Post Olympics... Now what?

[mjnaleva]

So with the Olympics done, anyone have info on whether any of the top US teams will be competing in the remaining Jose Cuervo and supposed AVP events?

With a strong women's performance but disappointing men's performance, I'm not inclined to think the sport is really going to get any significant boost as a result of the Olympics. Although, like every time the Olympics role around there are those who say "we've got to capitalize on the momentum". Unless the sport gets presented to the masses on TV with more regular events, it will get forgotten shortly IMO.

Football season is about to kick in which will quickly take up almost all the sports time slots.

[turk182]

I think beach volleyball is going to get worse before it gets better. Even if folks come out to see what all the olympic excitement is about, there will be no athletes to identify with or relate to. There's not a whole bunch of personality out there. The few that try to bring it come off as tools, i.e. Patterson.

[beachvolleymike]

I was at Seaside this weekend and it was pretty cool. The lower-level players are so into it and I got to talk to a few younger athletes...who don't know ANY pros.

I think a big step (and pretty simple) is to push the names of the players. I've seen this said before and thought it was a petty detail, but the more I see the huge lack of recognition by most players, the more I tend to agree.

[haze]

Could be years before we see the AVP back to what it was or even a full tour, if we even see it in our lifetimes.

Sad. Beach volleyball is a great sport which will probably never really get noticed.

[tree]

I was at Seaside too. I had a great time. Even got to get a pic with Commancho. It was fun to see so many young players there.

[volleyballjim]

Here's my rant:

There is ONE reason I drive I-5 down to Hermosa: To see Mayer, Pavlik, Camacho, Patterson, Keenan, etc.

I'm not going to see AAA's at Zuma because, well, I don't know anyone, though the play level would be HIGH.

HOW did I get to this point (I didn't know a pro beach player till 2005 when I started subscribing to DIG Magazine).
I got there by "educating myself" on players and going to events to reinforce that and learn new players who were playing against the players I followed and then quickly followed them.

EVERYBODY can go on-and-on about beach being a "niche sport", "sponsor-drive" and yada-yada....BUT, if the players WERE properly marketed and sold to the fan, the sport would slowly rise like a Phoenix and be a viable entity that would generate interest by individual fans.

People want to see stuff they can relate to and without the "hook" of player recognition, you ain't got it. It has to MATTER if someone wins or loses....If you don't know anyone, how can that occur.

[ikcelaks]

People want to see stuff they can relate to and without the "hook" of player recognition, you ain't got it. It has to MATTER if someone wins or loses....If you don't know anyone, how can that occur.

I couldn't agree more.

I really got into volleyball in college and followed the AVP as closely as possible from 2003 onwards until they stopped televising. Unfortunately, since I was unable to attend events in person due to geography, I only got to really know a small handful of teams: the ones who regularly made the finals. That made it really hard to appreciate upsets, because I didn't have any appreciation for the teams trying to break through.

I think it's really important that any real attempt to revive a beach tour focuses on high-lighting up-and-coming teams by making fully commentated matches available online for all of the top 8 or so teams.

[volleyballjim]

ikcelaks: We COULD be wrong, but I think its unlikely....Many people who say its NOT the players also are faced with MANY people who say the players should market themselves....Folks, it can't be BOTH....ikcelaks and I represent SOME percentage of fans who derive their "utility" from pro beach volleyball by KNOWING PLAYERS...Now the question is, is that 4,10, 25, 50 or ?%.....

[digginbeachvball]

Does anyone know who will be playing at the Cuervo Manhattan Beach Open? Just wondering if we will have a "full representation" of teams. I went the Hermosa and had a great time, crowds definitely weren't what I've seen in the past but still a great venue and witnessed some great vball. Highlight from HB was the old school matchup of Lambo vs. Steino. Neither team was playing great vball, but it was good to see both of them playing again. Just really want to know if we will get to see our Gold and Silver medal winners in MB?

[NET2]

I"m not very smart, so all I have is questions. I'm sure that one of you will have the answers. My questions - -

1. Will Todd & Phil play again this year or will they call it a year? This question is as much about health as scheduling.

2. Will the following players retire this year & not come back in the future? Misty, Todd, Jen, Fuerby, Hyden, Scott, & Dana (just kidding).

3. Which of the following players will have young children or be pregnant a year from now? Misty, Kerri, April Ross, Jenny Kropp, & Dana (just kidding).

4. Will 37 year old Casey Jennings retire from playing next year & take a real job with one of his wife's sponsors?

5. Will the USA have a meaningful domestic beach tour next year?

Aug 13, 2012 10:11:05 GMT -5 tree said:

I was at Seaside too. I had a great time. Even got to get a pic with Commancho. It was fun to see so many young players there.

I don't know if "Commancho" was a typo or deliberate, but it's kind of awesome.

[cvvcdad]

Aug 13, 2012 10:22:57 GMT -5 volleyballjim said:

Here's my rant:

There is ONE reason I drive I-5 down to Hermosa: To see Mayer, Pavlik, Camacho, Patterson, Keenan, etc.

I'm not going to see AAA's at Zuma because, well, I don't know anyone, though the play level would be HIGH.

i guess this gets to the core of what i really don't get about you beach folks.

i watch college vb because the play level is HIGH. i don't know any of the players, but i watch because i love to watch the sport.

i watch college bball because the play level is HIGH. i don't know any of the players, but i watch because i love to watch the sport.

i watch college football because the play level is HIGH. i don't know any of the players, but i watch because i love to watch the sport.

i watch ________ because the play level is HIGH. i don't know any of the players, but i watch because i love to watch the sport.

if you won't go watch the sport because you don't know who's playing, it would seem that you really don't go because you like the sport itself, but because you like the people that you go watch play.

so how can you say the sport is "great" when it's not enticing enough to make you want to just go and watch it being played?

i truly don't understand...

[mjnaleva]

There's definitely some truth to both seeing high-level competition and name recognition. For example, tell me not that more people would go to a swim meet because Michael Phelps is competing or a track meet because Usain Bolt is competing. High-level of competition by itself doesn't bring the crowds. If that were the case, we'd all be going to water polo, fencing, judo, and the like... but do we? Probably not unless you happen to participate in the sport or have close friends who do.

[unrated]

If high level is all that matters, then we may as well be watching machines perform. Do you think NASCAR will ever go to a driverless format? Look at the womens/girls indoor forum here on volleytalk as an example. Most of the talk is about players, coaches and teams. Strategy, tactics and execution are also discussed, but don't generate anywhere near the traffic that players do. For examples, compare the following searches:
'libero', '6-2', 'jump float serve'
vs.
'coach's daughter arrested', 'falyn' 'jupiter' 'logan'.

[tree]

@ GLM the spelling was deliberate. Just my nickname for Camacho.