Goal column away game – LeBron James is to blame: How football is changing

“I’m gonna take my talents to South Beach.”

July 8, 2010 was a historically significant day in sports history. A point in time that undoubtedly divides before and after. LeBron James sat at the Boys & Girls Club in Greenwich, Connecticut. Around him numerous cameras, viewers, among whom also superstars like Kayne West mingled, and a presenter. The show was called The Decision and should provide information about which franchise LeBron James wants to play in the future.

LeBron announced that he is leaving the Cleveland Cavaliers and joining the Miami Heat. He wanted to go ring hunting with Dwayne Wade and Chris Bosh and it turned out to be a good decision from a sporting point of view. However, the manner of the announcement was tantamount to an image disaster. James had to face harsh criticism for showing his own interests in such a way.

LeBron James: Decision for Miami Heat as the starting signal for a new personality cult

Even by NBA standards, where big show performances and personality cults are not uncommon, a TV show to change clubs was too much of a good thing. The NBA has always had its stars, and it knew how to use them publicly to get attention. Whether it was the rivalry between Larry Bird and Magic Johnson or later the hype about Michael Jordan.

But LeBron’s decision? That was something new: It was no longer important which franchise got it, but what decision LeBron makes.

Ten years later, one can look at events more soberly. The refined LeBron announced his two subsequent changes to the Cavs and later to the Los Angeles Lakers with a handwritten letter and then with an email, but more modestly The Decision has changed sports narration decisively. It was the starting shot for a new form of sports consumption. Away from the team, towards the person. While the dynamic in US sport started earlier and has now found its way to normal, it took some time in Europe to break up the conservative. But the new kind of narrative has arrived.

Messi and Ronaldo as a separate Netflix series

Football also has its characters who have accelerated this process in recent years. One of them is Zlatan Ibrahimovic, who has put together a persona and puts himself in the limelight accordingly. Zlatan developed a “Not-In My-House” culture. Just don’t show any weaknesses. Always be the greatest. If he’s injured, it’s the team’s bad luck. If he leaves the club, not only this club but the whole city – oh what! – lost the whole country. Even after his career is over, he will not stop playing the hero. Why not a role in an action film? Why not a second career as a YouTube star or entertainer? The main thing is that he is in the scene.

And of course Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi also have their roles. The two still biggest stars in the football world. You have hyperventilated the personality cult in recent years. You play at top clubs and yet everything revolves around Ronaldo and Messi. They’re their own Netflix series – with episodes that have been going on for years and still have huge ratings. Messi plays the nice little boy next door who actually just wants to play, while Ronaldo has the image of the aloof world star. Of course, both are not dissatisfied with these roles. Your experts created them this way and have fostered this image for years.

Of course you take it for a Messi when he’s emotionally touched after an eternity at FC Barcelona and sheds tears when he leaves the club, but he then moves to Paris Saint-Germain. A club where tradition and emotion are not perpetuated in the club’s coat of arms. But how well the mesh works shows the effect of the change. Since the arrival of the Qatari Sheikhs, PSG has been working on the image with big bills, bringing top players year after year and paying extra to serve the image. But Messi’s arrival blew it all up. The club posted record gains on social media and are now the club that Messi plays at.

Mbappe: Potential to have series of his own but Messi stands in the way

It is understandable that as a teammate who actually wants to become his own brand, you don’t want to be in the shadows. Kylian Mbappe (22), for example. The Frenchman has the potential to shape the next generation at Messi or Ronaldo level. He is blessed with so many talents and a charisma to create an era of his own. And of course Real Madrid have an incredible desire to use this glamor for themselves in order to have an absolute world star in their own ranks again. Mbappe is also very open about his desire to take on a new job.

The temptation to play for Real Madrid is certainly very great and needs no further explanation. But it is also clear that Mbappe must also take the step for its own brand. Even though Mbappe is raving about being on the team with Messi and saying things like, “I never thought he’d come here. He’s one of the few players I put in an ‘impossible to play with him’ box The fact that he was leaving Barcelona was unimaginable. I’m enjoying every moment next to him. “

But you can’t develop a top brand as number two. With Neymar, who found his way in his sporting role as a supporter for Mbappe and is well paid for it, it was still possible. But when Messi is there, Messi is there and nothing else.

The time of the Galacticos is over, when Zinedine Zidane, Luis Figo, David Beckham, Ronaldo and Roberto Carlos played at Real Madrid at the same time and it was an honor for all of these stars to be part of the ensemble. They became brands with their accomplishments and they all took their roles on the pitch without wanting to portray themselves. They probably also had a different audience that could and wanted to concentrate on 90 minutes of football. Studies have now shown that Generation Z’s football matches take far too long. They content themselves with viral highlight videos and don’t get angry when their team has lost because they don’t have any more to follow them as closely as they once did.

Modern football: Young audiences want shorter formats

In a study commissioned by the DFL in 2019, it says literally: “Especially in the context of Bundesliga broadcasts, […] However, the GenZ also formulates claims. At the top of the priority list is the desire for shorter and more entertaining media formats. According to the study, 10 to 22-year-olds watch a football game less often than older generations over the entire game. […] This goes hand in hand with the desire to individualize the content, highlight summaries should be tailored to personal interests – for example by focusing on players with a certain nationality or goalkeeping parades. “

Results that other top leagues have achieved. And so it is not surprising when Real Madrid and Co. want to change football (Super League!) And bow to the wishes of the new generation. You get paid well for it. When PSG announced the move from Messi, several video clips were produced. It was a mini-series with a triumphant ending.

If Kylian Mbappe announces his move to Real Madrid, he could ask LeBron how best to do it.