10. Host Matt Farrell Talks 10 Reasons to Be Excited for Paris 2024 Olympic Games
Farrell Sports Business Podcast
Interviews with unicorns from sports business and their unique stories, dreams, ideas, insights, innovations, flops and career paths. Get a unique perspective of the inner workings of jobs working in sports beyond just pro sports leagues. Hosted by 30-year sports business veteran Matt Farrell, President of Farrell Sports and CEO of Bat Around.
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On this week's Farrell Sports Business Podcast, we're going to take a little different route. We're going to talk about the 10 reasons I'm so excited for the Paris Olympic and Paralympic Games coming up. I'm going to go back to a format of interviewing guests next week. For this one, I just felt like it was special in terms of timing, just to share some reasons why I think this is just set up to really be a rebound for the Olympic and Paralympic movement in general.
I've worked nine Olympic games. I've spent most of my career in the Olympic movement. A lot of that as the chief marketing officer at USA Swimming, some of that in digital and marketing roles at the US Olympic and Paralympic Committee. And so this one is close to me. So I'm just going to share reasons why I'm excited for Paris. And I think this is a great time for the Olympic movement. So let's get into
Alright, we're going to change up the format just a little bit and we'll get back to guests soon. But this is a little bit of great timing with Paris and the Olympic Games coming up in just a matter of a few weeks. Plus, not going to lie, I took a little vacation last week on a bucket list trip to play golf in Scotland. So I'll return to guests on the show soon. But for now, I just really want to talk Paris and why I think this is just set up to be great for the Olympic movement.
So 10 reasons for optimism and excitement around the Olympic Games and Paralympic Games coming up in Paris.
Number one is actually the location, Paris. It's an intriguing city. It's a romantic city for some, full of iconic landmarks and wait till you see the beach volleyball venue in particular set at the base of the Eiffel Tower. It's just a global power of a city and very attractive city. And I think people will appreciate the sport and the culture of it, not to mention the time
that weighs big, especially for North American audience, South American audiences, and even European audiences, where just being six hours ahead of East Coast time is a huge benefit to the Olympic movement. No disrespect to the past Olympic games, but Asian based games, Beijing for the last Winter Olympics, Tokyo for the last Summer Olympics.
not to mention a delay for COVID for the Summer Olympics in Tokyo, that just made it harder from a time zone perspective for a lot of the world. So at least North South America and Central America and even Europe, this is just going to be a time zone that's going to set up ideal.
Two, just the absolute explosion and growth of women's sports. The Olympics are set up to be one of the most gender balanced events on the planet. In fact, with the US Olympic team, there's actually more women on the US Olympic team than men in this case. 314 women, 278 men.
And right now we're just in a period of sports with an explosion of the popularity of women's sports for a variety of reasons. And the Olympics has a perfect opportunity to ride that
three, a variation of the same theme is actually women's basketball. Huge surge in popularity of women's basketball. There's always been popularity with the men's game. And quite honestly, I like the men's Olympic basketball tournament, but I have to admit I'm more of a traditionalist when it comes to the Olympics. I'm really more of a swimming track, gymnastics.
even water polo and fencing and sports like that. So I'll follow the men's tournament, but in this year in particular, I'll have just more of a greater eye on the women's tournament because I just think that's really one of the groundbreaking stories of just this entire year of the growth of women's sports and women's basketball in
for really the NBC marketing machine. They always do a phenomenal job. And I don't just say that because I used to work for NBC Sports and in in the golf channel, they just do a phenomenal job of coverage across the games, but they're introducing pop culture stars more than ever. mean, this lineup is amazing. Snoop Dogg, Peyton Manning, Kelly Clarkson.
Jimmy Fallon, even Dolly Parton being involved, and then Elmo and Cookie Monster. Kevin Hart, Kenan Thompson, and Leslie Jones is always just a fan favorite as well. I think they're doing a great job of striking the balance of respecting the sport and what goes on in the sport and what happens on the field of play, but adding an entertainment value to the rest of the broadcast, social,
And I just think it's really going to connect with a lot of audiences and maybe some new audiences around the Olympics in
Five, also NBC and the wall -to -wall coverage. We know we can get it on the mothership at NBC. We know there's coverage at NBCOlympics .com. And some of the traditional outlets like E!, CNBC and even the Golf Channel jumping in there. And there's a new addition for more of the younger crowd with a Roku option this year, which is the first time that that's been.
added to the Olympic broadcasting platform and schedule. So that, combined with social, just makes it more accessible than it's ever
Six, TikTok. And this is a little bit of an unusual one, but I've just loved it. There's a trend going through TikTok, in particular right now, of people posting videos of themselves with this kind of fake announcement of, I'm sad to say I did not make this year's Olympic team, or I'm sad to announce that I was not picked for this year's Olympic team. And then showing video
videos of themselves from high school gymnastics, high school diving, some pretty epic fails and people just having a good time with that and being authentic. And the reason I like it is just because it's natural. It's just taken over. It's not coming from NBC or the hype machine behind it. It's people just really relating their own sport experience to the Olympics.
