The ultimate mission for brands should be to direct all efforts and initiatives towards turning sports fans into brand fans. This is the key to marketing success across all of the upcoming sporting events in Brazil.

On Sunday, Nov. 24, 1963, two days after the assassination of President John F. Kennedy, the then-independent American Football League cancelled its schedule, but the NFL went ahead with its full roster of seven games.

The story of how the Pac-12 (boy, that's still hard for me, a long time Pac-10 fan, to say) negotiated their recent television media rights deal provides good insight into how traditional partnership models can melt away in changing times.

With the PGA Championship teeing off this week in Atlanta, I can't help but think back fondly to my years building and overseeing the business operations side of that event's on site event merchandising program, which began modestly some 16 years ago. The event retailing business has grown from an ancillary activity to a major revenue and branding engine for any sporting event. Here then, I reflect on some of the critical success factors that any sponsor or property can put in place to maximize their event retail program.

I know I'm not (as I write this the day after the new labor agreement was signed). On a scale of 1 to 10, where 10 is an avid fan, I'd have to say that, for most of my life, I've been an 11. I've been on the wait list for Patriots season tickets for 15 years. I've subscribed to DirecTV's "NFL Sunday Ticket" ever since it started in 1994. In normal years, I listened to Sirius "NFL Radio" every morning and watched "NFL Total Access" every night.