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Ok, so the story I saw on ESPN last night was just too ridiculous for me to not write about. According to reports, Maria Sharapova is attempting to legally change her name to Maria Sugarpova in time for the U.S. Open. For those of you not in the know, Maria launched a line of candy this year called "Suagarpova" so this is a nice marketing stunt to promote her line (which by all accounts is proving to be quite popular).
I can even begin to fully describe the absurdity I find in this story. I am calling it right now. Maria Sharapova has no chance of winning the U.S. Open. Not only is this name change story floating around, but there are some other issues as well. Jimmy Connors just recently lasted all of 1 official match as her new coach. He was one and done after her loss to Sloane Stephens at the Western & Southern. I have a hard time seeing Maria as 100% mentally focused and ready to win the title in a couple weeks. It seems like she has some other interests at the forefront of her mind right now and that will make it difficult to beat someone who can be so singularly focused like Serena if they meet up.
I will say that a part of me hopes that this starts a trend of ridiculous stunt marketing in tennis. With Maria taking a page from the Chad "Ochocinco" playbook, it can only get more entertaining from here. Maybe Federer will wear that Super Mario mustache from his latest Wilson ad during the tournament. Perhaps Rafa will become Rafael Babolat? Maybe Tomas Berdych will get a giant H&M tattoo somewhere to promote his relationship with his clothing sponsor. I just hope we get to see Bob & Mike "E-surance" entered into the doubles draw.
It sounds like Maria has some legal hurdles to clear before this name change can happen. Here's hoping the U.S. Open is a "sweet" one for her.....
Yeah, its totally ridiculous .. I would never do it.. :-) But I have a different view with some facts that you said..
ReplyDelete1. Maria not winning US open -- In current women pro tennis you can never say who would win .. I dont think anyone would have predicted that Bartoli can win the Wimbledon without losing a set (that too when Serena was injury free and was in top form), so you never know - Sugarpova can win it.. :-)
2. All the brand names that you have listed are just sponsors of top players and none of them own that brand. But in the case of Sugarpova - she owns it. Maybe she has business mind and has started looking beyond tennis and maybe wants to do whatever it takes to grow her own brand! - maybe a shrewd business mind like Jobs.. :-)