Everybody (including me) seems to really hate all the advertising on (and off) the Godzillatron, the Nike stuff, etc. But the Athletic Dep't sure likes the $$$, which helps us Joneses separate ourselves from the competition. At this level, there's probably going to be some prostituting the program for the big $$$ in ads. I agree with many that things are perhaps getting a bit out of control and trending more and more towards a NASCAR-type model. I don't have all the answers, but if pressed, I'd say above all keep the jerseys clean and put a whole bunch of ads all around the sidelines and rim of the stadium, like Ebbets Field or something. Nobody can say that wasn't "classic." Heck, sell seat space advertising to Progressive, then 100,000 people could simultaneously sit on Flo's face in the break between the Exxon Mobil Third Quarter and the Dell Fourth Quarter while watching Gillette ads on the huge screen. Just keep the jerseys clean. Please keep the band clean of advertising too. I wouldn't want the flag team to be twirling State Farm or Whataburger flags at halftime.
The Coca-Cola Coach Royal sponsorship gave me a chuckle. Royal pitching the idea (to HS coaches) that players should drink Coca-Cola on the sidelines. I kind of liked it back when the college coaches would all supplement their incomes pitching some local car dealerships, restaurants, and other local businesses. Of course, coaches usually didn't make more than the university presidents back then. I can't vouch for the accuracy of the story, but I've heard that Royal doing a commercial for a bank that rivaled a bank owned by BOR big-cigar Alan Shivers (the former governor) enraged Shivers and may have played some role in getting the ball rolling on Royal's ouster.
