All Stars Among Us
Yesterday we lost another baseball legend, a "brand" and marketing legend unto himself, George Steinbrenner. Something really special happened in the game of baseball on the day we lost "The Boss", the ultimate all-star. My colleague Jessica DiPietro reports ....
What's your experience, Jess?
Last night was one of my favorite nights of the year. The “midsummer classic,” the Major League Baseball (MLB) All-Star Game. It’s something I look forward to all season as a coming together of teams to celebrate “America’s National Pastime.”
But as MLB has been overrun with scandals from drugs to salary caps to possible strikes to the rising cost of tickets, now the players, owners, and the entire sport have lost some luster. Last night, they got some of that luster back! In my mind, MLB began a rebirth last night by connecting emotionally with their fans and tugging on their charitable heartstrings.
Partnering with People magazine, MLB honored not only our sports celebrities, but “All-Stars Among Us.” Every day people, just like you and me, making a difference in their communities through selfless acts of giving. Extraordinary citizens from every major league city gathered on the field in Anaheim, the home of DisneyLand (could the setting be any more perfect?), to be honored.
Their introduction? A-list celebrities Julia Roberts, Salma Hayek, Matthew McConaughey, Charlize Theron, Ben Affleck, Harrison Ford, and Sheryl Crow, all paying tribute to hometown celebrities in video introductions.
And just when I thought it couldn’t get any more emotional, our sports heroes, the MLB All-Stars, walked onto the field and starting shaking the hands of the “every day heroes” while a version of Christina Aguilera’s “Beautiful” was sung in the background by Glee star Amber Riley.
At that moment, the tears started to well up in my eyes. How beautiful in deed! What a way for MLB to connect emotionally with fans, begin to change their tarnished image, restore the faith of fans, and hopefully, reclaim their positioning as “America’s National Pastime.”
To top it all off, a moment of silence for my team’s “boss”, George Steinbrenner, who passed away yesterday, and acknowledgement of legendary Yankees announcer Bob Sheppard, who passed away this passed weekend as well. Being able to remember and honor two amazing “All-Stars” in Yankee history at this particular All-Star game was icing on the cake for a fan like me.
Congratulations MLB for finally making it about the fans and the “All-Stars Among Us.” Bring on the rest of the season!
- Jessica DiPietro, EVP at Lippe Taylor Brand Communications