By: Aarun Rumbaugh
Michael Jordan, the NBA’s best player yet, was a machine. Averaging 30 points per game in his career, and bringing 6 National titles to the Chicago Bulls, this phenomenon is praised in Chicago almost as a god of basketball.
Through all the mix of him being a great basketball player, do Bulls fans actually realize some of the set-backs he has brought to the Bulls? Let’s dive in…
Despite currently being in the playoffs, the Chicago Bulls PTAT% (People talking about them) on Facebook is still only at 2.5%. The average PTAT% for teams in the playoffs is 6.18%.
Why is it that the Chicago Bulls PTAT is so low? One main reason may be that Chicago’s fan base is not loyal and true fans to the Chicago Bulls, but they are to Michael Jordan.
69% of Bulls fans also like Michael Jordan. Most of these fans are dormant. This doesn’t help the Bulls at all. In fact, it’s very difficult to engage these fans with their current team. If the only reason a fan liked the Bulls was because of Michael Jordan, then they’re prone to not have actual team engagement.
The Bulls need to find a way to engage their fans. Should the Bulls post more pictures of Michael Jordan on their newsfeed? These posts may drive engagement, but still won’t be valuable content to the Bulls organization. I think the Bulls need to compare their current team with team’s back in the 80’s and 90’s era. This will drive engagement with both current Bulls fans and those dormant Michael Jordan fans.
Even without the difficulties of having a star like Michael Jordan, the Chicago Bulls large fan base makes it difficult to drive engagement:
Have past All-Star players brought down NBA teams engagement? This may prove it has.