The question stems from this advertisement, which does in fact appear at the bottom of every page of all five Sports Reports websites .. 

The ad is for a newly established cannabis dispensary called ‘Hazy Daze’ that is located on Broad Street in Waverly, NY. 

I’m going to preface my defense of The Sports Reports’ choice in running this ad .. which to be clear, should not be a decision that needs defended .. by clarifying that I personally have zero input on the ads that run on ‘my’ site .. I do not own the Northern Tier WEST Sports Report .. my boss, Tim Birney, does. And while I have spent four years trying to persuade local, Tioga County businesses to advertise on the site, I personally had no conversations with the proprietor(s) of Hazy Daze prior to their support of the West site. 

That being said, let’s dive into the very simple explanation of why we now have an ad for a cannabis dispensary at the bottom of every page of our sites .. it’s simple .. because they pay us!

I’m not into sugar coating and I don’t feel this subject needs to be “churched up” .. The Sports Reports sites are completely free to view. There is no ‘pay wall’ .. no subscription needed .. readers have full access to every page of the sites, 24 hours a day, without limitation. The sole method of our sites making the money it takes to operate is through advertising. 

You have zero idea how thankful we are for the businesses and companies that have chosen to support us and our mission by advertising on the site. But you also have to recognize that for every business that has supported us, there are literally dozens and dozens more that do not. 

I would very much like to explain why a large majority of our local businesses aren’t willing to support area athletics on our site, but the truth is, I don’t know. What I do know is, the owners of Hazy Daze do want to support local athletics by advertising on a local athletic site, just like they are advertising on local radio stations. They want to show the area that they are a legitimate, local business and that they want to support local athletics. And they are smart enough to see that with our sites, they are reaching 50,000-plus viewers per day. They’re willing to spend at least some portion of their tax deductible advertising budget on helping us give your children the recognition and coverage that they richly deserve and, quite frankly, for some of our coverage area, don’t receive through any other outlet. 

While I’m not aware of what exact problem some readers have with seeing the ad, I can speculate that these folks are morally opposed to the use of cannabis .. both medically and / or recreationally. 

Without using this space or your time to defend or argue individual morals on the use of cannabis, the simple fact is that it is fully legal to sell, purchase and use marijuana and it’s derivatives in the State of New York, where Hazy Daze is located. Just as alcohol and nicotine are legal drugs that can be purchased over the counter, without a prescription, marijuana and its derivatives are as well. 

A knee-jerk reaction to this would be that the Northern Tier West Sports Report doesn’t cover New York State, where the business is located and recreational marijuana use is legal. My answer to this is .. while the NTWSR is focused on providing coverage to athletes and teams in Tioga County, Pennsylvania, we also cover our teams anytime they play in New York or against a New York team, which with our close proximity, happens often. Folks from New York thus get on our sites to read about their teams’ games, and see a ‘NY State ad’. That being said, it is just as legal for an of-age individual from Westfield, Wellsboro, Towanda or Troy to purchase cannabis at Hazy Daze as it is for someone from Waverly or Elmira to do so. 

Also, three of our sites .. the Valley Sports Report, the Southern Tier (NY) Sports Report and the Tioga County (NY) Sports Report .. are fully or partially based in New York.

I personally think the question being raised should be .. why is a New York business so much more willing to support us in Tioga County, PA and our endeavors than many of our local businesses are?!? 

The Sports Reports sites feature a number of ads from area bars and restaurants, that sell alcohol, as well as convenience store chains, that sell alcohol and nicotine products. Accepting support from Hazy Daze is no different .. both are selling legal products to of-age customers. 

If one wants to argue that at least these bars and convenience stores sell food as well, I’d counter that with .. okay, then it’s no different than us running ads from beer/liquor distributors, which we are happy to do. 

We also welcome support from any local pharmacy, where prescriptions are required to buy their products. Much like the medical marijuana dispensaries in Pennsylvania, who we would also welcome support from. 

Trust me when I tell you .. I’m not an expert on much, if anything, let alone on how to successfully run a small, medium or large local business. But I’ve learned a couple things in the last 4 years of running the Northern Tier WEST Sports Report .. 

First, advertising on a locally-focused, online sports website .. such as ntwsportsreport.com .. allows a business to directly reach potential customers within their immediate area .. it builds brand awareness, drives foot traffic, and that business is immediately available to customers searching for that business’ goods or services, due to the fact that all of our ads are “clickable” .. a customer is taken directly to the business’ website or Facebook page by clicking on the ad. They don’t have to remember a phone number or Google a name they heard or saw while driving or saw on a piece of paper .. they just click on the ad. 

And perhaps an even more substantial reason .. as some of our supporting businesses will affirm .. it shows that your local company/business is serious about supporting our area youth and high school athletics. 

We at The Sports Reports websites love and sincerely appreciate our supporting advertisers. We literally could not do what we do for your athletes and teams without their support. But the unfortunate truth is .. we need more, especially on the Northern Tier WEST Sports Report.

So, yes, The Sports Reports sites will continue to run ads for Hazy Daze .. again, located on Broad Street in Waverly, NY .. just as we would fully accept support from other legal cannabis dispensaries in New York and, in the probable near future, from dispensaries in Pennsylvania. 

If your local business/company would like to discuss how you too can support our mission to provide recognition and coverage of our area youth and athletics, there are links to contact us at the bottom of every page of our sites .. right below the “big ‘ol pot leaf”!