I’m acutely aware that I’m the minority when it comes to sports preference. I’ve heard many say that watching baseball on television is as exciting as watching Bob Ross watch paint dry, so the majority of my friends were beyond excited for the first football Sunday of the season, where we flood the local watering holes for ten hours of hot wings and yelling at televisions. The National Football League is an ever-evolving entity, always searching for new ways to present their product. Let’s take a look at some early stories and storylines for the 2012 season!

NBC Brings Social Media to the Sidelines

If you caught my post about The Newsroom (or even better, watch the show) you got a taste of how intricate and pressure-packed a television broadcast can be. Producers are under rigorous time constraints and have to adhere to strict formatting guidelines to allot enough time for the game, and ridiculously expensive advertising. As a result of these restrictions, commentators can only air brief segments with their sideline reporters; and these reporters often have the inside scoop on what’s occurring down on the field. To compensate for their lack of available time, NBC is utilizing Twitter and Instagram in-game. Filming spots from the sideline and also manually updating, reporter Michelle Tafoya is updating the handle @SNFonNBC with details that would otherwise never appear during the broadcast. This brings important information such as injury updates and player comments right to the user.

Fantasy Continues to Bring Ratings

Would you sit at a bar on a Sunday afternoon to watch a matchup of the Cleveland Browns and Arizona Cardinals if you weren’t a fan? I didn’t think so; I wouldn’t wish that kind of weekend on anyone. I’ve always compared fantasy football to a jock’s version of Dungeons and Dragons, but you cannot deny the impact that the online stat-game has on the NFL’s ratings. Instead of scoffing at yet another Carson Palmer interception and changing the channel, millions of football enthusiasts find themselves watching games that they would normally deem ‘The Stinkbowl’ just to ensure a weekly victory for their team. It really is a brilliant racket by the National Football League, and the popularity of fantasy football has brought a viewership to the game that otherwise would spend Sunday cleaning.

What Will Become of the Referees?

With the NFL referee lockout still ongoing, the league’s top brass were forced to enter the season with replacements. There has not been much in the way of negotiating progress as the group of officials is firm in their stance of better pay and not being required to quit second jobs. From all accounts, the replacements did a serviceable job in their first week, but that will not stop commentators from blaming officials if a call doesn’t go their way. What will the NFL do once the lockout is ended? Will some replacement refs be permanently added to the payroll? This will be an interesting story to follow as it continues to develop.

There you have it: just a few of the trending storylines surrounding the NFL’s 93^rdseason. So don your beverage helmet and team-gear and get ready for what will prove to be an eventful few months in the football world.

-Carter Breazeale

PR/PR Public Relations

Isaac has left the building, but the story is far from over. As I dodged standing water so as to not soak my shoes on this Tuesday morning, I was reminded of the amalgam of ‘Isaac mockery’ memes making their rounds online over the weekend. As Floridians, we are used to the ‘over-promise/under-deliver’ method often employed by news teams when a storm threatens. The reporter being battered by wind and rain, the rattling stop sign on an abandoned street corner; we’re afforded these visuals every summer and for many of us it arouses a feeling of cautious skepticism. As conditioned as we are as Florida residents to hold a cynical view of hurricane forecasts (only further reinforced by Isaac’s underwhelming impact), it’s entirely easy to forget that sometimes the real story is what occurs after the real story is over.

While the damage assessment from Isaac’s impact on Florida may only amount to a list of blown over lawn chairs and soggy topsiders, the story does not end there for this tropical hooligan. Another interesting narrative has developed, as Isaac is now poised to form into a hurricane and make landfall on New Orleans, on the seven-year anniversary of Hurricane Katrina. There’s no need to dredge up any unnecessary memories from one of the worst natural disasters in U.S. history, and certainly no need to draw any kind of parallel between the two storms; but storylines drive news, and top stories will once again revolve around Isaac and how it will affect The Big Easy.

The point I’m making here is simple. While some stories don’t quite deliver the ‘Hollywood Blockbuster’ type payoff that news directors and producers seek while hoping for a ratings spike, the bigger story may actually be gleaned once the hype has died down. Will the reinforced levees do their job on Lake Ponchartrain? Georgia is undergoing massive droughts; what kind of influence will Isaac’s weather have on their climate conditions going forward? These are the questions that will be asked, and media sources will be scouring their network for qualified individuals to answer them.

The rain is still saturating us here in Orlando, but the severe storm-threat has all but passed. With Isaac inching towards New Orleans, our thoughts are with those residents, and our hope is that whatever secondary-storyline emerges from the storm’s impact will be one of resiliency and redemption. For those following news such as Isaac, just remember to always be prepared for your expertise to be called on. While the original story may not directly apply to you, there are always after-effects and undercurrents that can and will be explored.

-Carter Breazeale

PR/PR Public Relations