There’s “ad creep” in the outfield. Under Armour logos will now blare through the historic ivy-covered walls of venerable Wrigley Field.
Hard to imagine the two doors in left and right field that were painstakingly painted green to blend with the ivy in 1937 will now have the big ol’ Under Armour sports apparel logo smack dab in the center as a shout-out to sponsorship and changing times.
Kids are so used to ads they may not even blink, but diehard Chicago Cubs’ fans will no doubt have a hissy. The second oldest ballpark in the country was built in 1914, and lights for night baseball in 1988 even caused a protest and stir, so if this passes without a wince I’ll be surprised and disheartened that ad creep is just a presumed inevitability.
Ad Age says, “Chicago, which has been mired at the bottom of the National League’s Central Division the last few years, spent $300 million in the off-season on free agents to bolster the team, including $136 million for outfielder Alfonso Soriano — who, coincidentally, is an Under Armour endorser.” Under Armour already has their logo on the left field wall at Boston’s Fenway Park. (the oldest in the nation)
Wonder if kids even know the brand or if it’s just ALL urban wallpaper to them? Kids have grown up in an era of pricey talent, ads behind homeplate, athlete scandals and sponsorship celebrity. The days of playing ball “in a Norman Rockwell painting” may have sadly passed. —Hey, at least they didn’t rename the stadium.
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