NHL Guardian Project

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Source: wikimedia.org

The NHL has hired Stan Lee, creator of Spiderman comics, to develop 30 heroes representing each team. These characters “came to life” at the NHL All Star Game this weekend in Carolina (Source: NHL.com). You can see all of the characters and read their back stories at the official Guardian Project website.

A lot of people have wondered out loud how comic book heroes relate to hockey. The obvious rationale is provided by the NHL:

“With an initial plan to reach an all-family audience and narrower target demo of tween boys, GME hopes to bring a new audience to the NHL, while engaging the existing, established hockey fan base through a compelling tale of good vs. evil.” Source: NHL.com

But how do superheroes bring in new fans?

It does tap into the market of comic book fans who are familiar with Stan Lee’s previous work. Being exposed to NHL logos and learning about the teams they represent is a good way to get fans into the game. But it’s the narratives and storytelling that will bring in fans.

Narratives play an important role in communication between people. It’s a way to teach, a way to entertain and a way to engage readers. By having characters, a plot, conflict and an ending, stories manage to stick with us longer and have a greater impact that simply reading lessons or information. An example would be the lessons a child learns when reading a story.

Stan Lee and crew attempt to summarize an entire NHL team and its city into one single character. Here’s an exerpt from The Oiler’s background:

He’s gritty and tough like the roughneck oilrig workers he mostly associates with. He spends a majority of his time roaming the Northwest Territories. He’s most happy when he’s exploring the vast northern wilderness. Whether it’s blasting bad guys with torrents of energized oil, engulfing them in a horrendous blizzard or crushing through concrete walls, the Oiler is one devastating Guardian. Source: nhl.com

A person can get more out of their engagement with a narrative and following a character, rather than just consume information about a topic. The Guardian project ties the information about Edmonton and what an Oiler is into animation and a storyline instead of just presenting facts to consume.

The NHL’s foray into comics also works as an example of transmedia storytelling. Henry Jenkins (2007) defines transmedia storytelling as:

a process where integral elements of a fiction get dispersed systematically across multiple delivery channels for the purpose of creating a unified and coordinated entertainment experience. (Source: Confessions of an Aca/Fan)

The NHL has used television, radio, web, social media and gaming to reach its audience. By using comics, the NHL can continue its storytelling and capturing a wider audience and maintain costs.

According to Jenkins,

comics have emerged as a key vehicle for constructing transmedia narratives — in part because they cost less to produce and are thus lower risk than developing games or filming additional material (Source: Confessions of an Aca/Fan)

It’s easy to mock the NHL for trying out comic book superheroes, especially when they make for easy punchlines. The odd selection of characteristics for some of the guardians as well as the strong resemblance to older Stan Lee characters have been a more popular topic of conversation. But there is good reasoning for a professional sports league, that’s trying to grow its game, to try something as imaginative as this.

The Game as a Narrative

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Source: scenariste.org

Following a team, a player, a league, a division can be a long soap opera. Whenever the fan steps in and gets into the game, that’s when the story starts.

There’s thousands of storylines to follow as a fan. A team’s quest for a championship. A player’s development from a junior player to a professional. A league wide battle for top spot. Each game, each play, each season is made of stories. Each game story consists of the same things. Characters, settings, time period, problems, resolutions.

Fans follow these storylines but have always been able to create their own.

For instance, they can follow a local player who goes from the neighborhood rink to the Hall of Fame. Mainstream media outlets, newspapers and blogs can also create a story for such a player, but a fan can have a different take on them. Perhaps they knew them personally or had more knowledge than what made it to the papers.

As commenter’s on blogs, message boards and social media sites, fans can give input on the story and perhaps sway the perspectives of others. In this case, fans not only follow storylines, but they also become part of it as well.

NHL in 360

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http://graphics8.nytimes.com/bcvideo/1.0/iframe/embed.html?videoId=1248069572260&playerType=embed

The Albright-Knox Art Gallery in Buffalo has a special exhibition set up to commemorate the 40th anniversary of the Buffalo Sabres.

This video is shot from different points of view. A goalie and a forward for the Sabres has a camera attached to their helmets while one camera is from a fans point of view. The New York Times has more on the story.

The Hockey News: 100 People of Power and Influence

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Source: The Hockey News

Latest post about The Hockey News’ annual list is here.

The latest issue of The Hockey News compiles the top 100 most influential people in hockey today.

The game itself has so many facets that it’s impossible to really measure influence. There’s the business side of it, so sponsors, owners, league executives and agents have influence. Then there’s the game play, so coaches, players and managers who determine how their teams prepare and perform have influence. Broadcast networks and mainstream media of course influence the game since they decide what’s presented, and how much.

I was surprised to see only one blogger make the list. Greg Wyshynski of Puck Daddy ranks at #92 this year, up seven spots from last year. He’s the only blogger to have ever made the list.

