The Week 14 game between the San Francisco 49ers and the Arizona Cardinals was full of highlights and talking points. After the game, a series of topics emerged from the athletic competition itself, attracting the attention of all professionals and veteran fans. All of this put the game in the spotlight, and everyone was watching.
Now, the conflict and debate sparked outside the stadium have put the topic under a microscope, causing a huge chain reaction. The Los Angeles Times, the leader of the media on the West Coast, was the first to speak. It was then strongly supported by the San Francisco Chronicle, which immediately ignited its influence. "Lu Ke Skywalker" was once again at the center of the storm. But this time was a little different. People seemed to, maybe, possibly, perhaps... realize for the first time today that Lu Ke was a Chinese-American player.
This statement is a bit strange, because when he first entered the league, the first wave of controversy surrounding Lu Ke was about his identity as a Chinese-American and an undrafted free agent. But just as Leigh Steinberg said, it was like an elephant in the room. Everyone knew it was there, but no one really cared until it got angry. That was until today. The special report by the Los Angeles Times caused a thousand ripples, instantly triggering an unimaginable tsunami. If Leigh was not behind this, Lu Ke would definitely not believe it.
Roger Goodell, who is only 52 years old this year, has already become the most powerful person in the entire American sports world. Born in New York in 1952, Goodell was an athlete. In high school, he was the captain of the football, basketball, and baseball teams and was named the school's Athlete of the Year. Unfortunately, at the age of 17, he suffered a serious knee injury, and his athletic career came to an end. In 1981, he graduated from Washington and Jefferson College with a bachelor's degree in economics. This was a starting point.
Although he sadly had to say goodbye to his athletic career, Goodell still had a great passion for football. He decided to realize his dream in another way. So, he began to persistently write letters to the NFL office and the league's 28 teams (which later expanded to 32), hoping to find a "football-related job." After receiving 40 rejection letters, Goodell was finally able to get into the NFL office, becoming an administrative intern and was in charge of dealing with the media. This was his second starting point.
Hard-working, diligent, focused, pragmatic, and sincere, Goodell's talents were quickly recognized. The two former commissioners praised him and worked hard to cultivate him, which allowed him to grow rapidly. In 1984, he became an assistant in the public relations department, and in 2001, he was already the executive vice president and chief operating officer. In 2006, the NFL was facing a major historical transition. The former commissioner, Paul Tagliabue, who was hailed as the greatest commissioner in the league's history, had reformed and refined the league's rules, supported the Super Bowl halftime show, and re-divided the eight divisions with an iron fist, truly laying the foundation for the league's glory, and he retired honorably.
At that time, five candidates entered the competition for the commissioner position. Goodell was not the most popular one, but he was not the one with the most enemies either. After five rounds of voting, he won 23 votes in a thrilling and difficult victory. The owners of the 32 teams participated in the voting, and the candidate had to have more than two-thirds of the votes to be officially appointed.
At the beginning of his tenure as the head of the NFL, the financial crisis around 2008 brought a devastating blow, followed by a brutal lockout. Not only football but other sports and other social fields were also in a slump, which put Goodell under immense pressure. In the face of a crisis, some people are destroyed by it, while others become heroes. Goodell belonged to the latter.
On one hand, Goodell firmly held the live broadcast, broadcast, and reporting rights of the games, making it a golden goose. He signed nine-year broadcast contracts with ESPN, CBS, NBC, and Fox. This was not only the longest broadcast contract in the league's history but also the most expensive one. According to statistics, two-thirds of the top 25 most-watched TV shows in the United States are NFL games. (By the way, this is the most direct manifestation of the commercial value of night games, and no team is willing to give them up.) In addition, the diverse use of digital media and the steady growth of on-site audiences have all become Goodell's important achievements in expanding the influence of football, far ahead of the other three major professional leagues.
