Remember how much effort our friends at Fox Sports put into naming the new animated gopher Digger? Now we know the reason why. This from the FoxSports.com website.
Due to high demand, "Digger," the popular cartoon gopher of Gopher Cam fame, is now featured on t-shirts. FOX Sports, in conjunction with Chase Authentics, has designed a t-shirt for Digger's growing legion of fans. The Digger t-shirt will be widely available for sale at trackside merchandise rigs all season long beginning this weekend at Bristol Motor Speedway, and from a variety of web sites, including www.FOXSports.com on MSN; www.goracin.com; www.speedtv.com; and www.dwstore.com. The high grade shirts, which come in both youth and adult sizes, are priced from $15 to $21.50. Additional apparel and novelty items, including baseball caps and plush toys, are expected to join the Digger line in the near future.
Are you going to get your Digger T-shirt? The Daly Planet welcomes comments from readers. Simply click on the COMMENTS button below and follow the directions. Thanks for stopping by.
35 comments:
I will not be getting a Digger T-shirt. I wish that each time they go to a Digger camera shot, they would go to wide camera shot of the field instead. I don't dig, Digger.
Uhhh... NO!
Hopefully they will be stuck with a million or two providing a lush feeding ground for moths :)
no friggin' way! yep, now we know what the dealy was w/naming the little devil..ick.
not bloody likely: would rather have someone stab me in the eyes with knitting needles!
None for me... I did buy a Jayski t-shirt back when the FOX trailer had them though.
Not only no, but to quote Juan Pablo, "Hell no."
If Fox thinks they can make a buck off this, more power to them. Might be a hit with the kiddies.
Of course no one here would buy it. JD, why ask that question when you know the general opinion of "digger" on this site?
as far as "might be a hit with the kiddies": i have 2 young (7 and 4) nascar buddies and they would never, ever wear that shirt! maybe someone else's young fans might, but not these guys! it's their driver shirts or nothing on race day.
my biggest fear is that i'll see it on someone at dover and be unable to stop laughing long enough to watch the race!
Anon,
I am confused. What would that opinion be?
JD
JD, I don't mean to be rude but, I don't know why you would be confused. When we first saw "digger" on FOX a good majority of Daly Planet users had negative comments about that camera angle. I think this just added to the fire.
I wonder if Fox thought of this t-shirt idea this past week, or if they were planning this all along when they were broadcasting the Daytona 500? If so, they contrived to use that animation everytime they went to the gopher cam. LOL
Anon 3:24PM,
If they had negative comments, then they did not like it.
Fox created this from scratch, including the animation and the licensed character. Now, we know why.
Can you see ESPN selling Draft Track T-shirts?
JD
If the profits are able to help people..why complain
JD, I meant you decision to post this has added to the fire.
anonymous said...
If the profits are able to help people..why complain
ummm, not seeing any info about the profits going to help people. what did i miss? thanks.
(still won't buy one but it may take the nasty taste outta my mouth.)
If the Digger T-shirt is a hit, then the "new" NASCAR fan is dumber than I thought.
SURE,I'll run right out and buy one, right after I pick up the latest U matic video tape machine, a Blu Ray dvd player and an 8 track tape deck. What jerks these Fox-o-philes be!
Television rights fees means networks must find ways to fund their rights payments.
Cable companies have the ability to charge extra per-subscriber fees.
Networks cannot. Fox is intelligently finding a way to take shirt revenue and pay the rights fees just like advertising revenues.
If one extra Digger shirt sold means enough to pay Fox's rights fees, then race fans find a way to pay for Fox's rights fees, and that is just another way to pay for the rights fees for NASCAR.
hey bobby? even taking what you say at face value -- that a true nascar fan would buy a fox t-shirt in order to help fox pay its rights fees! -- the issue is that damn gopher! stupid marketing trick and definitely suspect that it received sooo much promotion prior to the "naming of the gopher" episode. now, a t-shirt.
well, all i can say is: if fox needs to help pay for its rights fees, this ain't the way to do it!
No "Digger" junk here thanks.
I wish that cam a series of expensive accidents, so it goes away!
Show wide shots!!!!!
If I had a child I might buy them a Digger shirt or possibly a gag gift for the Nascar fan who has everything. I bet there a lots of people out there that will they are not the people who post on this site.
Hey Red maybe I'll see you at Dover I will be the one NOT in a Digger shirt
If I bought one, I'd take it to the farm, secure it to a bale of hay and use it for target practice.
JD, when are you going to blog about the topic of a drivers union which seems to be the hot topic this week? Or did I miss it?
Thanks!
If they would print some tire tracks over "Digger" maybe.
BillWebz
I guess I'll have to take the hit and admit that I see nothing wrong with Fox selling the Digger shirts. I'm not going to buy one, but if someone thinks that it is a cool use of technology or likes the little critter, I have no problem with it and would definitely not belittle or criticise them if I saw them at a race with the shirt on.
I have enough real freakin' gophers digging up my front lawn, so no way on God's green earth do I want another one, real or otherwise, in my life. If Fox ever runs out of gophers, my boxer, Jake, would be happy to provide Fox with as many as they want. Since he loves bringing me his lawn conquests, I would be happy to box them up and overnight them to the Hollywood Hotel.
I guess I'm the weird one who likes Digger and thinks he's cute.
If Digger is going to be a kid-friendly part of their souvenir collection, do it.
A nice little mascot that kids can associate and have fun is not a bad thing, considering too many times we've seen the "adult" content of too many television shows in the past.
After all, this is supposed to be family-friendly, and having something for the kids isn't a bad thing for anyone to consider. I'd rather have kids playing with Digger than some of the smut I've seen on F1 grids.
Bury Digger! If I want to watch cartoons rather than racing I would join my Grandaughter on Sat morning.
Cable companies have the ability to charge extra per-subscriber fees.
Networks cannot.
They can, however, charge more for commercial ad time, if they wish. Trust me, Fox can generate plenty of revenue without having to sell this t-shirt.
No, I don't plan to buy or wear this ridiculous shirt.
The camera itself is fine. But spending time, effort, and money promoting is suggests a lack of understanding about what's important in this sport.
"Demand" for this shirt came solely from the marketing department, not from fans. I can't imagine they actually got ONE request for such a shirt.
The FOX camera work in general is absolutely pathetic. All it consists of is one high-speed shot after another with a few bumper cams and digger thrown in.
Meanwhile... a nice wide-angle shot would actually let us fans see what is happening in the race.
It really isn't that hard to figure out is it?
John... do you have an e-mail address for the people who produce NASCAR on FOX?
If they would use more wide shots and stop the incar shots to watch a pass I'll but a Digger shirt, Heck I'll buy more than one
If the driver's union issue includes TV at any point, I would be happy to include it for comments.
Right now, it is just kind of a knee-jerk reaction to the Atlanta tire problems.
Drivers and their teams are independent contractors, and under no obligation to show-up for the next event. This simple fact has always slowly helped the union issue to fade away over the last ten years or so.
JD
No.
Digger has been the best thing to come to Fox Sports. DW and Diggger, a great combination. Ill get one.
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