Fans themselves have a lot of influence on the game and use blog sites regularly to get the latest information and interact with others. Online activity of NHL hockey fans has increased significantly over the past few years with more subscribing to digital services (Financial Post). But the modern fan is more than just a consumer of the game. They also act as sponges learning the game and developing their own ideas and thoughts. They take the information out there and centralize it to construct knowledge on blog sites.

Having only one blogger on the list seems bizarre to me especially considering the amount of traffic and comments they get daily. In the past year alone, some major stories have been broken by bloggers. None bigger than blogger Tyler Dellow uncovering some dirt on Colin Campbell, a senior VP and the NHL’s head of discipline. Reaction from TSN, Globe and Mail and Puck Daddy.

It could also be that the list The Hockey News has compiled just ignores online activity as an influencer.

Phoenix Coyotes player Paul Bissonnette landed at #100 on the list. He has a total of 6 points in 80 career games (as of this post) and is known more for his fighting on the ice. But online, Bissonnette has become one of the most popular hockey types on Twitter (@BizNasty2point0). With over 34,000 followers, he ranks near the top of all hockey related accounts, even ahead of The Hockey News (@TheHockeyNews). Bissonnettes entertaining tweets are pretty refreshing for a league that has very robotic-like players when a broadcast medium is placed in front of them. He’s also a supporter of causes that help the homeless and has some unique fundraising methods.

His online activity and the nature of his tweets has the attention of a demographic that the NHL caters to and should get him a higher spot. Bissonnette updates regularly to give followers a behind-the-scene look at life in the NHL and promotes the game in a market desperate for fans.

The Hockey News needs to start examining online activity as an influence on professional hockey. I can understand how owners, players and media influence the game. But with more and more people online and the web being what it is, more attention needs to be placed on bloggers and online communities.

Campbell, K. (2011). 100 People of Power and Influence. The Hockey News, 64 (14), p. 14-23.

Hartley, M. (2011, January 25). NHL mobile apps top one million downloads as hockey fans go digital. Financial Post. Retrived from http://business.financialpost.com/2011/01/25/nhl-mobile-apps-top-one-million-downloads-as-hockey-fans-go-digital/.

Ebbsfleet United – Fan-owned soccer team

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In 2007, a group of fans pooled together enough money to buy a minor league soccer team in England. The website MyFootballClub.co.uk collected money from fans to become owners of the Ebbsfleet United Football Club. Roughly 26,000 people at the time signed up and contributed $70 US each (Source: Wall Street Journal).

Fans would be able to vote on different issues such as selecting a coach, approving player transfers and game day lineups.

After one year, however, the number of owners dropped to roughly 9,000. As of September 2010, there are only 3,500 paying members (Wikipedia). The team has struggled as of late and has dropped down to a sixth tier level of soccer.

This crowd sourcing tactic seemed like a great idea at first. Utilizing the collective intelligence of fans can be a great benefit to a professional sports team, but has its challenges.

From different quotes in a recent BBC article, it appears there were critical factors that led to the drop in ownership members.

Fans appear to have been given false promises and hope regarding the team and dedication of owners. According to Gary Andrews of SoccerLens.com, it took seven months for the Pick the Team option to be offered but needed to be voted on by the owners. The final vote was 265-227 in favor of Team Manager Liam Waish selecting the team rather than the fans. Such a low voter turnout is concerning and makes you wonder if the majority of the owners are even real fans of the club.

“I think we failed to give many members the feeling of ownership and closeness to the club they had hoped for. Perhaps the idea of being part of a takeover and making decisions was more exciting than the reality.” – Will Brooks, MyFC’s founder (has since departed), BBC article

There is a tiredness about the whole MyFootballClub project. I think a lot of people when it first started thought it would have been a large football club – someone like Leeds United. That would have been ridiculously optimistic to take on a football club like that. There’s a lot of frustration that there were larger numbers and between us all we haven’t achieved a little bit more. – Phil Sonsara, voluntary chairman, BBC article

It also appears that not everyone was on board with having so many owners controlling so much. Coaches have enough to deal with when handling players and game plans, let alone a fan community with some power. It’s also tougher to make decisions regarding player transactions when you have to consult a community.

I don’t have the time to sit and write blogs and podcasts or whatever they are. I have a lot on my plate. I’m not going to be sitting in front of a computer six hours a day, answering everyone’s emails. – Liam Daish, Team Manager, BBC article

I honestly felt the club could never progress so long as MyFootballClub was involved. There comes a point when these people need to say this is damaging the football club now. When it comes to transferring players, for example, other clubs don’t always want their details bandied about in the public domain. Decisions have been made in the past that don’t involve the members. They’re swept under the carpet. Nobody’s probably trying to do that in purpose, but it’s the reality of the situation. – Roly Edwards, former director and vice-chairman, BBC article

Today, the club continues to struggle on the field while problems exist with the current ownership system. A site has been launched called FreeMyFC, a community of fans unhappy with the current situation.