"Mr. James, I don't know if you have time recently. I want to talk to you again about sponsorship and endorsements. Yes, it's the same thing we talked about last time."
"Stop for now? Mr. James, we can still discuss the endorsement fee..."
"Have you found a new partner? Mr. James, I hope you can consider Philip again. He has a very good image among the public and he is an inspirational role model."
"Well, I hope we have a chance to work together again next time."
Steven put down the phone, his expression stiffened. This was the third sponsor to reject him in recent days.
"They are all unjust guys!" Steven cursed in his heart.
But Steven also knows that the sponsors cannot be blamed for this matter. If he is to blame, it can only be blamed on Phillip's recent competition results, which have plummeted, and can even be described as disastrous. Without good results, you will naturally lose the favor of sponsors.
"Philip, when will you get back to your original state? If this continues, all our sponsors will be gone!" Steven sighed in his heart, and then he seemed to suddenly remember something, so he picked up the Got the phone.
"Hello, are you the organizing committee of the New York Track and Field Invitational Tournament? I am Barron Philip's agent. I would like to ask, have your invitation letters been issued?" Steven asked.
"We sent out invitations three days ago." A woman's voice sounded.
"Three days ago? I just checked my email and didn't see it." While Steven spoke, there was an ominous premonition in his heart.
"Please wait a moment, let me check for you. Is it Barron Phillip? I'm very sorry, but Barron Phillip is not on the invitation list for our event!" The woman's answer confirmed Steven's ominous premonition. .
Steven simply remained silent. He didn't ask why at all, and he didn't need to ask why.
For this kind of invitational competition, the organizer only has three criteria for inviting players: strong enough, famous enough, and special preferential treatment for local players.
Now Philip, in the eyes of the organizers, obviously does not meet these three conditions and has become a "three-no player".
On the other end of the phone, the woman seemed to sense Steven's bad mood, so she very humanely gave him a consolation prize.
Just listen to her say: "After the main game, we also have a competition for the disabled. Although it is a performance, we are also sponsored by the New York Foundation for People with Disabilities, so as long as the disabled athletes participate in the competition, Get a year’s worth of dental insurance as a prize.”
"Haha, one year of dental insurance?" Steven's words were full of contempt.
Going to the dentist in the United States is very expensive, and dental insurance and medical insurance are also separate. Whether ordinary people buy commercial insurance or when employers set out salary conditions, dental insurance will be listed separately. Those employers that can provide dental insurance , and may even be considered a conscientious employer.
For ordinary Americans, a dental insurance is a really good reward. It can protect their dental health and save a lot of money. People with disabilities, who do not have a very high income, can I am even more interested in this type of protection.
But Philip is not an ordinary disabled athlete. He has earned tens of millions of dollars in the past two years, so why would he care about a dentist's reimbursement? So to Steven's ears, this so-called reward was more like an insult.
The young lady on the other end of the phone did not hear this. She continued to introduce: "However, in this competition, the New York Foundation for Disabled People only sponsored prizes and did not sponsor transportation expenses, board and lodging expenses. We The organizer also does not provide transportation, food and accommodation, so Mr. Philip needs to come to New York at his own expense.”
"Do you have to pay for it at your own expense?" Phillip's tone became more contemptuous.
Los Angeles flies to New York, flying from the west coast to the east coast of the United States, spanning the entire United States. The round-trip air tickets are not cheap, and accommodation and meals in a big city like New York cost a lot. The prize is just a dental insurance, which is not even enough!
…
"What brought "Blade Warrior" down from the altar? 》
"In the past two years, the most popular track and field athlete in the United States has been "Blade Runner" Barron Phillip. This soldier who lost his feet in Iraq has become an inspirational role model to the world. As a disabled person, he Competing with many of the world's top able-bodied athletes at the World Athletics Championships, and not falling behind at all, there is no doubt that in every game, Blade Runner "Philip" writes his greatness."
"But in recent months, "Blade Runner" seems to have encountered some troubles. His competition results have plummeted compared to before. Philip before was enough to compete with the top able-bodied athletes, but now Philip, But he lost to some second-rate players one after another. Although at the level of a disabled athlete, it is still a miracle to be able to compete with able-bodied people, but compared with his previous results, he has really regressed a lot."
