An Open Letter To Team GB About Sponsorship!
posted on: August 23, 2016. posted in: Sport
Dear Team GB
I've been absolutely glued to my TV watching you dominate the Olympics, and I've loved every second of it. I knew before the games commenced that you would smash it, but never could I have predicted 27 golds, 23 silvers, 17 bronzes and our best ever Olympic performance for more than a century.
But more amazing and inspiring than the medals, and our final position in the table... I witnessed more emotion and passion and commitment from our British athletes than I've ever seen before. Perhaps more even than London 2012.
You guys really CARE.
I watched many of you win silver or bronze medals... absolutely incredible achievements... yet you couldn't hide your pain and disappointment in not winning gold.
And as you were interviewed I could see that the pain wasn't about YOU, it was about US... you feeling like you had let US, your British fans, down.
You hadn't. Quite the opposite.
We are all so, so proud.
But what happens next??
You come home. You embrace your families. You proudly show off your medals. And when the hype, and the glory and the dust settles, the inevitable happens...
The phone rings. It's your agent. And she's lined an amazing new sponsorship deal with X food company, or X fitness gadget, earning you X thousand pounds to promote a food you've never eaten, or product you've never used, pretending it's the secret to your Olympic success.
You know. I know. Your families know. And your coaches know. The secret to your success was blood, sweat, tears, commitment... never giving up... never quitting... never throwing the towel in when times got tough.
Junk food didn't fuel your performance.
Electric ab trainers didn't condition your bodies.
So why sell your soul and let these companies convince our nation, your nation, an OBESE nation... that they did? A nation with a National Health Service that was so beautifully celebrated at our London 2012 opening ceremony... a ceremony that many of you attended... but a health service that since then is buckling under the weight of people who believe living on junk food is ok... and plugging themselves in is the secret to health and fitness.
Team GB please...
You didn't let us down at Rio.
Please don't let us down now your home.
When that call comes in with that offer of a sponsorship deal from that food you know is junk, or that product you know is a con, think about all those children who look up to you. All those children who have been inspired by you. Impressionable young minds, who want to grow up and BE LIKE YOU.
Don't let them think junk food or fitness gizmos are the secret to your success. Boycott these deceptive companies that are driving LAZINESS and OBESITY, and tell the next generation the truth.
Hard work. Perseverance. Commitment. Dedication. Teamwork. These are the words you should proudly display on your vests. And if you find an honest brand that represents these values, take their sponsorship money and enjoy it.
You've definitely earned it.
Yours proudly
Liam
