagged once during the games which produced the fines.

I’ve been a lifelong fan of Steelers football. I grew up watching Joe Green, Jack Lambert and Mel Blount play defense. Blount was known for his rugged but clean style of play, but his “bump-and-run” defensive style was cut short midway through his career when the League changed the rules making his harassment of a receiver illegal. Jack Lambert was one of the toughest defensive players I’ve ever seen on a football field.

They say “Defense Wins Championships”. Since that 70′s team won four Championships during their reign, I would have to agree. That type of intimidating defensive blueprint has carried into today’s Steelers team with arguably the best core of linebackers the League has seen in the last 40 years. Lambert, Ham, Lloyd, Greene, Porter, and Harrison are just a few of the names that have worn the Black and Gold.

A couple weeks ago the League made news with what they deemed were “illegal hits” – after the fact. Only one of the three player were flagged and penalized during the game, but the League ended up fining three players “after further revue” for $175,000 combined, of which $75,000 came out of James Harrison’s paycheck.

To date, Harrison has been fined $100,000 in the last doing what he’s done since he was nine years old – playing football. He’s been a Pro Bowler, a Defensive Player of the Year, and possess not only a Super Bowl record, but one of the most memorable plays in Super Bowl history.

Harrison is one of my favorite Pittsburgh Steelers because of who he is and where he came from. He’s a football player – and football can be violent. If you don’t like the hits, then you shouldn’t watch and you shouldn’t play. The NFL is America’s favorite sport, with better ratings than any other professional sport around – so it’s obvious to me at least that the general public accepts the game “as is”.

Yes, I understand that there are those who don’t like Harrison. Frankly, I don’t like Ray Lewis or Tom Brady – but only because both of them have been a thorn in the side of the Pittsburgh Steelers for years. I can dislike them, but still respect their talent and value as a football player. It’s the whining about being dirty and unfair that I see and hear from fans that I believe is childish and unproductive. My years of listening to bizarre and ridiculous Anti-MLM critics have something to do with that I guess. My tolerance for whining in that arena has basically come down to ignoring that type of pin head mentality and behavior.

While reading about all this on the Internet, I came across an interesting Facebook Fan page that I decided to join – which can help send a message to the League that football needs to remain “as is” without the bogus fines in an attempt to put skirts on these players. It’s called “Pay James Harrison’s Bogus Fine” – but I don’t want you to pay for this fine because James needs the money – clearly he doesn’t need the help. The idea here is that we as football fans who have been watching violent hits for decades like the sport “as is” – and don’t want skirts put on our players.

Just one dollar and a note to Roger Goodel will do the trick. If you’re not on Facebook – here’s the information.

“For James Harrison’s fine.”
Roger Goodell, c/o National Football League,
280 Park Avenue,
New York, NY 10017

And just so you know, all money (including the fines paid by players) go to charities designated by the NFL. The League doesn’t profit from these fines – it will be going to a good cause.

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Whether you’re a fan of football or not, you were probably one of the estimated 100 million strong who tuned into watch last night’s Super Bowl. Parties pop up all over the world to watch this event.

Some even tune in to watch a football game.

Obviously Saints and Colts fans were watching to cheer for their respective teams. Old rockers like myself wanted to see if “The Who” could still make it through a set without suffering cardiac arrest. (The Super Bowl has come a long way since “Up With People” huh?) But the vast majority of the water cooler talk this morning I would imagine are the Super Bowl commercials that advertisers invested millions per spot to create brand recognition and buzz.

One of those advertisers the last 23 years had been Pepsi. But Pepsi decided to opt out this year not because they couldn’t afford the $12 million it would cost to air two spots during last night’s game. They opted out because they’re betting that “the days of mass-market media as the sole vehicle to reach an audience are officially over”.

Yep, you read that right, and an article forwarded to me last week lays out a whole new strategy for Pepsi that will focus on Social Media instead of Mass Media. For Pepsi, the Social Media platform is a much stronger and longer lasting medium for a yearlong initiative and their “Pepsi Refresh” campaign.

Granted, people still talk about Cindy Crawford’s appearance a couple years ago during the Super Bowl. (My personal favorites happen to be the E-Trade Babies that are absolutely hilarious!) The new Pepsi initiative however, in order for it to work, requires far more than a laugh, brand buzz or Monday morning water cooler talk.

“This is such a fundamental change from anything we’ve done in the past,” says Lauren Hobart, chief marketing officer for Pepsi-Cola North America Beverages. “It’s a big shift. We explored different launch plans, and the Super Bowl just wasn’t the right venue, because we’re really trying to spark a full-year movement from the ground up. The plan is to have much more two-way dialogue with our customers.”

The plan for Pepsi is to create a “charitable initiative that can build goodwill”. Pepsi wants to give away $20 million in grant money to fund projects in six categories: health, arts and culture, food and shelter, the planet, neighborhoods and education. You don’t start an initiative like that by spending $12 million in advertising dollars during the Super Bowl. It defeats the purpose, especially when there’s a better – more powerful medium that enables interaction between the company and the consumer who will guide this money to worthy projects.

