ESPN is regarded as one of the prominent sports broadcast stations in the country, they host hundreds of collegiate and professional games and events on their broadcast which can mass into millions of viewers. They own the rights to broadcast and cover basically whatever they want, but are they doing it right?
Men’s lacrosse is one of the most popular collegiate spring sports today, and the nationally broadcasted events create hype for the season both before and after each game.
The content provider (In this case ESPN) continually contributes on Instagram and Twitter predominantly. Instagram is where most of the content is seen, but more than that, the content is taken and redistributed through 3rd party accounts and lacrosse fans as a whole. There is a much greater amount of user interactivity on Instagram than twitter, where it consists mostly of highlights and significant moments from each game. This past week, every single game ended in an overtime upset,
On Twitter, the NCAA Lacrosse account isn’t very active in anything besides weekly standings, or monumental records being broken.
Prior to Duke Lacrosse’s Men’s team facing off with Virgina, Instagram had much more activity using the #GODUKELAX hashtag. The Duke Lacrosse account posted 2 times within 24 hours of their matchup with Virginia on Saturday, April 8th, and massed over 7,000 likes with only 12 comments in both posts. However, @Lacrossenetwork on Instagram reposted a highlight from the game itself, which accumulated over 15,000 likes and over 30 responses. Instagram is utilized to find a place for those regardless of age, demographic, or any other factors to have the ability to see their posts, it is easy to share and reach new audiences. Their involvement in Instagram as a whole can help those who may not know about the sport to slowly find their way into the culture of lacrosse. Unfortunately, Duke fell to Notre Dame in their last outing, and this results in a slower pace of Instagram and twitter activity rather than if they were to win. It is understandable that a team may want to take a step back for a little before they make a statement or any further activity.
The social media that is utilized the most is their Instagram account; it is easier for the audience to find highlights across the discover page than it would be for them to reach it on Instagram. If I saw men’s lacrosse from a business standpoint, I would be much more involved on Twitter, Instagram, and TikTok, while trying to create a welcoming environment for not just Duke Lacrosse fans, but lacrosse fans as a whole. Espn does cover this category of sport and it is televised on their stations, but they do not advertise the sport enough for it to have its own subcategory for college lacrosse. Most of the Content on ESPN’s pages are professional sports: right now, being the NBA and MLB.
I had the pleasure of sitting down and having a conversation with Division III Athlete and Social Media star Navarro Blakes, screen name OnlyVarro. Navarro has had a very interesting journey through the years and has developed into a high-quality Lacrosse player. I asked him about his upbringing, his motivations, and his future: here’s what he had to say.
Navarro’s lacrosse journey started late in his high school career. “I wanted to play in my junior year, but my mom wouldn't let me. She said that it was too late and that I should try out next year. It wasn’t because the game was too physical, or I was undersized. I missed the timeline and had to wait another year.”
Navarro graduated high school in 2020, and we all remember how this year went. Being a student athlete was not easy at the time, and this is what he had to say about his high school experience through Covid-19. “ I got my highest GPA ever during Covid. The circumstances were complicated and completely different than anything I’ve ever gone through. I played a lot of Fortnite and video games in quarantine, I'm sorry mom. Having a goal in my backyard helped a lot too because of how close it was, I never had to leave the house to get some work in.”
I asked Varro if he could play any sport besides lacrosse at a college level, what would it be?
“Football. You’ve seen me run in the field, I’m quick. I used to play receiver in high school, and I ran track and field. I would dust fools.”
Onlyvarro has accumulated over 60k followers on TikTok for his lacrosse content, so I asked him about his journey through social media. Navarro started taking videos of himself before he even thought about producing content. These were just videos for him to correct his form, and to improve as a player. The first year that he created content, he was met with so much negative backlash, making it mentally difficult for him to continue. Yet, the love and support from those who left positive comments and responses meant the world, and he continued through the hardship to support those who help him. “The first year was rough man, there was so much hate in my comments that would demotivate me, but the ones who would stay positive in my comments and show love are the ones that drive me to be better, to continue creating content.”
Navarro became dedicated to the mission of helping others in the way he knew how. Lacrosse. He started by making tutorials on how to do the moves he likes, taking inspiration from his idols in the lacrosse world.
The New York Giants have made many changes within the last 3 years in order to create a winning program, and with new Head Coach Brian Doball, results may finally generate positively in the next couple seasons. The Giants are a historically winning team, winning 4 Super Bowls, yet finding themselves under strange circumstances throughout the last decade.
Giants Quarterback, Daniel Jones, rushed for 114 yards and threw for 436 yards in 17 games. The average in game passing yards for this season was 259 yards for winning teams, and 264 in losing situations (Bleacherreport.com). Daniel Jones has underperformed in his latest season as a Quarterback, but this is one of the few plot holes that the Giants will have to fix in the near future. Daniel Jones is seeking a revised contract with the Giants, asking for $45 million dollars. Is Daniel Jones worth more than what he is getting paid now? He has spent 4 seasons in the league, and has remained average at best, with his best season being his first.
Running Back, Saquan Barkley, rushed for 295 yards this season; which isn’t terrible, but given circumstances (injury/ missed games) he fulfilled his position and played his best. Saquan is injury prone, and has missed games due to multiple injuries. Saquan is a staple in the G-men community, but how much longer will he be able to play at the level he is at now? Is he worth signing to a 5-10 year deal if he is continually injured and missing games?
In the final episode of the 2023 year, Navarro and Andrew are accompanied by guest and teammate, Greg Wever. The trio reflects on the hist...
