February 2025: Superbowl, Doncic trade and More

Welcome to Challengers Newsletter, your monthly update on the world of sport. This month the newsletter is biligual, I added some of my french reads and videos.

Major News 📰

  • Luke Little wins 2025 World Darts Championship at 17. (watch)
  • Athletes are forced to play defense as burglars score big inside their homes. (read)
  • Buffalo Bandits lead National Lacrosse League in attendance. (read)
  • Vikings buy $2M in tickets at Lions’ stadium for division title game, then sell to own fans at discount. (read)
  • Faute de droit vidéo, l’Open d’Australie diffuse ses matchs sur YouTube en mode Wii. (watch)
  • How F1 Kimi Raikkonen’s amazing success almost bankrupted Lotus. (read)
  • Paraplégique, Axel se fait verbaliser dans un TGV pour s’être installé sur une place PMR. (watch)
  • Turkish Olympian Dikec denies L’Equipe’s claims of requesting $30,000 for interview. (read)
  • In this ski World Cup event, the men’s winner won more than $3,000. The women got towels and shampoo. (read)
  • Manchester United fans discuss on the reddit platform to remove X links as ex-players fought against Nazi Germany. (read) update: gunners too
  • US National anthem booed at Raptors game. (watch)
  • Three names of International Sports Federations have changed. (read)
  • PWHL sets U.S. attendance record in Denver as part of Takeover Tour. (read)
  • Superbowl 🏈
    • A visualization of Super Bowl advertising culture & stats. (watch)
    • Everything the NFL Does to Prepare a Field for the Super Bowl. (watch)
  • Luca Doncic trad 🏀
    • NBA team Mavericks lose 700k followers after trade. (read in french)
    • Reaction of Kevin Durant on loyaulty and double standards. (watch)

Playbook 📖

Elite rowers know a paradox: grip too tight, and you could catch an oar and be thrown into the water; grip too loose, and you’ll lose control. Success demands the same impossible balance: an iron grip on your goals, but an open hand with your methods. The best people I’ve worked with have a light grip. They treat their plans and ideas as the best at the moment but are quick to discard them if something better comes along. The average person holds on too tight, ignoring better evidence.
The right grip isn’t about strength – it’s about knowing exactly when to hold and when to adjust.

Brain Food by Shane Parrish

Sports Marketing 🎯

  • Brave Ice Waterfalls with Aniol Serrasolses by Prada Linea Rossa x Red Bull. (watch), (thumbnail)
  • ESPN begins prepping for its streaming launch in new campaign from BSSP. (read)
  • Nike retells Air Jordan tale in animated ‘Origin Story’. (read)
  • Hamilton posts ‘powerful’ Ferrari update on LinkedIn. (read)
  • Strava and Apple Fitness+ collaborate to motivate and reach more active people in the new year. (read)
  • Have a Hard Year “Kobe” by Nike. (watch)
  • Disney brings new biddable ad capabilities to Live Sports and Entertainment. (read)
  • Grey Goose raises a glass down under with Australian Open sponsorship. (DK)
  • Champions sleep on Eight Sleep by Charles Leclerc. (watch)
  • Adidas is bouncing back after a tough few years; Nike isn’t. (read)
  • Meta to run Super Bowl commercial with Chris Hemsworth and Chris Pratt. (read)
  • Paramount brings live shoppable ads to the NFL playoffs. (read)
  • Louis Vuitton Is revved up about its Formula 1 Partnership. (read)
  • McDonald’s teams up with Basketball Champion Angel Reese for first-ever female athlete meal. (read)
  • The Puma Dive, cricket campaign from 10 months ago. (watch)
  • Decathlon sponsors an athlete for 800k and he wears their shoes. (in french)

Athletes’ Toolkit 🎽

  • 13 self-help book explained in one sentence each so you don’t have to read them. (watch)
  • Céline Beaurain-Casemi shares a video about self-care. (read)
  • Short piece of satire of US universities owning the athletes. (watch)
  • Privacy on the internet
    • (1/2) Text and video about not sharing what you don’t want on social medias. (read)
    • (2/2) How to know everything from your instagram? (in french)
  • NHL Patrick Laine about mental health and talking to yourself niceley. (watch)
  • Ne jamais célébrer trop tôt: la Française Lise Revol décroche l’or mondial en cyclo-cross alors que son adversaire célèbre un tour trop tôt. (regarder)

Sport Tec 🖲️

  • I Painted a Basketball Court in 10 days by Vexx. (watch)
  • Golf goes indoors on prime time with high-tech TGL league. (read)
  • A new way to push children to play sports? (watch)
  • How Super Bowl 2025’s Stadium Is Designed to Maximize Profit. (watch)
  • The Swimsuit So Good They Banned It. (watch)
  • Video de l’EPFL partageant les capacités de l’entreprise Dartfish. (voir)

Sport Docs 🍿

  • Ice Waterfalls: Kayaking off the world’s highest ice waterfall by Redbull. (watch)
  • The World’s Most Expensive Gym Membership at $10k/month. (watch)
  • Minidoc 2025 Houston Half Marathon Drama. (watch)
  • The 10,000-Calorie Diet: This is What Sumo Wrestlers Eat. (watch)
    • How New Yorkers Pick Their Team. (watch)

Upcoming Events 🏆

  • 5.02 National Girls and Women in Sports Day
  • 8-16.02 Invictus Games (Multi sports), Vancouver Canada
  • 9.02 Superbowl
  • 9.02 Superbowl Sunday
  • 20-26.02 She Believes Cup, USA Football
  • 20-23.02 Europe Top16 Cup Montreux
  • 23.02 Curling is cool day
  • 23.02 National play tennis day
  • 27.02 HSBC Women’s World Championship (Golf)

Volunteering & Jobs 🧢

Happy Sport 💙

  • Red Bull Hardline Ronan Dunne’s Winning Run. (watch)
  • NFL Travis Rudolph decided to sit with child sitting alone during lunch on the team’s visit to a middle school in T2016. (watch)
  • This is how judo athletes train their grip strength and throws. (watch)
  • Best of extreme sports 2024. (watch in french)
  • Fairplay in handball with Spanish goalie canceling a bad decision from the ref. (watch)
  • Victor Wembanyama has 3pts , 1 rebound , 2 assists & 4 blocks in a 1:34 in Paris. (watch)
  • Sport of Orienteering Taking Off in Taiwan by TaiwanPlus News (watch)
  • Skier and snowboarder pull off 2340 trick for the first time. (watch)
  • High Eiger 2 Grindelwald Wingsuit Flight. (watch)
  • Pakistan’s Surfers Determined To Go Pro With Improvised Equipment. (watch)
  • Biathlon: Scène ubuesque et résultat indigent : la drôle de course de Johannes Boe à Ruhpolding. (watch)

Thank you for reading and see you next month. -Nicola

PS: is this biligual format ok? do you mind having a newsletter in two languages?

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