The marketing success, or non-success, of members of
the '98 Canadian Winter Olympic team was examined by Curtis
Stock of the EDMONTON JOURNAL, who wrote, "While the
predominant conception is that an Olympic medal ... will
translate into wealth, the facts -- certainly coming out of
Nagano -- show quite the opposite." Only two Canadiens
"cashed in" on Nagano -- snowboarder Ross Rebagliati and
speed skater Catriona Le May Doan. Le May Doan, "despite
being regarded as perhaps the most credible spokesperson
that Canadian amateur athletics has ever produced," had to
wait 11 months for an endorsement deal. Canadian gold medal
bobsledder Pierre Lueders, on Le May Doan: "Here's a woman
who is good looking, with a nice smile, a great image and
great in the media and it takes 11 months? Am I missing
something?" Stock: "Many say that amateur sports needs to
do a better job educating the corporate sector ... to
develop fully-integrated marketing programs and work with
corporations on how to use the athletes better." But one
CEO from a brewery said, "Dealing with amateur sports is
just that -- dealing with amateurs" (EDM. JOURNAL, 2/21).
