Doppler Radar. Beautiful People. MBS. $100.00…Not.

Accuracy & Accountability.  Collins Avenue @ 18th.  Can You Say Big and Bold?  Why Pay When You Can Watch Live?

A forecast can be a prediction based on credible information.  For example, if you forecast monthly, quarterly and annual sales you hopefully use the data given to you by the people generating the revenue.   You take their information, validate it and roll it up into a rolling forecast.  The same holds true for weather forecasting.  You take the empirical data that you retrieve from the National Weather Service, Doppler radar, and other sources that predict weather fronts.  So with all due respect (nominal) to the television talent that reports on the weather, how in the name of weather satellites do they get it wrong more often than not? For example, at 4pm on Friday, I heard a weather forecaster talking about hurricane Harvey: “No way this storm becomes a category 4…..once it reaches land the winds will dissipate”.  Later on Friday, I put on the TV only to see that Hurricane Harvey is a category 4 hurricane, with 130 mph winds and unfortunately delivering as  much as 40″ of rain over the next couple of days. Sure, it really did not matter if Harvey was a category 3 or 4 storm, but has it gotten to the point where we no longer listen/watch the weather as the forecasts spit out by so-called meteorologists are often wrong?  Maybe it is time to bring back Willard Scott…..at least he was funny and entertaining when he presented the weather on The Today Show.  Godspeed to all affected by this storm.

There are few areas in the world that match the energy, pace, aura, and money spent on cosmetic surgery than South Beach.  The area is always ‘on’ and is still, after many years, a place to see and be seen.  Walk into the Delano Hotel or take in the Clevelander’s outdoor bar scene.  It basically is a combination of Paris, Barcelona, and Hollywood on fire, with maybe the best people watching in the world.  This is off-season, so the hotels are at ‘normal’ rack rates, but the streets are busy day and night.  After December 1st, starting with the Art Basel exposition, the visiting population expands as tourists and returning homeowners bunker down to spend warm days and awesome evenings while the other parts of the country are freezing.  Miami Beach’s gentrification, similar to many cities around the world, has been a positive thing.  I still favor other areas of Florida, including Delray Beach and downtown St. Petersburg, but for two days you really can’t beat the South Beach experience.

I have ranted in last few months about the affect the new Mercedes Benz Stadium has had on Atlanta United’s schedule.  The ongoing delays have put a level of congestion into United’s September schedule that in a simple word is daunting.  No retraction in my opinion but now that I have toured the stadium the wait was worth it (maybe not in Tata Martino’s mind).  The stadium and it’s many amenities are fantastic – the ‘halo’ video board circling the top of the stadium is amazing, along with the look and feel of the stadium in general. I had a chance to visit the new Dallas Cowboys stadium soon after it opened – as amazing as that building is it does not compare to Mr. Arthur Blank’s new palace. If you have a chance, go to any event at this stadium….a great venue and for sure to be a great experience.

As many as 50 million people viewed last night’s Mayweather-McGregor fight.  Some went to bars and paid a good bit of money and some bought the fight on pay-per-view for $100.00 or so. I made the decision not to watch the fight….until midnight last night when a friend of mine reminded me that he was videoing the fight from his TV using the Instagram app.  Yes, I watched the fight live on my mobile phone which makes you wonder about the future of the pay-per-view model.

Adios and have a Funday Sunday!

 

There Must Be An Island. Short Takes.

The Difference Between Terrorists and White Nationalists.  Short Takes.

The world continues to undergo a socio/economic change due to terrorist groups and other factions dovetailing off of horrific events.  This past week the Charlottesville and Barcelona events showed the world that hate is not only prevalent but now has become a factor affecting everyday life including travel, tourism, and worldwide stock markets.  There is no end in sight and these type of events feed the television and social media network’s content – that they know will drive ratings and advertising dollars. It is interesting that after 9/11, people all over the world seemed to take a step back, offered up kindness, and in general just got along… understanding the shock and horror from a few deranged terrorists.  Can you stop someone from renting or stealing a car and driving it into a crowd of people?  Can you convince racists that their efforts would be better spent organizing charity events instead of hating people that just happen to have a different skin color?  There is an island somewhere in the far reaches of this planet for all these people….that in my mind is the only solution.

On a lighter note:

  • Tomorrow’s total eclipse is a no miss event.
  • Yesterday’s open house at Atlanta’s new Mercedes Benz Stadium will now calm the storm of all of the delays and the effect the delays have had on Atlanta United’s schedule – the building is in one word:  Fantastic.
  • The English Premier League has started and college and pro football are right around the corner…The Fall will be here soon.
  • I missed posting the blog last week….and shockingly I had many people contact me asking ‘why no post?’.  I consider the inquiries a compliment – let’s all remember that I write the blog as a challenge until one or more of you pony up your social media/marketing skills and help me.  No, I am not pointing to anyone particular….other than someone who is now retired but has a massive marketing background before he became the CEO of an unnamed insurance company…a daughter of mine with a massive PR background….and maybe someone who is in charge of one of the hottest brands in the restaurant industry!!  🙂

Adios, where your protective glasses tomorrow, and have Funday Sunday!!

Underestimated. August Dog Days.

We Just Missed.  Some Takes for the 1st Sunday in August.

You task architects with designing a state-of-the-art stadium that allows for both functional and optical scalability.  The goal:  to allow the configuration and the look and feel of the Mercedes Benz Stadium to change based on the type of event, specifically football and soccer.  The architects and designers come through with meeting the criteria, which includes the lower level seats on modular rails to be slid forward for football and slightly back for soccer (to allow wider field width).  From a audience experience standpoint, the upper deck sections can be covered with branded tension fabric to make the stadium interior feel more intimate, especially for events that will not fill the stadium.  From a planning standpoint, Atlanta United made the assumption that the approximate 39,000 seats in the lower bowl of the stadium would be more than enough to satisfy the demand.  39,000 fans at most games would be an incredible start for a new franchise and the fabric covering the upper deck areas would give these fans a more intimate environment to watch the game (instead of seeing thousands of empty seats in the upper bowl).  Sounds like a great plan, right?  Wrong, as the incredible season ticket response and demand for the tickets has led to capacity crowds of 45,000 plus.  Now Darren Eales, United’s excellent leader, has the dilemma of opening the upper bowl for some or most of the games left on the schedule.  Not an easy decision to make as opening up the upper bowl may minimize the goal of the intimate environment and would allow up to 75,000 to see a United game….more concessions, security, ushers, gate personnel and police would be required.  Eales has stated that they may open the entire stadium for the Orlando City game on September 16th and the last home game against Toronto. Social media is blowing up with fans complaining/demanding that the entire stadium be open so everyone can buy tickets…what a great problem for Eales and his team to have!

Short Takes for the 1st Sunday of August:

  • Is Chris Christie ok?  Is there something diametrically wrong with him?
  • When is it ever ok to talk someone into suicide?  Michelle Carter, at the time just 17-years old, decided to encourage her 18-year old boyfriend to commit suicide instead of calling authorities to get the kid help.  Where does this type of mind-set come from?
  • From a very small town in India, with no knowledge or previous lineage to aeronautics, 30 year-old Anna Divya is now the youngest commander of a Boeing 777.  She dreamed, she wanted, and she obtained.  Incredible story.
  • Last week the Dow Jones Industrial Average, a.k.a. the ‘Dow’ reached an all-time high of 22,026.10.  The Dow, started in 1896 with 12 original stocks.  By the way, General Electric (GE) is the only original stock left in the Dow which is now made up of 30 blue chip stocks.  Has the Dow hit it’s peak?

Adios and Have a Funday Sunday!!