terence moore is here, sports contributor to cnn.com. terence, you can see the emotion there. what a big moment for michael sams. what do you think the reaction is going to be? >> well, you know, this is going to be one of those things that's going to be a big deal for a little while, but as time goes on, is going to kaup down, particular if he makes a team and particularly if he does well, and again, you look at the st. louis rams, this is a team that likes to have pass rushers blitz a lot. he's been getting a lot of criticism, michael sam, for being what they call a tweener. a guy who's not quite a defensive end, not quite an nfl linebacker. if you blitz a lot, you can get we with that. but let me tell you something else here. and i hate to be somewhat of a killjoy here, but this could be just a little bit of a publicity stunt in this sense. the st. louis rams last year were second to last in the national football league in total attendance. only the oakland raiders drew less than the rams. and they've got that big old dome in st. louis to try to fill. so what better way tha

let's talk about it and his brand with a branding expert and ceo of demand works and terence moore isor mlb.com. what stands out to you about michael sam? how would you say he's handled his dupuebut so far? >> he's an incredibly courageous guy for even having made the move he made a few months ago before the draft knowing what he was putting on the line. he's very authentic and i think he speaks from the heart and he's so obviously a team player, that he's moving his brand, i think, toward or how people perceive him toward the mainstream in a really effective way. but i also think that michael sam is benefiting enormously from a shift in american opinion in general. i mean, in 2003, 55% of the population opposed, for example, same-sex marriage and today 59% of americans support it. so there's been this really rapid and extensive shift in american opinion around inclusiveness, around sexual orientation issues, around the kinds of things that have been very polarizing. it helps his brand. not to say all that has disappeared but a different environment, a different landscape for him that