While spit balling on Twitter a few days back, the subject of Kobe Bryant's imminent "introduction" of Brazilian superstar Marta was broached. That Bryant is a passionate soccer fan is a widely known fact, and the Lakers guard recently posed for a soccer-themed ESPN The Magazine photo shoot.
Back and forth among the Twitteriffic soccer fools was tossed the seemingly obvious idea that MLS should be cultivating a soccer fan base among America's celebrity elite; if Kobe Bryant is a soccer fan, and is amenable to something like introducing Marta to the press, why haven't the Galaxy or Chivas approached him before? MLS needs to drive their "coolness" factor up more than just a couple of notches; enlisting the aid of a world renowned athlete, one that plays a sport much more popular in their home town than soccer, seems like an obvious opportunity to do so.
Americans, for better or worse, worship the famous among us. This includes athletes, actors, musicians, and the even the talentless fringe that squeeze out a modicum of attention through reality TV and shameless attention mongering. Celebs are a draw, and throngs of people mindlessly follow their lead on everything from appeal to nightclubs (personal appearances). Hipness-by-proxy through the trendsetters in our culture is a constantly occuring phenomenon.
Marketing opportunities with an influence on a scale wider than the entrenched soccer community are few and far between for MLS, and with David Beckham's impact waning by the second, little should be deemed off-limits. MLS and it's policy-makers need to dismount from the high horse quickly, and throw themselves onto the alter of celebrity culture.
Athletes from America's big time sports are the most obvious target for MLS. Every club that shares their market with an NFL, MLB, or NBA team should be actively courting the stars of those teams. Send jerseys to them on the off chance they'll wear them in public*. Offer to host them at matches, and record testimonials on their (hopefully positive) experiences for later dissemination. If this requires working with the franchise for whom the player plies his trade, so be it; the effort should be made, regardless of the amount of pride-swallowing involved.
Short of athletes, with whom soccer could be a hard sell, MLS should certainly recruit celebrities that have an avowed affinity for the game. It boggles my mind that Lil Wayne, who has publicly stated his interest in soccer (as well as exhorted Americans to follow it), hasn't shown up in some MLS related marketing. Pick up a phone, and give the guy a call: even if all that comes out of it is a five minute photo op with Juan Pablo Angel or another MLSer, or a YouTube video of the rapper kicking around a ball with one, it would be well worth the effort.
MLS needs ambassadors, people other than aging English players, to vouch for its relevance. MLS should be scrambling to find them wherever they can. Our celebrity obsessed culture provides a prefect avenue for increasing the league's profile through inexpensive means, and MLS would be foolhardy to ignore the possibilites.
*Hell, send LeBron a Red Bulls jersey; he'll probably wear it to an Indians game.
