Hines Ward to Kona? (Page 2)

I thought this was funny, I went to his face book page and the 1st 4 digits of the Number of Likes popped out at me.

1,406,910 likes

Not sure how the 910 fits in(unless he is doing a Garmin sponsorship too), but the 140(.)6 was kind of neat

As a lifelong Steelers fan, Hines is one of my favorite players to ever wear the Black and Gold. He's got a great attitude, gives back to the community, and was one of the best blocking receivers in football history. Everyone in Pittsburgh misses seeing his smile on the field. I hope his foray into triathlon sticks, and I get to share the water and roads with him one of these days.

Ha...I'm using him as my blocker. Drafting rules be damned.

One of the other hosts "Joe" from Master Chef did Kona as his first full IM in 2012.  Wonder if he got Ramsay hooked.

I agree....those are some fairly pedestrian times for someone who hopes to go 10-12 hours at Kona.  Still, I don't think you can count him out for 12 hours.....an elite athlete is an elite athlete....his brain knows the work it will take.

I'm interested to see how he does.

And was a finalist on the Celebrity Chef contest on the Food Network.  What's next...curing cancer???

I think we're dealing with Hines over-saturation.  And everyone was complaining about hearing about Ray Lewis too much... 

Despite my hatred of Hines as a ninny and cheap shot artist as a football player, he does seem like a really good dude and I wish him luck at Kona.

Perhaps I fit this category, but not because "he did not qualify."  I think it's ludicrous that a wealthy celebrity is showered with free training, free equipment and other outlandish endorsements. I'd rather see this "good will" given to folks less fortunate.  I donate when I can to Boys & Girls clubs and recently donated my road bike to a nice kid who hopes to do an IM one day.  Maybe most people aren't as altruistic as I am, but I'd personally rather see someone who truly needs access to the sport given the chance rather than this publicity stunt with this dimwit "athlete."  It's no wonder though...the WTC is all about the money so I don't count on this ever happening.

Perhaps you're not seeing the other side of this.  When the WTC gives Hines Ward a Kona slot, coaching, and follow him around with a camera.  People care.  People are interested.  And it creates positive advertising for their company.  Same things happen when Hines Ward is on a chocolate milk commercial.  These companies are "using" Hines Ward to enhance their brand.

If the WTC and Chocolate milk decided to use me instead...do you think anyone would care about me?  Do you think the return on investment would be anywhere close to what Hines Ward could bring in as far as exposure to the sport, Kona, and chocolate milk?

ETA: Just read the last part of your post...so you do get it.  It is all about money.  So we agree. 

Clearly, someone has never watched the Kona broadcast.   WTC gives out tons of slots.  Some to celebrities (that's called "marketing"), some to "inspired athletes," etc.

At the end of the day, who cares?  It's a private corporation putting on its own race series and championship. 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5Ph-0QEuyz8

episode 1 of his journey. I like watching it

Starkrayz,  Good thing we have guys like you around to set us straight about publicity stunts and dimwit "athletes".  And why do you put "athletes" in parenthesis?  Are you implying professional football players, Super Bowl MVP's no less are not athletes?

And don't forget that the chocolate milk campaign kicked off during the broadcast of Kona 2012 with an invitation for average people o submit videos to be picked to go to Kona with Hines. I almost submitted an entry, but I knew I wouldn't be ready for IM this year. Now that I'm off sugar, I'm glad I didn't even get in the running for a chocolate milk sponsorship. Ayway, the winners were announced in February and will be getting gear and training as well. They will only be able to take the Kona slots if the coaches from the program feel they are ready.

So the chocolate milk people did both. They pulled in Hines for celebrity, and opened it up for normal people to have a shot at the experience too. Win win.

The winners are out for the Chocolate Milk Kona IM...

One is a wounded warrior (Eric), one a stay at home mom (Chrisanne) and the last is a 1st year Med Student(Josh).

The fact NO ONE is talking about them is proof that name recognition is king in marketing... 

Who's b%^&*ing because "they" did not qualify? Who? No One...

If they chose you, you would be the happiest person on the planet!

Embrace their journey, be happy for them, follow or don't.... either way they will be in Kona.

I'm lactose intolerant so not sure my “marketability” would be very good therefor no entry from me…

Guess my mantra could be “I love Chocolate Milk it is my after and after and after…”

If the chocolate milk people ever saw me after a race, I'd get an endorsement.  

The arguments in my house over the chocolate milk between my kid and I are legendary.

I like it!

Maybe thats your "KONA" you should submit that idea!

I think they could get lots of PR out of that... It would appeal to both kids and adults; could end in something like I'll race you for it with the next shot of the KONA start... and you and your kid of course...

Submit it I dare you! Double Dog Dare!!

It's impossible to compare times/paces at different races.

So how about some perspective?

http://www.geminitiming.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/03/seal_sprint_overall_131.htm

1.  He finished 92/264
2.  The winning time was 1:01:48...by a guy who I think might be a pro.  He's got several HIM finishes in the low 4 hour range, including a 2nd place OA finish at the 2011 SuperFrog HIM in 4:00:19.
3.  The second place finisher was at 1:08:47...which can be considered slow for an average sprint, so Ward was only 19 minutes slower than 2nd.
4.  The fastest swim split was 7:51 (or 1:33 per 100m)...so either the course was long, or it was a rough swim.  The guy who won swam 8:57...so this was definately not your average 500m swim.
5.  The fastest bike split other than the winner was 33:16 or 22.44 mph.  If that speed gets you the second fastest bike split of the day...the bike must be long or it's a tough course.

I've done a sprint with an advertised 750m swim, 20k bike, and 3.6 mile run in 1:08ish...I think I finished 35/190 OA.  That doesn't mean I could show up to this race and place top 2/265 OA.

Not a great time but certainly not horrible.  I would offer up these possible explanations:

1) Yes he's a former pro athlete, but the types of conditioning are not even remotely comparable.  Football is as fast twitch oriented as it gets.

2) He's only 3 months into training.  Maybe this endurance stuff is harder than people think.  Take pride in that.

3) Probably just treating it more as a training day than worrying about going all out.  More like a pop quiz than the final exam that will be Kona.

4) Related to #1, he looks a bit heavy and bulky as one would expect with a football player physique.  It's not easy being fast then.  Probably some lbs will come off as the training continues and that'll help with speed in addition to the increased tri conditioning.