Apple’s New “Holy Grail” Sports App, X’s Impostor Epidemic, and the Coolest Soccer Kit of the Year

Each week, we sift through a ton of content and then debate it ad nauseam at FEVO HQ. And since good content, like the mind, is a terrible thing to waste, we are also sharing it here with you, our fans, in the form of this weekly blog post on e-commerce, media and life on the internet.

John Wall Street: Apple pursuing “holy grail” of last mile transaction with new sports app

Like any good sports fan, you probably check scores on your smartphone every day, if not every 10 minutes. Apple is hoping you’ll soon use their app to do this, much like millions of people do for the weather. The huge advantage Apple has here versus an independent app creator is that they make your hardware, and can thus supply the app on all their devices automatically. Apple’s ultimate aim here is twofold: getting involved in the betting market with in-app oddsmaking and funneling people to AppleTV. Because what’s the first thing you want to do when you see a tight score late in the game? Turn it on and watch the ending. It will be interesting to see how aggressively Apple moves into the sports broadcasting space; they’ve already put their name in the ring with their MLS deal.

Soccer Bible: Inter Milan debut Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle Kits

The Italian soccer club’s everyday kit sponsor is the streaming platform Paramount+; however, the two brands are taking a creative approach to their partnership that seemingly benefits both parties. Last year the team wore a special-edition Transformers-themed kit, and this year, in honor of TMNT: Mutant Mayhem coming to Paramount+, the club is rocking a reptilian-imbued shirt. The streaming platform gets attention to their new content, the team gets limited-release kits that have already sold out and may one day reach grail status. Advice for you: Leveraging sponsors for unique merch can be a strategic way to create buzz among fans while attracting more eyeballs to your partnership. 

Front Office Sports: The rapidly growing world of sports impersonators on X

We’ve all been there before: doom-scrolling Twitter when we see a supernova of an announcement from one of our most trusted industry insiders (Woj, Shams, Schefter, etc). We immediately text our friends to express our disbelief at the news, only to look a bit more closely at the information and realize the news came from an imposter. The name and image is the same, but the handle is a few characters off. There has been a proliferation of these accounts, fueled by X giving out blue checks to anyone with a checkbook. While it is mostly done to sew chaos, it also can have real-world ramifications. Careless pundits and organizations have used such tweets to provide information for legitimate channels, spreading the misinformation tenfold. Let this be a lesson to quadruple-check any industry tweets you read before acting on them. 

And a few more nuggets of assorted internet wisdom …

From Embiid's 70 to Luka's 73, have NBA offenses become too good? (ESPN)

New sports tech reports released: Here's what you need to know (Profluence Sports)

Why the NBA's next media rights deal is at the center of the new 65-game rule (The Athletic)

Cornhole scholarships are now a thing (NPR)

American ice football looks incredibly awesome (Coach Duggs)

Why Americans stopped hanging out – and why it matters (The Ringer)