Baseball fans are passionate, loyal and very protective of their game's perceived status as the "national pastime." But it turns out that some fan bases are more passionate and loyal than others.

Spring is upon us and love is in the air, which in the sports marketing dating game means brands and prospective endorsers are looking to partner up.

Those who know me best realize that I can often be pretty direct. So, let me begin this month's post with a direct disclaimer that while I largely make my living conducting marketing research for brands involved in sports, I'm often one to suggest that a potential client not engage us for a particular study. That's not to say that I don't wholeheartedly embrace the myriad benefits of diving deeply into the mindset and behaviors of customers and other constituencies.

I think of quality social marketing as being a skilled socialite. The ability to start a conversation, comment and contribute thoughtfully separates the "life of the party" from everyone else. Social media is attractive to marketers for its low-cost approach to reaching and conversing with fragmented audiences, but it's time we move the strategy of digital marketing into its rightful place: alongside other important marketing tools, so that a conversation can become a call to action. Isn't real integration what we've being trying to achieve for decades? Social media can be the glue for your campaign, but needs to be …

Hollywood could not have scripted Mariano Rivera's retirement any better.

Nothing brings passionate and casual sports fans together quite like March Madness. Seven rounds of sudden-death, win-or-go-home basketball hold plenty of allure for diehard basketball fans. Office pools, alma mater bragging rights, and small-school Cinderella stories add to the storyline to make the NCAA men's basketball tournament one of the preeminent events in American sports.

While Jay Z's bold comment may seem, to many, as run-of-the-mill, hip hop hyperbole -newsflash - for the younger generation, he's 100% right. And it's a dynamic that sports marketers have to take into account when deciding how to best align their brand with properties and athletes that amplify the message to their target audience.

As a baseball junkie, it's not a surprise that the advent and growth of the World Baseball Classic has been captivating theater for me as both a fan and sports marketer. There's something about the WBC's early March time frame that fills a real void. Football is on hiatus, and there's only so much pre-draft coverage that one can take.

Much like Chicago winters, the post-Super Bowl sports world can leave sponsoring brands cold and desperate for any ray of warmth. The indisputable fact is that when it comes to ratings, football is king. What happens to tune-ins between now and August when America's game kicks off? Brands need to develop a concise strategy around major upcoming sporting events to get the most return on their sponsorship/marketing dollars.

Lionel Messi is regarded in most circles as the greatest soccer player in the world and, arguably, among the Top Five men ever to play the game.