Infographics can even be used to appeal to different audiences. Check out this one in Spanish! Photo Credit: Mário Malhão
One thing that sports do not lack are statistics.
In fact, there are websites dedicated to keeping statistics for any sport imaginable, not to mention the reddit community that keeps the most rare and uncommon statistics for sporting events.
And fans love statistics. Fans want to see anything that makes it look like their team is going to win, which is why many athletic organizations have turned to infographics, visual representations of data, as a way to engage fans and inform them about potential opportunities.
But many organizations also do not use infographics to its full potential. With this in mind, here’s five ways that people can apply infographics to sports:
1. Enhance head-to-head matchups
An infographic of the Lakers vs. Celtics rivalry. Photo Credit: Shane Keaney
Compare your team’s best players against the competitor. Show why you are going to beat them. If you are representing a sports broadcasting company, showcase why this matchup is going to be fun to watch. This will generate excitement around the matchup, especially if it is a rivalry.
2. Hype up your team
This infographic created by the MLB compares the 2018 Yankees to other all-time great teams. Photo Credits: MLB
Make an infographic highlighting your team’s successes this year on the road and at home. Use graphic design to show how the team ranks among the other teams in the league.
Take this infographic of the MLS trophy case for each team for example. This infographic excites fans for D.C. United as well as the LA Galaxy because it highlights the teams’ winning nature.
Similarly, the infographic, pictured left, showcases how close the Yankees were in 2018 to setting an MLB record.
Infographics like these make fans excited. After all, who doesn’t want to win a championship?
3. Highlight a specific player
A screenshot of the Lakers’ Jordan Clarkson infographic from 2015. Photo Credit: Lakers
Jordan Clarkson won All-Rookie team honors for the LA Lakers in 2015. The Lakers created an infographic that showcased his talent.
From highlighting his shooting range to graphing his season improvement in points and assists per game, the Lakers excited fans about Clarkson’s potential to become a Laker great by comparing him to other successful rookies from that season.
This can also be used to compare a particular athlete to a historic great. So, the MJ vs LeBron debate, maybe does have a solution (or it’s just MJ)?
4. Showcase improvement
A video infographic of Shawn Childs. Photo Credit: Christopher Scales
Players and teams change over the course of a season. Teams can show the impact of a
trade or a new signee through infographics. By comparing the team of old to the team of new, the organization can exemplify how this player, new offense or whatever other change has positively impacted the organization.
5. Recap a game
The San Jose Sharks shared this recap of its series against the Avalanche. Photo Credits: Sharks
Not only can infographics be used to hype up a future matchup, infographics can also be used to explain how or why a team won or lost a game.
By presenting information in a graphic form, things can make a lot more sense to viewers.
These are just a few of the many ways that infographics can be used to enhance sports.
And if you’re like me and you hate graphic design, websites like Canva and Visual.ly offer helpful templates to get you started. So you have no excuse now. Get to work.
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