On the other hand, Goodell also further turned the Super Bowl into a national celebration. The fans' active participation and attention to the Super Bowl and the generous investment of major multinational companies in the game have created a special economic entity centered on the Super Bowl. Two sets of data are the best proof. First, the relevant economic chain generated a cash flow of $10 billion around the 45th Super Bowl, which just ended earlier this year. Second, a 30-second advertisement for this year's Super Bowl was priced at $2.5 million. The 32 TV advertising spots alone could bring in $80 million in revenue. This was just the TV part. If all the other advertising billboards were included, the broadcaster's revenue would exceed $200 million.
Most importantly, when Goodell first took over as the NFL commissioner, the league's annual revenue was only $5 billion, which was also affected by the financial crisis. But now, the league's annual revenue has exceeded $8.5 billion, and the growth rate is astonishing. The other professional leagues can't help but be envious. Just a few hundred words are not enough to summarize Goodell's career and brilliant achievements. In fact, Goodell is also one of the most unpopular commissioners. His iron fist methods against players and his special treatment of star players, his ambiguous attitude toward negative news and moral issues, and his money-first, profit-first business tactics have all caused countless controversies. However, after repeated struggles and hesitation, the owners of the 32 teams still chose to continue to support Goodell. Because of profit, and only because of profit.
As a bachelor's degree holder in economics, Goodell is indeed a businessman. As an intern who came from a media operations background, Goodell is indeed good at using the media. He is never ambiguous about matters of principle, and other small issues can always be negotiated. Now, after countless storms, Goodell is facing another problem in his career. It can't be called a challenge, but just another bump in the road. But if you consider the global promotion strategy of football and the huge potential of the Chinese market, then the weight of this problem is completely different.
Since he took office, Goodell has never hidden his ambition to expand the league globally. Europe, South America, Oceania, and Asia—these are all Goodell's goals, except for Africa, which has too many uncertain factors. In his eyes, these regions are all profit centers made up of gold coins. Among the four major American sports leagues, the NBA's overseas market promotion is undoubtedly the leader, and its market share in Europe and Asia is enviable. In the past nine years, Yao Ming alone has successfully brought the NBA an unparalleled success in the Chinese market, which is enough to make the other three major leagues look on with envy. It even indirectly influenced the five major European soccer leagues' strategy for acquiring Asian players.
The lack of a fan base, the lack of star players, and the lack of a history have all made it extremely difficult for football to be promoted in Asia, especially in China and Taiwan. Although Goodell has created countless miracles since he took over as commissioner, he can't do anything without a foundation. The promotion work in Asia has not been effective for a long time. It wasn't until this year that Lu Ke's appearance became a major turning point. Goodell knows that this is a start, or rather, it can be a start. But the question is, what kind of future can this start lead to? What kind of story will this start tell?
The discriminatory remarks from the Arizona Cardinals' home fans during this week's game came a little later than expected. The number of Black quarterbacks in the entire league is already not many, not to mention Chinese-American quarterbacks. So, when Lu Ke became the starting quarterback for the San Francisco 49ers, Goodell had already foreseen this day. In fact, the San Francisco 49ers were also forced to put Lu Ke on the starting stage. In Goodell's eyes, it was not without a sense of giving up. If they lost the game, they could completely blame Lu Ke, relieve the pressure on the new coaching staff and the new roster, and then wait for Alex Smith and Colin Kaepernick to return from their injuries.
In the entire league, Goodell was not the only person who held this view. So, at the beginning of the season, the league officially expressed its welcome but never took any further action. They were just waiting to see what would happen. Similarly, commentators, broadcasters, and industry insiders did not go all out. They looked at the whole thing with a playful and joking attitude, as if it were a joke. The fans were the same. The identity of being "Chinese-American" never really hit home. Even with the three-game winning streak at the beginning of the season, it still didn't fundamentally change the fixed mindset.
The subsequent development deviated from the expected. Lu Ke not only got a firm footing in the league, but his performance was also astonishing. With one victory after another, people were only immersed in the shock, so much so that they temporarily forgot the impact of other additional factors. It wasn't until the Arizona Cardinals came along that the issue finally erupted due to the collision of various factors. It came a little too late, near the end of the season. So, what should be done about it now?
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