Found A Great PR Grad Student Blogger :: Karen Freberg
Lots to like here. Karen is writing about PR, that’s a good starter, as she is a graduate student in the Annenberg School for Communication at the University of Southern California. I bet Phil Gomes will be happy to find her (if he hasn’t already).
Karen is quite the athlete, too. She writes:
I get teased a lot about having competed for three, yes three, Div I track and field programs. I spent one year at SMU, then transferred to Florida. After receiving my bachelors degree at Florida, I still had one year of eligibility left. When I enrolled in grad school at USC, the track coaches asked if I would like to compete for them.
- UPDATE: Holy Moly! Karen isn’t just an athlete… she’s an All-American Athlete – and more. Just found this in her Technorati profile:
I competed in the shot put, and hold the USC school record at 57’7.75. I am a 4-time All-American, 2-time SEC Champion, and 2004 Olympic Trials finalist.
I am duly impressed, Karen. Congratulations on your accomplishments.
No problem with being a former Gator, or a current Trojan, Karen. USC beat us in our last game – September 02, 2002, Los Angeles, CA – USC Trojans 24, Auburn Tigers 17. That one stung, but – it is only a game. And, we will have our chance at you down the road again, I’m sure.
Karen notes that Auburn did Win (their) First Track And Field National Championship by “scoring 57 points to easily outdistance Southern California, which placed second with 38.5 points. The Tigers posted All-American performances in nine events, including two individual national champions and three second-place finishers, and broke two school records during the four-day event.” (Source)
I was fortunate to actually see one of the ceremonies where Auburn saluted the women at Toomers Corner. Quite a sight and we are all very proud of the track and field team.
Yet another post of Karen’s is about how sports sites don’t seem to give the women track athletes the recognition they deserve. I have to agree. It is one of the unfortunate sides of sports. I can remember when track drew big crowds. Stadiums would be full and TV would actually cover it – even live TV. Sadly, those days are gone. But, the athletes are still here and tremendously talented. It is a shame they don’t get more coverage.
What I really like about Karen is that she’s blogging and talking about PR and sports. Her interests are particularly targeted toward reputation – and that’s a big topic in sports. Her recent post on Doping Charges Mar Start of Tour de France is particularly insightful, I believe.
Karen has a talent for this. She is already posting with plenty of links and photos and more. Karen’s got it going on. Check out her blog and welcome her online. She sounds pretty nice – and smart.
Sports such as women’s track and field and, well, track and field in general do not get enough coverage from the sports media in the U.S. Just look at the most popular sport in the world, soccer, it still struggles within the states. Honestly, how many of your average sports fans would know what the Tour de France was if it had not been for Lance Armstrong’s dominance. The thing the world enjoys in sports does not to seem as appealing to the fan in the United States.
Views on sports in the U.S. is just completely different than the rest of the world. Otherwise we’d be watching soccer all the time instead of drooling over college football in the Southeast. The sports media in the U.S. mostly appeals to the society around it. It gives the people a product that the majority wants. The only real thing you hear that I see as being a world issue is on the topic of steriods or doping scandals. That is one thing all sports wish to stop and it is a priority. But until you see these sports turn large profits and draw in the mass crowds to events in the U.S., I sadly do not believe they will have the coverage there once was or is in other parts of the world
Tuan, you’ve made some interesting comments on sports in the US of A as compared to other parts of the world that I think can be easily explained.
My humble observation is that the United States could be best characterized as a nation that loves sports of every description. In fact, we seem to have invented many of the world’s most popular sports! All americans seem to be fans of some sport or another, we even have enough fans to support a professional lacross league!
As for soccer, I believe the reason that soccer is not more popular in the U.S. ,is not because of our culture, per se, but I would argue that sporting fans here have more choices. And in life, having choice is usually expensive for both participant and fan. We can cheer on the Angolan soccer team for their entry into the World Cup where all it takes is owning a ball, but having the resources for participating in other sports will take some time and a stronger, growing and stable Angolan economy.
U.S. soccer has many troubles. Women’s professional soccer failed in this country in spite of heroic efforts. It just couldn’t compete with the fan base of other women’s professional sports. Young soccer players give up the sport early in favor of other sports that better capture their imaginations.
Lastly, many American sports enjoy huge support around the world. American Professional Football is drawing big crowds in their new european league. An exhibition game in Mexico city was jammed and sold out for months. Our NBA players draw crowds in airports wherever in the world they go.
In would agree that track & field and women’s track are not the sports with big fan bases in this country, although they are in many others. Again, part of the reason is that athletes and fans have choice.
So, I wouldn’t say that the U.S. view of sports is ‘different’ than the rest of the world, it is just that we have more choices than most.
Roger Freberg
No call out here? Geez.
Sorry, Jeremy.
I just remembered that Phil went to school there and hoped he’d make contact.
And, hey – I’ve called you out for all your great support before … but can not – admittedly – do it enough to repay the many kind acts. Thanks. You’ve been great to us, too.
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