FirstCuts: Vote for me!

By Chris Littmann
Sports don’t start and end with a referee’s whistle. FirstCuts, a blog dedicated to sports culture, will cover everything outside the lines, from the games to the gear.
My MP3 player has Lupe Fiasco, Nirvana, Mae, Aqualung and N.E.R.D. in the recently played list at the moment. Now I’ve got audio interview with UTEP guard Stefon Jackson to add to that list.
[img=http://img86.imageshack.us/img86/7093/stefonjacksoncdjj2.jpg]
The fine folks at UTEP sent over what has to be one of the more unique promo items for a player I’ve seen to date, trying to pump him up as a potential All-American candidate. (Still, I’m not so sure how effective it is. I’m more of a visual guy. Couldn’t they just send me a YouTube highlight package?)
It’s a sign of the season when United States Basketball Writers Association voters start getting odd promotional items from schools both large and small across the country. The CD on Stefon “DJ -- that’s draining jumpers not disc jockey†Jackson came on the same day as a notepad promoting Middle Tennessee State forward Amber Holt. I’ve also gotten a nicely laminated postcard on Bradley guard Daniel Ruffin and a notepad from Xavier for Drew Lavender.
Before I was a USBWA voter, Xavier University sent out probably the coolest promo gift I’ve seen to date. To get the hype going for guard Romain Sato, they sent out a Faberge egg. Outside, it was Romain the basketball player and inside were figurines representing his more scholarly pursuits.
Of course, when it comes to promotion, no one does it bigger than Oregon. Who can forget the Times Square billboards for Oregon football?
I always thought the Ducks went a little over the top; didn’t the university have a better way to spend a quarter million? But stuff like these little promos at lesser known schools seem OK. What’s the line on appropriate promotion and a total waste of money? I can tell you this much: I’ve never sat back at voting time and said, “That’s a damn fine notepad, so player X has a spot on my All-American team,†so maybe it’s all a waste.
And if you really want my vote, make like Chris Bosh and do an ad like this one:

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