Sunday, April 12, 2015

Tag Heuer and Mission Creep

First and foremost I want to state clearly -
I have NOTHING against Jeremy Lin.  I was swept away with "Linsanity" along with everyone else.
But with the selection of Mr. Lin as Tag Heuer's latest athlete-ambassador I was left scratching my head.







Okay, for many this is not "new" news.

On the plus side - Mr. Lin is "squeaky-clean".  It is highly unlikely that he will be found hung over and semi-unconscious with a dead hooker in his hotel room.  That's good.

On the not-so-plus side - half of the kids in Los Angeles could take him on the baseline.  He was an exciting player for a brief moment in time, and had the Knicks come to their senses and kept him, I think he could have and would have done great things.  The chemistry was there.  But like doors that open, once they close things change.

And on another note, and please bear in mind that I went to a "land grant" university so perhaps I have a built-in mistrust for Ivy Leaguers and anyone who went to Stanford (even Summer school),  he is more than a bit "wooden" in pretty much every instance he is called upon to speak, as the YouTube video bears out.

And now he is just down the road from me in Los Angeles where he has been unable to nail down a starting spot - and this is a Lakers Team that is so bad it has Jack Nicholson questioning whether or not he should keep his season tickets.  Strictly going on the current season, Mr. Lin is playing like an average NBA player.

I suspect you might be able to guess where I'm going with this, but hear me out -
If the goal was to sign an impressive basketball player - sign someone who is actually, I don't know, impressive.  Like James Harden.  Mr. Harden is a man of faith,  so like Mr. Lin he would probably NOT be an embarrassment.  And he has a HUGE following.  Which begs the question - why was Mr. Lin really signed?

Insert your own answer here.

But my feeling is - Tag Heuer is suffering from Mission Creep.  To quote my favorite resource, the Ubran Dictionary -

The tendency for some project or operation to exceed its original boundaries and purpose, usually putting its participants into difficult or unforeseen circumstances. These may cause the original purpose to change, or to become unachievable.
And this is where the uncomfortable question has to be asked - does Tag Heuer even know what Tag Heuer is anymore?  And the full truth be told, I do not think that there is consensus in Tag Heuer Land.  I do not think that anyone is feeling "comfortable".  

But as always, time will tell.

1 comment:

  1. TH doesn't not sign Mr. Lin due to Linsanity but for the toughness Mr. Lin displays when dealing with some many basketball irrelevant stuffs that other big names don't have. "Don't crack under pressure" is the message TH tries to deliver but not "basketball superstar".

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