What We’re Talking About
If you’ve been online during the college basketball tournament you might have noticed a few schools posting snarky messages about how they can’t share in-game footage like they normally do. West Virginia, for example, posted a screenshot of a Notes app that read, “Due to restrictions, in game content will be limited to GIFs, memes, and notes app art 🤗”
We’ve become so accustomed to damn-near-everything being available online that we forget how this all works. Broadcasters pay huge sums of money to air the March Madness tournament. Because of that, they want people to watch their broadcast in order for them to claim the eyeballs they’ve sold to the advertisers, which justifies the giant licensing deals. Schools know this, but aren’t used to having their hands tied. We are. At American Cup, for example, we were not allowed to record or post any original footage from the competition; and training video is limited to ten second clips, no full routines, and combined routine footage cannot exceed 60 seconds. Interviews have no limitations. We know people want us to post more video footage but we can’t.
Creating content for online distribution has become a big business and colleges have woken up to this fact. Front Office Sports ran a great piece explaining just how big things are getting. They highlight how Clemson built a 12,000-square-foot facility in 2023 with two video studios, rows of editing bays, two photo studios and a podcast studio. LSU has its own creative unit within the sports department called The Brand, which employs roughly 60 full-time staffers and another 90 part-time student interns and graduate assistants. If you’ve ever wondered how they created The Climb, now you know.
We’re living in a new content ecosystem where media assets are created by different groups for different purposes. What’s fascinating is the incentives. Simplified… broadcasters are working to recoup cash. Schools are hyping the fanbase. Content creators are grinding for clicks. Fans are posting out of passion. And journalistic outlets like ours continue to recalculate the ROI of traveling to meets where we don’t have the access of any of the above (yes, even the influencers) to deliver the best product we can. Don’t worry we’ll keep showing up in person when we can, but this is the reality of news outlets trying to tell a complete picture for the integrity of the sport–even in defiance of the incentive structure. A school is never going to question a 10.0 routine they post. A broadcaster isn’t going to tell you a competition is boring. And an influencer can’t afford to be disliked.
The entire ecosystem is needed. We celebrate and welcome it. We know our role and we appreciate those who listen, watch and read our stuff to help keep us in the game.
Feelings
- Gutted for Clara Raposo who tore the same ACL for the third time
- Happy to see Haylee Hardin (formerly Iowa State) has found a landing spot at Clemson
- Can’t wait to see the new WCC floor routines from the Crain sisters
- Looking at you SEC session I: There should be a rule preventing all the teams wearing the same color
- Haleigh Bryant’s Power Suits should be someone’s fantasy team name (we’ll also accept Haleigh Bryant’s Clip Board)
- The best team in the nation right now is Florida
- Rutgers leotards deliver
- All commentators should study the methodology of Olly Hogben and Blythe Lawrence
- ACC Champs: What a difference a year makes
- We can’t wait for the full super bloom to take over
- Bonus: You should definitely get your Live Show Season Pass
Facts
- You can watch the Regional Selection Show here
- The Doha Apparatus World Cup was cancelled because of the U.S. war with Iran
- While competing at the Big 10 Championships, Jordan Chiles has only scored 10s
- Faith Torrez is, again, perfect
- The mat robbed Amari Drayton
- Selena Harris-Miranda provides a handstand clinic
- 49.450: Clemson posted a school record bars rotation to win ACCs
- Lily Smith is telling us there’s a chance!
- Ruby Evans and Joe Fraser are the British all-around champions
- UW-Oshkosh won their fourth NCGA title in five years
- Bonus: Get – The Balance: My Years Coaching Simone Biles for under $5!
Award(s)
- Assassin: Rutgers Leotard
- Freshman of the Week: Tonya Paulsson
What’s On the Socials?
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Quotes
“That’s how you know she’s a really good gymnast. If she’s tripping while walking.”
~ Sam Peszek, Really Good Gymnast
Sam’s comment came during the SEC Championship when Ady Wahl tripped while exiting the floor exercise.
♦
“When we started the meet, I just knew everything was going to fall into place.”
~ Selena Harris-Miranda, SEC Champion
After scoring a perfect 10 on bars to help her Gators secure the SEC title, Selena reflected on the confidence she had from the very first rotation.
♦
“It’s Absolutely Amazing!”
~ Liz Crandall-Howell, ACC Champion
In a post-meet interview Liz and Justin Howell described the journey of their first ACC title and all the newness for the gymnasts experiencing this level of spotlight and success.
♦♦♦
What? You want even more? Join Club Gym Nerd and you get a bonus episode, College & Cocktails, every weekend after our meet of the week. Once the NCAA season is over you continue to get a weekly bonus episode every Friday afternoon. Plus you get access to all of our archives, exclusive content and more. Then we give the sober analysis on Monday (or Tuesday) after we’ve allowed the data to penetrate our feelings.
This column was composed and compiled by Steve Cooper, Editor at GymCastic and co-author of “The Balance: My Years Coaching Simone Biles“; some thoughts culled from hosts Jessica O’Beirne and Spencer Barnes.
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