Gilbert Arenas didn’t enter the NBA with as much fanfare as LeBron James or Yao Ming, but the Washington Wizards guard is gradually becoming the league’s most popular player – thanks to the Internet. Arenas, otherwise known as Agent Zero, was recently named as a starting All-Star after garnering more than 200,000 votes in a span of 2 weeks to surge ahead of Vince Carter.

Arenas’ notoriety has stemmed from his NBA.com blog, where he has been called the “NBA’s first blog superstar.” His candid blogging has gained attention from fans and fellow sports bloggers with irreverant comments predicting when he’ll score 50 points and how he’d give up one NBA season for the chance to score 85 points against Duke and the coach who cut him from Team USA. Arenas’ candor and playfulness is refreshing compared to athletes who have been media-savvy since high school and rarely reveal their true personality.

Along with the nickname Agent Zero, which was originated by a Washington sports blogger, Arenas speaks of himself in the third person as the “East Coast Assassin” and “The Black President”, which is the name of his myspace page.

While Arenas has built his brand from a grassroots level, other atheletes are using the Internet to reach fans in a new way. Dwyane Wade, Sports Illustrated’s 2006 Sportsman of the Year, is currently negotiating with Google to “revolutionize how athletes are presented online”. Google has developed a plan that will make DwyaneWade.com fully interactive with sports news feeds, email and user-generated videos.

Athletes are no longer waiting around for Nike and Coca-Cola to approach them with endorsement deals. The Internet has provided a forum for athletes to connect with fans. By doing so, mega-brands will line up to partner with established, hip brands like Agent Zero and Dwyane Wade.

Jordan Alpert, Account Executive

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