Welcome to Sporting Ground. Sports has always been a passion of mine and growing up in Toronto, Ontario I’m fortunate enough to be part of a city that has a rich sports history and culture. With professional teams for every major North American sport and unlimited opportunities to play and participate, sports have always been a big part of my life.

While sports may be one of my first loves, as I have grown up I’ve developed other interests and passions, one of which is marketing. I’m currently pursuing my postgraduate degree in digital media marketing and my professional goal is to work in marketing when I graduate. I think this blog is perfect opportunity to merge my two passions and explore the role of marketing in sports.

Sports fans primary interest will always be on the actual game itself, on the tangible, visible product on the field or on the ice. How does someone become a fan in the first place though? What makes an individual decide to watch one sport vs. another? How does one choose to be a fan of one team over another? Free time is a valuable commodity. What makes a fan choose to invest that limited time into watching other people play a game? People watch and invest their time because they enjoy seeing the game played at a high level. How do you get someone on the hook though? How do you generate that interest or instill that passion?

Week by week I’ll investigate and discuss the role of marketing in sports. How leagues, teams, and even individual players market themselves successfully. I’m looking forward to embarking on this journey and I hope you enjoy following me along the way.

– Josh