Will this goodwill initiative spawn new customers and help Pepsi’s bottom line? It may not be enough for a Coke fan like myself to switch, but I do find Pepsi’s initiative refreshing enough to write about it – which could lead others to switch. (For the record, it does shed a whole new light on Dr. Pepper, which is a Pepsi brand I do drink.) For some it could tap into brand loyalty in a way that Mass Media could never do – especially during an event like the Super Bowl that’s designed for entertainment and not social change. That’s why I think Pepsi hits the mark with their choice to opt out of the Super Bowl this year and move to Social Media instead.

In my opinion, it’s a perfect marriage for goodwill and social change.

Social Media is just that – “social”. We’re social beings and the platforms available such as Twitter and Facebook enable big name companies to interact and promote not only their brand, but their cause. You’d be hard pressed not to find a company in this day and age who doesn’t have either a Facebook fan page or Twitter account, or both. Not to say some still don’t have one, but if you’re looking to build your company both mediums appear to be a top priority because they enable the company to interact with their customers in ways never thought possible before.

Like this story – Re-Tweet it. Something you find interesting or strikes a chord with you – write about it and link to it on your Facebook wall. Both platforms can do far more than announcing to the world you’re getting ready to get ready to go out next Friday night. And the thing is – people and companies are beginning to see the power these social platforms have. They’ve quickly turned into tools that promote meaningful change and perhaps, for companies like Pepsi – a better bottom line.

Aside from talking about all those over the top and extremely entertaining Super Bowl commercials there’s really very little value for me or you after that. Not that I have anything against brand buzz or hype. I buy into it just as much as the next guy – especially if it technology or travel related. But this shift Pepsi is taking this year takes a strike directly at this long standing medium and makes a very bold statement that there is another way – a better way to get your message and brand out to the masses.

I think about the ZamZuu video that’s on our Rep Accounts, and I see those quotes about the internet, Facebook, old ways of doing business, and traditional advertising being dead.

Couple that with what Pepsi is doing?

Do you think both could be dead wrong?

Possibly. But I don’t think the odds are that overwhelming when you have big names like Pepsi jumping from Mass Media to the Social Media bandwagon. You don’t just stop doing things after 23 years without some very close and careful analysis.

It’s certainly a very bold move. But those of us in YTB, know all about being bold don’t we?

Can’t wait to see how both shake out. ;-P

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I have to admit, ever since 1992, the year Sid Bream slid into home plate to win the NLCS for the Atlanta Braves beating the Pittsburgh Pirates in game 7, I haven’t been much of a baseball fan. It was the same year I moved here to Atlanta from Pittsburgh. I still talk about it and friends here still tell me to get over it.

My response…”I’ll get over that play when you get over the Civil War”. It’s been 144 years since the War ended and I still see signs that the South will rise again.

For the next decade, Brave fans rubbed it in as they went back to the playoffs year after year, while the Pirates never seemed to recover trading away star players like Bream, Bell, Belinda, and Bonds. The Pirates have dwelled in the cellar ever since.

As a sports fan, I can appreciate those who loath the Yankees, even if I never cared one way or another about the team. With their 27th Championship Title now in hand, they’re a team that has dashed the hopes and dreams of multiple millions since 1921. When you beat out other teams about once every three years, you’re bound to upset fans from other teams who desire to be where you are.

If you’re a Yankees fan, you love them. If you’re a fan of any other team in the Majors, you hate them.

While I hadn’t watched a single pitch all season, I did tune into this series once I got back from our cruise. Not necessarily because I was a fan, but because my Steelers had a bye over the weekend. Well…that, and some of my Facebook friends are die hard Yankee and Philly fans who were talking smack. (Which was extremely entertaining to watch!)

You have to love the passion of sports fans. There’s no middle ground when it comes to certain subjects. The emotion it evokes can rival politics, religion, and even Network Marketing!

I have to admit, this series was one of the more entertaining in recent years because of the ebb and flow of the series. Alex Rodriguez is no longer a choker and a loser. The way he raised it up and carried it around, you would have sworn the trophy was light as a feather. Hideki Matsui tied a World Series record with six RBIs and won the Series MVP. (Despite starting only three of six games against the Phillies.)

If nothing else, the Yankees have officially christened their new stadium for the next 88 years to keep the Championships coming.

I love my Steelers and the 6 Lombardi Trophies we have. It’s hard to fathom 27 of them.

I’ll be making a number of phone calls today to congratulate my New York fans, and offer my condolences to my Philly fans. They all did the same for me when Pittsburgh won both the Super Bowl and the Stanley Cup this year, so it’s the right thing to do. For Yankees fans, it’s old hat. For Philly fans…remember…I still haven’t gotten over Sid Bream and the South will rise again. ;-p

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