NOTHING captures the imagination of the media or a sports fan more than the story of an underdog overcoming the overwhelming odds and the fearsome competition to emerge an unlikely victor, or at least a success story. The most recent example of course is the Trinidad and Tobago team during the Champions League, where Pollard and the Gangas became household names as they fearlessly smote the competition until they met their match against a clinical NSW side. This takes nothing away from the outstanding athletes who are touted for greatness from a very young age and prove their supporters right at every step of the way. However, the allure and mystique surrounding an underdog story is bound to consistently garner more attention not just because it is a compelling story, but also because the average sports fan can empathize that much more with the fallibility of the oft-mortal journeyman athlete as opposed to the vastly more gifted once in a lifetime athlete or team, despite the aura surrounding him/her or it. Even when it comes to Hollywood, movies such as ‘Rudy’, ‘Cool Runnings’, ‘Remember the Titans’, ‘Any Given Sunday’, or closer to home, Bollywood’s ‘Chak De’, always bank the feel-good factor where the fans and the team/athlete become one, enjoying the moment and relishing the struggle that built up to the moment of success.
Besides just the feel-good factor however, there is a lot more riding on the underdog, both in terms of potential, as well as in terms of returns, and an astute investor or sponsor would be well-advised to look beyond the pale when it comes to finding ideal investments within the competitive sports arena. While at first blush it may appear as if the investor or sponsor of a team or athlete has struck gold when an unexpected success results, globally the investment and sponsorship models are far more refined and sophisticated, with innumerable hours of research and scouting for talent and performance resulting in a decision of whether to go ahead and support a team or athlete. Striking gold is often more by design than accident, and while it is a gamble, it is a calculated risk at best. The probability of success may be lower, but then the investments are exponentially lower as well.
A sound investment in Sports that is tangible doesn’t always rest on the likelihood of success and star power of the individual or team that an investor or sponsor targets. There are very few Superstar athletes who are also as marketable as they are successful. Repeat champions struggle to remain interesting, as was apparent during the Sampras eras, to some extent during Federers’ dominance until Nadal emerged, during the New England Patriots’ remarkable stretch in the NFL, in the late 90’s and early 2000’s when the New York Yankees’ World Series runs became run of the mill, and closer to home, the Australians’ dominance of cricket until recently. Where an athlete or a team manage to retain their star power and charisma while consistently remaining at the top, the cost of sponsoring/endorsing that athlete or team may make it untenable. For example, investing in a Man U initiative, or sponsoring Tiger Woods, LeBron James, Sachin Tendulkar or Michael Phelps would involve significant investment, thereby necessitating returns on investment that first cover the significant monetary inlay before actually yielding dividends. Needless to say, the face time and exposure that a firm or initiative gets when any star athlete or team endorses it is significant, but the barriers to entry due to cost may make such an investment difficult to justify.
Calculated risks on teams and athletes who may just provide significant bang for the buck should be made not just by those who cannot afford to invest in the guaranteed success stories, but should also be looked at closely by the industry leaders in sponsorships and investments. This is bound to happen over time, and in fact is more likely than not to be happening at the present moment. Economics and common sense dictate that this happens sooner rather than later. The goodwill generated by supporting some of the lesser known athletes and teams is also a factor that investors and sponsors should factor into the basket of benefits that they receive from investing in and sponsoring teams and athletes.
Underdogs have ruled the roost when it comes to bankability, not only within their respective sports, but also when it comes to commercial success, in the form of Hollywood and Bollywood movies, books, and motivational features. The high return on investment that an unexpected (but not astounding) success story results in, makes the due diligence of sports investment opportunities a crucial next step as the Indian corporates look beyond saturated markets. Venky’s, who sponsored the T&T team are probably the biggest success story of the CL with the highest ROI, and Ultratech became a household name and synonymous with sports after Chak De buried its competition at the box-office. Real life and reel life often merge when it comes to underdog Cinderella stories, but there is always one common theme: an enthralled and involved audience, and a satisfied investor pool. A better storyline in the Sports arena would have to be scripted; provided, of course, that the underdog comes out on top.
The author is a Sports Attorney with J. Sagar Associates.