"Then the question is, what caused Philip's competitive level to plummet?"
"Philip's talent is undoubted, and his past achievements are the highest proof. If he is a mediocre athlete, it is impossible for him to be on the stage of the World Championships as a disabled person."
"In terms of age, Philip is still in the prime age of track and field athletes, so age is not the reason for the decline in Philip's performance, at least it will not cause Philip's performance to plummet."
"The only thing I can think of is the problem of state. Philip's state should be very poor now, so in the game, he was completely unable to perform as well as before. This directly led to his performance suddenly becoming worse than before."
"As an athlete, it is normal for the state to have ups and downs. Many factors inside and outside the field, or personal factors of the athletes, may lead to changes in state. Experienced professional athletes are also very good at adjusting their state, and Philip is also experienced in the game, and it stands to reason that he should be able to gradually adjust his game state."
"But the fact is that Philip's performance in each game is worse than the last, and he has no tendency to get better at all. This obviously also shows that his condition is not as good as every game."
"The author has learned from the side that Philip changed coaches not long ago. He left the coach he had worked with for two years and switched to the famous AP Training Center. The former was the coach who discovered Philip and trained him to become a 'Blade Warrior' .”
"Of course, we cannot blame Philip's decline in performance entirely on the coach. But judging from Philip's current performance, changing the coach this time is not a smart choice. But what surprises the author even more is that the famous The AP Training Center actually missed the mark this time!"
This is a manuscript written by the famous sports commentator Fox in "American Track and Field Magazine".
"American Track and Field Magazine" is a very influential sports magazine, not only in North America, but also in Europe and Asia. Many professional track and field practitioners follow this magazine. Especially before the Olympic Games or the World Championships, the above predictions for the championships in various track and field sub-events are considered to be the weather vane of the competition.
Fox is a well-known sports commentator, and his articles often appear in some well-known sports magazines. Laymen may not know him, but insiders are definitely familiar with his name.
The combination of a well-known sports commentator and an extremely influential sports magazine will always cause some waves.
…
Although we are now in the Internet age, reading news on mobile phones has become a daily routine, but Li Dai’s training center still subscribes to dozens of sports magazines, allowing the coaches and members of the training center to
When Randy Blake appeared in front of Dai Li with the latest issue of "American Track and Field Magazine", he wrote the article "What caused the "Blade Warriors" to fall from the altar? "When Dai Li was handed the article, he could think of it with his buttocks. This report was most likely created by Blake.
"Did you ask someone to write this?" Dai Li asked after only reading half of the content.
"I used to be a sports commentator, and Fox is a very familiar friend of mine." Blake said without any secret.
"If he writes like this, the AP Training Center will probably put us on a hostile blacklist." Although Dai Li said this, his expression didn't care at all.
"Didn't you also say that? If you want to become the new leader, the best way is to step over the corpse of the old leader!" Blake leaned on the sofa comfortably, and then continued: "But AP The training center is also really disappointing to me. Philip has been training with them for several months, but his results are getting worse and worse. It seems that the most well-known physical training center in the United States does not know how to train disabled athletes."
"Speaking of the AP Training Center, I met their person in charge in Los Angeles a few years ago. He seemed to be named David Mills. I don't know if he is in charge of the Los Angeles business of the AP Training Center now." Dai Li looked nostalgic. look like.
"The person in charge of the AP Training Center in Los Angeles is still David Mills. I think he must be furious now!" Blake replied.
…
David Mills didn't have time to get angry. He was answering calls from headquarters.
"Mills, a few months ago, I once said that if there were any mistakes in the training of the 'Blade Warrior', someone would have to be responsible. Do you still remember this?" The voice on the other end of the phone was still very serious. severe.
"I remember. But a few months ago, I had already arranged the best for Phillip... "
"I don't need your explanation!" The voice on the phone interrupted Mills, and he continued: "You'd better come to the headquarters in person and explain to the board of directors!"