Investigating the ‘funniest graphic in sports’
In defense of The Diff(TM)
Welcome back to Club Sportico, where we break down the intersection of sports and money—with an extra bit of humor and opinion. Today, Jacob gives Cleveland its due.
Most basketball broadcasts offer the same set of persistent information: team scores, time remaining, maybe shot clock or timeouts left too. But this year, Cleveland Cavaliers games feature an additional stat: The Diff.
Have you figured out what it’s tracking yet?
Good work! Yes, it’s just the gap in scores, positive when Cleveland is up and negative when they’re not. With the Cavs tied for the best record in the NBA coming out of the All-Star Break, it’s been positive more than negative for most of the season.
The Diff has been called one of the “funniest graphics in sports.” Warriors coach Steve Kerr negged the concept as being for those who “can’t do math” while other theories have attempted to explain The Diff’s origins.
Was it a way to highlight blowout wins during the LeBron eras? Some sort of betting tie-in (this is FanDuel Sports Network we’re talking about)? Or maybe it started as a tool for players to keep track of where things stood. A quick Diff check, after all, could’ve prevented one of the larger goofs in Cleveland sports history.
But no, Cavaliers CMO Chris Kaiser told me over the phone, shooting down the suggestions. The Diff actually dates back to 2006, appearing on the arena’s jumbotron before leaping to TV sets this season. And it comes from the mind of Cavs owner Dan Gilbert himself.
“I’ve heard him say it,” Cavaliers CMO Chris Kaiser said. “When someone asks you what the score is, you don’t say, ‘It’s, you know, 90 to 80.’ You say, ‘We’re up 10’ or ‘We’re down 10.’ He thought it was an easier way for folks to kind of get to that number.”
And you know what? He’s right!!
The more I thought about it, the less ridiculous the concept seemed. Aren’t there myriad other aids in sports broadcasts, anyway, from clocks that tick down rather than up to yellow lines that tell us exactly where players need to go for a first down?
Kaiser also explained that “The Diff” goes well beyond a scoreboard enhancement. Before it appeared on the jumbotron and TV screen, capital letters and all, “the diff” started as an internal mantra for an organization that likes to separate itself from 29 peers, along the lines of “go the extra mile.” The team even honors local helpers as “Diff Maker of the Game” (sponsored by Jif, naturally).
“The ‘be the diff’ piece, it works its way into a lot of different conversations,” Kaiser said. He acknowledged dropping the phrase 2-3 times a week in corporate chats (and more if the “The Diff” broadcast element somehow malfunctions.)
But, Kaiser clarified, “be the diff” isn’t an official team “ism.”
…
…
Yes, the Cavaliers have official isms. There are about 20, Kaiser said, with a couple changes usually made to the list each year, as unveiled in a book distributed to staffers. Some of Kaiser’s favorites are along the lines of:
Urgency is the ante to play
Take the roast out of the oven
Launch and learn (that’s a new one, Kaiser said)
Many of the phrases point to a shared directive: move fast and try things—even with the Cavs looking like a title contender.
Heading into the break, Crain’s Cleveland reported that the team is on pace to collect its most ticket revenue to date, better even than the best King James years. Cleveland also leads the NBA in local TV ratings. On Friday, the Cavs host the Knicks in a marquee ESPN showdown as they continue a 120+ game sellout streak.
“It's not like, ‘Hey, we're sold out, let’s take the foot off the gas,’” Kaiser said. “We view it as like, there’s more people in the building, more potential lifelong fans. Let’s continue to double down on the experience, double down on everything that we’re doing with these eyeballs on us.”
That’s been a consistent, clear mentality, Kaiser said. “And that’s, like, what we would consider a Diff.”
Eben’s ⚡ Take: I love any silly thing that sports teams do on the whim of their owners. I’ve heard Raiders owner Mark Davis dislikes the color red, so you won’t find it too much in Allegiant Stadium. Fulham had an absurd Michael Jackson statue outside its stadium for a few years just because its owner was a fan. That’s ‘the diff’ between an engaged billionaire and a passive one.
Programming Note: The Pick Six now comes in a separate post, in your inbox every Saturday AM.
Club Sportico is a community organized by Sportico, a digital media company launched in 2020 to cover the business side of sports. You can read breaking news, smart analysis, and in-depth features from Eben, Jacob and their colleagues at Sportico.com, and listen to the Sporticast podcast wherever you get your audio. Contact us at club@sportico.com.