Dallas Mavericks Win, But We Lose...

For those who live in the Dallas metro area: Congratulations. You’ve “Won” a national championship. I will stay silent so you can celebrate for the next minute or two...you deserve it....

Having said that, for those who live outside the Dallas metro area: I’m sorry.

I know we’ve all spent the last two weeks rejoicing in harmony, joining hand in hand with other Dallas Maverick fans, due largely in part because of our hatred for the Miami Heat.

And while I understand the hatred for the Heat, I want to make sure everyone understands that the losers of this NBA finals are not the Heat. The losers aren’t the Heat fans, either. The losers are sports fans. So I’m sorry, sports fans.

We’re in the honeymoon stage, when it’s great to hear about Dirk winning a championship, Mark Cuban throwing a parade, and the evil empire that is Miami getting their just desserts. But that good feeling will disappear in a few days when we’re no longer reading about Dallas’ success, but rather hearing about how Miami's failure.

This is the Brett Favre Conundrum. When Favre is at the top of his game, throwing for over 300 yards on Monday Night Football a day after his father passes away, we love talking about Favre. We can’t get enough. We actually enjoy saying his name (even variations of his name).

But when he starts flaking on the Minnesota Vikings and starts taking pictures of his Peyton Man-Thing that’s when we fans do a 180 and turn on Favre. Obviously.

Here’s the problem: When someone as dynamic or as polarizing as Brett Favre is in the news, he’s ALL OVER THE NEWS. So whether it’s good stuff or bad, you’ll be hearing about it for a long time.

That’s what’s going to happen with the Heat. For the next few months, all we’re going to be hearing about is the fractured relationship between Dwyane Wade and LeBron James, the epic joke job in the finals, will LeBron EVER win a title, etc. It’s going to make you sick.

We aren’t going to be talking about the Mavericks, we’re going to be talking about the Heat, for better or for worse. It hasn’t even been 24 hours since the Mavericks won, and look what graces the front page of ESPN.com.

For Karmic purposes, I’m just as happy as the next person that the Heat lost. But over the next few months, I’d much rather hear about their successes rather than their failures. Call me an optimist.

For all of my hatred towards the Yankees, the Heat, Brett Favre, George Bush (the Will Ferrell one), taxes, Yo Gabba Gabba, and Juggalos, I don’t want to hear about why I hate them; I want to hear stories about why I should like them. Otherwise, all we’re doing is reliving the plot to Ghostbusters II, creating negative energy that will destroy New York City...or something like that.

If I have to listen to one version or the other, I’d much rather hear positive stories about people I hate rather than negative ones.* So feel free to celebrate the Mavericks victory today, but be prepared to hear about the Heat for the next few months. You've been warned.

*Except when it comes to Osama Bin Laden, of course. GO AMERICA!

Oregon Essay

Please explain how the Oregon MBA or MAcc program and your preferred curricular track/s will build on your experiences to date and will further your career goals. Tell us not only what you hope to gain from the MBA or MAcc program but also what will you bring to the program and our learning community

I hope to gain a master’s degree from the Oregon MBA Sports Marketing program so that I may someday become the President of Marketing for Major League Baseball Properties Inc. and help gain popularity for baseball not only nationally, but also internationally.

Baseball has always been an important part of my life. Not a day goes by during spring through fall that I’m not talking to my father about the latest Yankees’ game. And while all of my friends are playing fantasy football in November, I’m reading Buster Olney’s free agency reports to help me get ready for fantasy baseball’s next season. Baseball is America’s pastime and I believe it should be watched by every sports fan.

Unfortunately, I am a minority with my fandom. Baseball’s viewership numbers are dwindling every year while other sports’ numbers are improving. I believe baseball can make a comeback with fans, but there needs to be a new approach for how the sport is marketed.

I have been in marketing as far back as when I was eleven, selling magazine subscriptions for a school fundraiser. More recently, I’ve telemarketed Omaha Steaks products and I’ve knocked on doors selling supplemental insurance. I have experimented with nearly every medium of marketing and I’m comfortable performing them all, but I know that there's still plenty to learn about marketing that could help me develop new mediums to help baseball.

I am in awe of all that I could learn from the University of Oregon. Whether I’m learning about product/property development during my first year of studies or interning at a successful sports franchise like the Seattle Seahawks during the summer, I will be learning important strategies that I could use to rejuvenate baseball’s popularity.

Many MBA graduates that get hired into baseball's’ executive office positions have a general knowledge of business that they hope can be applied to sports. With the Oregon MBA Sports Marketing program, I will have obtained marketing knowledge specifically taught for sports like baseball. Since the idea of a sports marketing program is still relatively new, I doubt many graduates from Oregon have tried to fix the MLB’s problems. I will.

Short term, after earning my MBA, I see my first position in the marketing department of either a MLB franchise like the San Diego Padres or at one of the MLB’s promotional projects like the Urban Youth Academy. Combining an Oregon education, my experience in various forms of marketing, and my passion for baseball I believe I will have the skills to be successful in either endeavor. With success there, I hope to move up to the MLBP Inc. so that I may be responsible for promoting baseball worldwide.

I’ve noticed there was no mention of any baseball affiliate included in Oregon’s “street smart” experiences. I hope that my admission into the MBA program along with my aspirations for a position in the MLB front office will help expand Oregon’s future internship reach to include important sports staples like the MLB.