Every professional or collegiate sports team and league should develop its own online community. 

I spent the past two days at the Sports Media and Technology conference, a great gathering put together by the Sports Business Journal and Fantasy Sports Association and each and every conversation there reinforced that conclusion.

Sports teams, unlike almost anything else, drive passion for their fans.  Their fans crave, are desperate for, a deeper connection with their team.  It is what drives traffic to a team’s website instead of ESPN.com.  It is what drives fans into the stadiums in the worst weather. 

When it comes to online communities, fans wont be satisfied with a special page on MySpace - they want that direct connection with a team.  Social Networks like MySpace and Facebook are horizontal, they cover a broad range of people and interests.  True online communities, are vertical.  They deliver a distinctive, engaging

Fans are community.  People who are watching the same games, reading the same commentary, sharing the same experiences are a community.  Creating an online destination is just harnessing that interaction.

Facebook or MySpace are part of the equation but not the solution.  Facebook and MySpace are built on existing, offline relationships.  Fan communities are all about discovery – discovering other people with interest just like yours and building new relationships.  Facebook and MySpace do not deliver a true connection with the team.  Just like teams need a page on ESPN, people still come to the team website because it delivers them the direct connection to the team – they want the true, official team experience.  Finally, and most importantly, the traffic your team drives to MySpace and Facebook are monetized by MySpace and Facebook.  That traffic, as fans connect with one another, engage with one another, etc – all drives revenue for those sites, not the team.  The team may be able to weasel out a share, or drive some interest in ecommerce, etc – but the majority of that traffic, being created by the team, is monetized and leveraged by MySpace and Facebook. 

By creating their own community, the team is delivering their passionate fans what they want – a completely immersive team experience and a community of fans.  For the advertisers, they are delivering a unique opportunity to interact and engage directly with their fans.  It not just drives online revenue, but premium online revenue.