I don’t see NASCAR changing a whole lot, although I have read that attendance is down. NASCAR doesn’t really have much of a following in my circles in and around Chicago, but I know it’s popular in some of the more red state-ish, blue collar areas to the south of the city. But I see absolutely zero interest in it with my friends now, and, for that matter, anyone I’ve ever known growing up in the suburbs of Chicago. If anyone has any interest in car racing that I have known, it’s usually street racing and import cars, or if it’s professional racing, Formula One.

Though Nascar is immensely popular, I personally see it as a perfect example of Americans taking something beautiful and skilled, something that’s as much an art as a sport (hairpin turns at breakneck speed in F1) and dumbing it down to appeal to the masses (many cars driving in a circle, crashes).

Social media has changed the way I consume sports. Before social media it would be watch the game > watch the highlights on ESPN/post-game show > read the recap/column in the next day’s newspaper. Now, I can follow along via Twitter with other fans as I watch the game, get reactions from the players and their agents via their streams and get a lot of great behind-the-scenes supplements through the team’s own website. The Chicago Blackhawks do an amazing job with their online presence. I have found myself not even watching post-game shows anymore because I can get everything I need from various blogs and Twitter feeds that are devoted to the team. The insights I gain are often better than what newspaper columnists provide.

I don’t really see sports sponsorship changing a whole lot in the near future just because of the funding it takes to sponsor anything or anyone involved in the professional sports arena. Unless athletes start branching out to promote small businesses they care about in their communities, sports sponsorship will forever remain a corporate game.