And I've always felt in general that people say they're fans of the Olympics and that's true. But at the end of the day, we're really drawn to sports that we played growing up in high school. And so having that, some of those natural and authentic stories come out just in a purely fun way on TikTok, I just think is a great
Seven, the Paralympics social media account, especially on TikTok, Paralympics, P A R A L Y M P I C S on TikTok is just absolutely phenomenal and has created all kinds of different, accounts of people saying, my gosh, I should not be laughing at this, but you want to take a sport and the Paralympic movement that
is very serious about sport, but does not take itself too seriously, and especially of how we look at people across the world with different disabilities. It's a hilarious account. It's a fun account, and may be one of the single best marketing drivers for interest in the Paralympic Games, which follow the Olympic Games in Paris.
Now one special note, a terminology thing, maybe a little bit of a PSA related to that. The Paralympics is a high level, elite level competition for people with disabilities. Sometimes people get it confused. Some people call it Special Olympics. And the Paralympics is an elite level of competition where winning is the goal. And Special Olympics has a phenomenal place in our society and culture. And that's more for athletes with cognitive.
cognitive disabilities. just always remember just the distinction of the Paralympics and the Special Olympics.
Eight, the big three are really strong, especially for the United States. Big three coming into the Olympics, meaning track, swimming, and gymnastics. Loaded with superstars from Simone Biles to Noah Lyles to Sha 'Carri Richardson on track, Katie Ledecky in swimming. Just absolutely stacked in terms of star power and performance leading into that, especially from a US point of
and coming off three massively successful Olympic trials for each of those sports. I actually had the pleasure of going to two of those trials. I went to Eugene to the track and field Olympic trials. It's just a spectacle and what a phenomenal experience. The gymnastics trials was one of the most first rate, first class event production events that I've ever been to in Minneapolis at the Target Center.
And it was every bit the show of an NBA game in that arena. And the swimming Olympic trials, I used to work at swimming. And we held trials in an arena in Omaha, Nebraska, but they took it to another level and built a swimming pool in an NFL stadium and just created an amazing spectacle and showcase for the sport. So when those three sports are strong going into an Olympic games,
it just fares well for the success of the event, the broadcast, and especially U .S. interest in following the Olympic Games.
9. A new sport being added. Breakdancing. Now I don't know what to expect. have to admit I haven't watched much about it. But here's what I like is the trend of new sports. So breakdancing is new for Paris but new for Tokyo where skateboard, sport climbing, surfing. I'll admit it's tough not seeing baseball and softball on there but they're going to make a return.
uh, in, the future. And even as you look ahead to LA in 2028, which is going to host the game, you're talking about adding cricket, lacrosse, flag football, and squash. Now, a US centric point of view is maybe squash is not the biggest thing here, but we have to think globally about this. And I just love the forward thinking
the Olympic movement and the International Olympic Committee in general of how to introduce new sports to the program. And so I think that bodes well just creating new interest and long -term interest in quite honestly an Olympic movement, especially internationally, that's not known for being the most progressive. I do think if you give it a fair shake, there's some really progressive moves that are happening to
differentiate and diversify the sport program for Paris and LA 28 going
And number 10, I, this is a little bit more of a somber one, but I just think the Olympics has a power to unite in a world where politics is very divisive in the United States, across the world. And I'm not naive. It's the Olympics does not create this big, huge world group hug and kumbaya, but it's close.
And it brings people together, brings nations together, brings families together. And in a time that's just filled with so much anxiety in the world of what's going on with politics, I think this just has the opportunity to be right place, right time
But it's a it's just a chance for us to maybe mend a little bit as a society, even if it's even if it's just a two week period. And I think that's big right
So those are my top 10 reasons to be excited and be very optimistic about the prospect of the Olympic Games both in the next few weeks and in the next few years and decades to come with just a lineup of great cities, great hosts for the Olympic Games, and I think it's time. For this podcast, I'll go back to my interview format for the July 22nd episode.
In the meantime, a bit of a shameless plug. If you're able to give a five star review to this podcast, that just helps me build it and helps me keep driving on it. Leave a comment, give me a follow. And quite honestly, I'd love to hear from people you want to listen to and hear their story of how they got started working in the sports business and their unique jobs and what they do now. And it's just been a fun journey for me to do this and I'll get back to my other format.
As for the Olympics, you may see a few extra pods over the coming month as we look at just some really unique and interesting people and their perspectives on the Olympic and Paralympic movement with this podcast. So it's going to be a little bit Olympic heavy for a few weeks, but I hope you enjoy it. Thanks for following the Farrell Sports Business Podcast, and we'll get back to the regular format next week. Thanks.
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