The old college try

(From Business Mirror)

COLLEGE basketball means different things to different people. And whatever it means to all or any of them, the University Athletic Association of the Philippines (UAAP) and the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) definitely rank high in the hierarchy of present-day mania of both leagues’ concerned publics.

Teams regard the start of the season as a “product reveal.” Much like a product launch where the new package is unveiled at a climactic moment. The first playing day is when the team gets to show off not just its new look or its new uniforms, but also its new weapons, its new capabilities (or lack thereof), its new ingredients. The new product, after all, is the result of almost a yearlong process of addition and subtraction, test-drives and torture tests, tweaking and retweaking, and, finally, buffing and polishing for the big day in the only league that matters.

Every season, the product is reconstituted (new recruits come on board), reenergized (perked up and bonded by preseason team building), retweaked (new roles are assigned or identified) and reformulated (a new outlook, a new attitude, perhaps a new coach?). Then the product is unleashed to compete in the free-market place of opinions and ideas. Will the players perform differently under the harsh glare of hard-court lights and the TV cameras? Will they be conscious of the big expectations from critical though supportive alumni? Will they win, or will they lose when they get down to business on the floor?  How will media write about them? It’s for the players and their coaches to make their myths or bust them.

League sponsors look at college leagues differently. For them they are effective, no-fail, expressways to their target markets. Millions of pesos are spent on UAAP or NCAA airtime, promos, sponsorships, collaterals—just to capture the attention and imagination of collegiate ball lovers—mostly kids who are impulse buyers, avowed fanatics and avid supporters of their school teams. And alumni who will fight to the death in defense of the glory of their alma mater, never mind if they behave more like children than their children.

UAAP game days, for example, are invariably like carnival days, with freebies from league sponsors freely distributed at the gates: plastic clappers, foam fingers, fans, balloons, sample products. Fast-food chains, in particular, think up of imaginative promotions to ride on to the UAAP fever. Krispy Kreme had themed doughnuts going for a while—with the sweet calorie traps sporting the various UAAP school colors.

During the Final Four, the more that consumers consumed of doughnuts representing a particular school, the higher that school’s score in Krispy Kreme’s own Final Four competition. Clever, isn’t it? Knowing that supporters of all the schools will never let their schools down. And so they go on consuming.

Jollibee came out with soda-pop bottles sporting the mascots and colors of the various UAAP schools last year, encouraging one and all to collect all eight. This year convenience store Mini Stop has a Buzzer Beater promo that also relies on the consumption of drinks in UAAP-themed glasses. The more drinks you consume, the bigger your chances of landing any of the prizes that will be raffled off.

Even game venues look at their school league customers fondly. The UAAP broke attendance records at The Big Dome last year during the Ateneo-La Salle games. It broke that attendance record some more during the Cheerdance Competition of Season 72.

Thus, game venues like the Araneta Coliseum, PhilSports  Arena and the Filoil Flying V Arena look at collegiate leagues as cool customers. They bring in the market consistently. And the house rocks when they do.

Then there are the die-hard fans, followers, alumni, students and supporters of the various schools. These people can hardly regard their schools objectively. For them there is no other way to watch college ball games unless their hearts beat red and raw and are exposed on their sleeves. These are the people who wear war paint during crucial matches, who wave custom-made banners emblazoned with the names of key players at the crowd after that player scores or blocks an opponent’s shot. Win or lose, right or wrong, the team they support is the best. And opponents beware! These impassioned supporters are ready to wage war on anybody who goes against their choice of team.

Finally, there are those who don’t really care much about the x’s and o’s of a basketball game. For them college ball games are happy hunting grounds for hotties and crushes and every game watched is a toe-curling experience. Connoisseurs not so much of the game but of the men who play them, they have even come up with a list of must-watch and must-cheer-for players who make everything worthwhile. Shrek would not approve, but these teenage señoritas have singled out the most desirable college ball players in Season 73, based largely on looks and sex appeal.

These are, in their school’s alphabetical order: Lester Alvarez, Eric James Camson (Adamson U); Nico Salva, Kirk Long (Ateneo de Manila U); Simon Atkins, Samuel Joseph Marata (De La Salle U); RR Garcia, Jens Knuttel (Far Eastern U); Joseph Hermosisima, Ajeet Singh (National University); Paul Lee, James Martinez (University of the East); Mike Silungan, Alvin Padilla (University of the Philippines); Clark Bautista, Christopher Camus (University of Santo Tomas).

What about you? Why do you watch college basketball?