I'll admit, I am not a sports fan. I regard watching a bunch of money-grubbing, hopped-up thyroid cases as an utter waste of time. So sports sponsorship is lost of me.
That said, I am not a dope, and I can put myself in a sports fan's shoes. So let me ask you, does anyone for a minute think Papa John's sold one more pizza than they would have for sponsoring the Papa John's bowl that pit two 7-5 college football teams against each other? AT&T, who sells over-priced and under-reliable cellular service, were they helped by having a logo on Tiger Woods' golf bag all these years? Is anyone anywhere more likely to buy a Ford because they sponsor the 12-19 Knicks' post-game show?
And Citifield, home of the perennially mediocre Mets. Has anyone taken out a mortgage or opened a savings account because of that example of misguided corporate largesse?
Let's face facts. Sports sponsorship exists to get corporate execs (about the only people who can actually afford to attend a live sporting event) free tickets to events they are too cheap to pay for with their own money.
