On Wednesday, February 12th, one of the all-time
greats in Baseball history announced that he is retiring after the 2014
season. He was named the captain of the
Yankees in 2003, has won five world championships, and is number nine on the
all-time hits list. If you haven’t
figured it out yet, this upcoming baseball season will be Derek Jeter’s last.
Instead of holding a press conference or requesting an
interview, Jeter decided to make his announcement via Facebook. Could you imagine, even just five years ago,
a sure Hall-of-Fame superstar publicizing his retirement on Facebook? I definitely could not.
However, I believe Jeter went about doing this the right
way. Putting it on Facebook makes it
seem much more personal to his fans.
I wish I had seen it for the first time scrolling through my Facebook
newsfeed because I would’ve liked to hear it straight from him, instead of
hearing it through the TV or Twitter.
This just reinforces the fact that social media is becoming
more than just a fun way to interact with friends. It has become a viable tool for businesses to
converse with their customers, a fantastic medium in which companies can
advertise promotions, and an intimate way for celebs and sports stars
to interact with their fans.
There’s no doubt in my mind Jeter purposely made his
announcement on Facebook solely for his fans, with hopes to reach out to each
and every one of them in a very sincere way.
He is a class act, one of the greats, and will always be my favorite
athlete. He will be missed.
I agree with you when you say Jeter announced this on Facebook to be more direct and personal with his fans. He is one of the more humble superstars of this generation, and didn't want a ton of attention for his announcement. It's pretty crazy to think that an all-time great player with the accomplishments would make his announcement the way he did, but it's just one example of how impactful social media has become.
ReplyDeleteAlthough I am not a Yankee fan, I read Derek Jeter's retirement announcement and I agree with you that he was able to be a lot more personable with it to his fans than he would have if he had announced it through an interview. I'm surprised he made the announcement via Facebook especially since I think it's slowly becoming a little less popular now a days. He is a great player and person and, I'll admit, it would have been cool for him to have played with the Red Sox at some point in his career.
ReplyDeleteAs both an avid Yankee and Jeter fan, I'm personally very happy with the way he announced his retirement. Jeter may be famous, but he's not a camera-hungry guy and this way of announcing it just proves it. If he had done a huge press conference, then it would bring a lot more attention and coverage, which is exactly the opposite of what I think he would want. Although it's sad to see him go, he picked a good way to tell his fans. He definitely deserves his own page in baseball history for not only his skill of the game, but his amazing sportsmanship as well.
ReplyDeleteThe only reason why I started to love the Yankees was because of Derek Jeter. The way he announced his retirement was classy just like how he has been his whole entire career on and off the field.
ReplyDeleteAll of what the commenters say is true. But another important element is this: that Jeter was able to completely bypass traditional media to do this. Instead of calling a news conference like past greats have done, and using the reporters to put the story out, he had the direct pipeline to his fans. As Tom notes, that says something important about the power of social media and its relative place alongside traditional forms.
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