NFL x Toy Story: WHAT?!?!?! 

As always: Another week, Another newsletter! Let’s just say, this one is pretty strange… In a constantly changing and evolving world, be the first to know EXACTLY what to expect. Bringing you the very best sport and tech has to offer, enjoy!

Here's what we got for ya today:

• NFL x Toy Story: WHAT?!?!?!

• Cricket’s Next Big Thing

• The F1: How to do it Right

• This Could be Terrible…

Most Valuable Sports Teams:

Let's get into it!

The NFL, You’ve Got a Friend in me…

We said this one was going to be strange, didn’t we?

So, for good reason, you may be wondering where today’s Newsletter starts. Action from the Ryder Cup? Premier League? NHL? MLB? No.

TOY STORY! Yes, we swear this is a sports newsletter…

Alright, alright. While at first glance, the connection may be quite hard to find, there is a good reason for why we’re bringing up the film. Before we get into it though, let us cast your mind to a few months back…

Signing a deal with Disney, the NHL and ESPN hosted the Washington Wizards match against the New York Rangers… on Disney… as an animated show.

Consisting of characters from the popular cartoon series ‘Big City Greens’, the action was recreated using puck tracking data from the NHL Edge player.

Being performed in real time, the production was done in an effort to introduce kids to the sport and, in turn, increase the NHL’s viewership and engagement for a long time to come.

From celebrity appearances, to having ESPN commentators literally call the action, the project was a huge success.

Being the case, it didn’t stop there. I think you know where this is going… Enter the NFL!

That’s right. Signing with Disney, Football fans got a glimpse of the wonderful, wacky ways technology can now be used.

Reflecting real-time events in a Toy Story setting, the NFL – just like the NHL before them – could bring in younger viewers and engage newer fans into the game.

With the product allowing for different angles and AR visuals, it wasn’t only younger fans who found it enjoyable. Bringing a whole new dynamic to the watched game, a number of traditional fans’ eyes were opened to a new way of enjoying Football.

And look, while we know that fans won’t want to watch their favourite teams as cartoons, there’s no reason why the league shouldn’t take elements of this weekend's production into usual games!

TODAY'S EDITION IS BROUGHT TO YOU BY SPORTGPT

Cricket: The Comeback!

The International Cricket Council (ICC) is on an absolute tear…

Having made a number of releases recently, it seems as though the organisation is equipped with a very clear and strategic goal in mind…

Make the sport more popular on a GLOBAL scale before the next World Cup.

And yes, we know what you’re thinking: the sport is already popular enough. BUT, it has to be said that the bulk of Cricket’s popularity is concentrated to only a handful of countries.

Being the case, how do you think they’re approaching the challenge?

Exactly – social media.

Announcing the introduction of vertical video production for Tiktok usage only a few weeks ago, the ICC has made yet another big tech related move.

Signing a deal with the Near Foundation, the ICC has their newest official Blockchain partner. This is what we know so far:

• The deal will last through a number of years and see multiple different big events touched upon.

• So far, the partnership will have a clear focus on driving interest for the upcoming World Cup. Working to bring fans from across the world all together, the two have already announced a number of themes related to the tournament.

• Fans will be given the opportunity to earn rewards through mini-games and activities. These will include strategic challenges that will be presented through actions such as batting, bowling, and fielding.

When analysing the two moves in closer detail, the motives become far clearer. With both Tiktok and Blockchain services acting as quick ways for people across the world to interact, the ICC can better spread the word of the upcoming World Cup and engage newer fans.

F1 Fans, Get Ready…

Ah, F1. The world’s most predictable, I mean, exciting sports league right now 😅😅😅Okay, we know Sainz won a few weeks ago, but come on…

You know how it’s been recently. Ten teams race for glory and Max Verstappen wins. Classic, yet sometimes leaves us wanting a bit more.

Guess what, though… Using technology, you could just be the one to take his place.

While that may sound dramatic, with the help of the F1 Arcade, you could feel what it’s like to be a real life driver!

Having already opened up in both Boston and London, the one-of-a-kind arcade is making its way to Washington.

Amassing hundreds of thousands of fans since opening not even a year ago, the venues perfectly sum up the league’s ascent to the top of the sports world.

Utilising technology to their favour, those at the top of F1 have expertly managed to increase following, engagement, and value simply by exploiting media in genius ways!

With one in every two F1 fans having started their following of the sport in the last four years, an idea like this was always going to happen…

Allowing players – in an almost VR-style way – to immerse themselves into what life is like as an F1 athlete, the organisation are continuing to push the boundaries of what’s currently being done in a larger sporting context.

We Need to Talk About: Barcelona…

Look, we know what you’re all thinking. No, today’s section is not about VAR.

I mean, is it even worth bringing up their mistakes anymore? Maybe we’ll come back to it when the system makes a correct decision that everyone can agree on…

With that though, we are talking about referees. Ladies and gentlemen, get ready because this does NOT sound good…

So, FC Barcelona. One of the world’s biggest and most successful Football teams ever. A name which exudes elegance, and was/still is home to some of the greatest players of all time.

Today, though, they’re a team which – if found guilty of allegations – could cease to exist.

Dramatic? You’ll get used to it..

A couple months back, we spoke about Barcelona’s link to a potential Match Fixing case.

Being investigated for allegedly paying millions of euros to a company owned by José María Enríquez Negreira, a top ranking official in Spain’s refereeing body, this week was HUGE!

Announcing this week that a trial would go ahead over the payments of nearly €8m over the course of 17 years, the club could find themselves in some seriously hot water…

Claiming the payments to merely be technical reports on referees, if found guilty, bad bad things could be coming to the club.

Quick Bites

• VAR: NOT OVER!

• The Ryder Cup: WINNERS!

• The Cricket World Cup: The Preview

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Chat to ya on Wednesday! ☮️