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November 4, 2015No Sleeves: Knicks-Cavaliers, Behind the Box Score
November 5, 2015U.S. Senators John McCain and Jeff Flake are “Tackling Paid Patriotism” in their recently released report on military spending for military propaganda at sporting events. It’s something that I don’t think most people knew was happening, but it’s now completely in view that the Department of Defense has spent some $6.8 million on various “sports marketing contracts” since fiscal year 2012. While that news is distressing, it might be comforting to know that the Cleveland Indians, Cleveland Browns and Cleveland Cavaliers come off pretty clean in the report where the top ten teams took anywhere between $400,000 and nearly $900,000 in money in exchange for “marketing.”
The Cleveland Browns show up in the report for a color guard ceremony in 2012 featuring the United States Air Force for which the taxpayer cost was $10,000. I did some homework and found a game from September 23, 2012 where the Browns played the Bills and the colors were presented by The United States Air Force 311th Recruiting Squadron. That seems like a reasonable candidate for some paid military placement, what it being the “recruiting squadron” and all. That was the same year the Browns were sold to Jimmy Haslam, but the transaction hadn’t closed by the time this particular game occurred. There are no other listed events under the Browns in the report, which means that all those extra playings of that awful song by Lee Greenwood are all just the Browns’ idea.1
2012 was a big year for the Air Force in Cleveland as they also contracted with the Cleveland Indians. The Indians held out for more than the Browns, costing the taxpayers $12,000. The text in the report indicates that the Indians had an on-field swearing-in ceremony for “Delayed Entry Program” members and also managed to get the Air Force to buy 25 game tickets.
As for the rest of Ohio, the Columbus Crew took in $13,000 from the Air Force, but the Columbus Blue Jackets aren’t listed. Ohio State isn’t named in the report while some Big 10 counterparts like Indiana, Purdue and Wisconsin seemed to have taken hundreds of thousands combined. The Cleveland Cavaliers are completely out of the report as well.
Overall, this is somewhat embarrassing for the government, and it looks pretty shady for the leagues and some of the teams, but considering some of the other figures that were uncovered, Cleveland teams look pretty good here. Deadspin compiled the top ten list that includes the Atlanta Falcons being paid $879,000 and the New England Patriots taking in a cool $700,000. Considering figures like that, and the overall figure of $6.8 million, it seems that Cleveland teams don’t have much of anything to be embarrassed about with this report.
Now one final bit of business worth considering is how much was spent on this report? Obviously it isn’t free to do an investigation and it’s pretty apparent to me that it was a worthwhile investigation, but did it need a flashy graphical cover like this? And what did this piece of design work cost the taxpayers? Hmmm?
- For the record, I have no issue with that song thematically, just you know, musically. It stinks musically, regardless of what it is about. [↩]
11 Comments
I’d like to know how much the report cost to find this out.
Thanks for this, Craig, had no idea this was going on. My first impression is wondering whether it’s even necessary, when team marketing people hit the always-inoffensive patriotism button so often for their own marketing purposes. If the military just asked you’d think the teams might do it for minimal amounts if not for free.
Why is this troubling? Did we not know that the Defense Department spends money on marketing? Are we just troubled because it’s fun to be troubled? Sounds like it.
Having spent most of 2010 in Afghanistan I always found these “patriot ceremonies” to be somewhat contrived and insincere. Don’t get me wrong- I believe the fan reaction at these things (no matter how it was arranged), is 100% genuine-just like the
appreciation I felt from strangers in my everyday life. I was always grateful every time someone “thanked me for my service” or anonymously paid my lunch or bar tab. (It happened a lot).
But to this revelation I say…. big deal. The money we are talking is peanuts to the DOD. My understanding is that it cost the US approximately $1.5 million to train, equip, and support me for my tour, so the NFL collected the equivalent of supporting exactly 4.5 deployments for a year. 6.8 million isn’t even pocket change to them.
And the “revelation” is absolutely nothing compared to some of the exploitative crap put out in the name of “patriotism” in the past 4-5 years. For a while it seemed like 75% of the commercials ended with a scene of a guy in uniform hugging their family accompanied by a voice over that we should all buy a Chevy, drink Miller Lite, or call Allstate.
And believe you me, anyone that spent any time in Iraq or Afghanistan needed to take a shower after watching that one Budweiser “Welcome Home” commercial (the one with the 2nd Lt getting his own little Budweiser-sponsored hometown parade and a box seat to the game) played during the Super bowl about 2 years ago.
And really, if the Dept. of Defense comes and says, “we’ll give you XX dollars to do a little something Sunday, why shouldn’t they take the money?
I’d be willing to pay them for that time Weeden got trapped under the flag!
(Gif please?)
Right on, brother.
When I came home on leave from Iraq, I got front row seats to both (1) an Indians game and (2) a Browns pre-season game, but they were (1) a private donation, and (2) a USO donation. No fanfare, no picture on the jumbotron, just a nice night at a game with (1) my wife and (2) my brother-in-law. That’s the way it should be done.
Everything else is just manufactured sentimentality and crap, but I don’t care. The military has to do what it has to do to get people to join. We might be volunteers, but volunteers ain’t cheap.
If senators have a problem with the way the DOD spends its marketing money, then they should take a close look (in the mirror) at the people that approve the DOD budget. Otherwise, their outrage is just manufactured sentimentality and crap. Huh. Who would have thought?
I think the big driver is the fact that the NFL is getting paid to be patriotic where they make it seem like honest pride.
I heard once someone say, “things are not always what they seem.” Perhaps that’s applicable here.
Fine. But honestly, if anyone is fooled into thinking the NFL does anything outside of a profit motive, then that person is a fool.
True enough
Ooh-effing rah! Agree 110% on the senate. Looks like another manufactured crisis.
I still can’t get over the branding on the cover of the report.