It's not even spring, but the Boys of Summer are making plans to activate for the 2016 season.

Virtual reality is coming, but you already knew that. It's taking you on journeys to places once reserved for the imagination or the daredevils! That's the fun part. I see VR heading in a fun and practical direction. Thus far, virtual reality has been somewhat of a novelty-something brands with big budgets use to create a unique experience. It hasn't proliferated the mainstream in use and application yet, but that's all about to change. Why? Because it's not just about showing someone the experience; it's about getting him or her to feel it.

For the past seven years, we've taken the opportunity to survey fan attitudes on sports trends, consumerism and the state of the economy in the opening weeks of the new year. Our Winter Sports omnibus (available with our compliments in the downloads section of our website) is an annual gut check on topical and other exogenous factors that can portend the year ahead for sports marketers. This year's study of over 2,400 blindly screened sports fans isn't without its share of shifts, trends and surprises. Here's what's caught our attention as we move beyond the Super Bowl.

As sports marketers, we're lucky enough to operate inside an enviable bubble within the larger broadcast media landscape. In 2016, while cords are being cut all around us and every bit of media out there left to consume turns to a freemium, subscription, or on-demand model; cable sports are one of the last places that the good ol' model works. Simply put: we watch sports live or we don't watch them at all. Sponsors are willing to spend big bucks for the guarantee that their messages won't be glossed over at 4x speed.