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| Notebook: Raiders' popularity goes beyond gangs By Darren Rovell ESPN.com SAN DIEGO -- Thanks to the black and silver colors, the bones and skeletons and the rough and tough attitude associated with the team, the Raiders' logo has long been a staple of gangs in Chicago and California. At the height of the team's popularity among gangs, many schools banned students from wearing the team's logo.
"With the popularity of the Raiders right now, it's awfully hard to conclude that someone in a group of kids wearing Raiders clothes has an association with a gang," said Robert Walker, a former agent for the Drug Enforcement Agency who now trains law enforcement on gang identification and behavior. "In the early '90s, we'd stop a group of kids that had Raiders gear on, but there's no way you can do that today," said Wes McBride, president of the California Gang Association who worked with gangs as a sergeant in the Los Angeles Sheriffs Department. According to Sgt. Allen Harris, who works on a gang investigation team in Carson, Calif., many gangs have changed their colors from black. Some African-American gangs wear more red and some Hispanic gangs now wear brown.
How will it rate? The Oakland Raiders winning the AFC could also attract more eyeballs. Last week, an ESPN.com SportsNation poll, with 1,373 respondents, revealed that the Raiders vs. Bucs -- with 46.1 percent of the vote -- would be the highest rated Super Bowl. The Raiders vs. Eagles matchup received 44.3 percent of the vote. "There's a great storyline to the Raiders," said Rick Burton, director of the University of Oregon's Warsaw Sports Marketing Center. "It's their first Super Bowl in two decades, you have one of the league's most recognizable owners in Al Davis and one of its most recognizable stars in Jerry Rice." Bucs head coach Jon Gruden facing his former team also makes for a compelling behind-the-scenes plot. Fox estimated that 131.7 million people in the U.S. watched its broadcast of Super Bowl XXXVI last year. The most-watched Super Bowls both involved the Dallas Cowboys. In 1996, when they played the Pittsburgh Steelers, an estimated 138.5 million people watched. Two years before, when the Cowboys played the Buffalo Bills, an estimated 134.8 million people watched. This season -- thanks in part to more prime-time slots -- viewership on games on ABC, CBS, FOX and ESPN averaged a five-percent increase.
Twin sensation
Bob Dorfman, a sports analyst at Pickett Advertising who annually releases a Super Bowl player marketability list, thinks Ronde's chances of cashing in are very good, thanks in part to his good looks and the packaging with his brother. "The pair does a nice job in the Visa commercial currently running," Dorfman wrote. "And could work well in tandem for Wrigley's Doublemint gum, Pizza Hut's double crust pizza, a Jockey briefs 2-for-1 offer, or a Schick twin-blade razor demo, shaving their heads." Lepselter said he is finalizing a children's book deal involving the two, and he is in preliminary discussions with a national sporting goods chain. "Ronde and Tiki are hitting their pinnacle both on the field and off," Lepselter said. Ronde has a television show on the NBC affiliate in Tampa and a radio show on WQYK. Tiki has a radio show on 1050 ESPN Radio in New York and a TV show on the YES Network. Both brothers currently have deals with Reebok.
Counting the cost
Shoulder pads = $120 If you do the math, that's a total of $336.
Depends who you ask Hoover said many companies are also still spending to have athletes attend their corporate events. Notre Dame great Paul Hornung will make about $5,000 to show up at a dinner and golf tournament hosted by Barona Casino, while former Lions running back Barry Sanders will get about $20,000 for playing in the golf tournament. The company has also booked appearances for former Chargers quarterback Dan Fouts, former Bears linebacker Dick Butkus and former Raiders running back Marcus Allen.
The name game "Before our naming rights deal, not many people knew who Qualcomm was and what we were about," said Jeff Belk, the company's senior vice president of marketing. "Today, we can definitely say it's been a phenomenal investment. But if companies don't perform well, their naming rights deals aren't going to make things any better." Although Qualcomm Stadium will be the site of Super Bowl XXXVII, the Padres are leaving the stadium for its new park in April 2004. On Monday, the team announced a stadium naming rights deal with PETCO. Qualcomm's investment also could be in limbo if the Chargers somehow get a new stadium or relocate. "It's something we're tracking," Belk said. "But the city and the Chargers have a long way to go, and we'll cross that bridge if we come to it." Darren Rovell, who covers sports business for ESPN.com, can be reached at darren.rovell@espn3.com. |
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| The Miller Lite Post Season Challenge gives you a chance to test your football acumen through each round of the playoffs, competing against other football fans for a shot at glory and some nifty prizes. | ||||
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  Sports BizESPN.com's Darren Rovell looks at the business side of the Super Bowl. Standard | Cable Modem | ||||
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