A couple weeks ago I read a local newspaper article about a new AFL football team here in Cleveand.

While reading a story about the team, I saw the team president/local legend Bernie Kosar say this regarding if fans will support the team.

“If we play hard, if we win, it’s going to be received really well here,” Kosar said between sessions. “If we practice like they did in Vegas last year, if we’re 2-14, it’s going to do terrible here.”

I struggled with this quite a bit, both as a fan and as a sports marketer. While I understand the mentality that winning will draw fans, its just the complete opposite of how to position yourself in a market, particularly with a sport like Arena Football. If you present yourself as only worth seeing if you win, you severely limit your ability to sell tickets if you don’t win. Of course winning will help you draw, but if your team is 2-14 are you going to throw in the towel? Would you expect to draw poorly at the gate if you don’t win? Would fans have any reason to buy a ticket if they thought you would lose the game?

Sports marketers have little to no control over wins and losses. Good ones understand they need to sell their tickets based on factors other than, or at least in addition to, winning on the field. Great sports marketers can sell a losing team.

Today I heard a great quote from another more seasoned owner that really crystallized the message for me. Dallas Mavericks owner (and blogger) Mark Cuban was discussing the Jason Kidd trade and why he wanted to do it. He included this statement (I paraphrase):

“I may not have ever mentioned this, but Jason Kidd was the original reason I bought season tickets to the Mavericks.”

Bam. There it is, the perfect message. Yes, this move was made to win more games…but this team already wins at an impressive clip. This move was made by an owner who also understands that people come to be entertained. While this statement seems like it was about winning and winning a championship, it really says (explicitly) that JKidd is a player worth coming out to see. He is now part of the total package the Mavericks offer to their fans. Jason Kidd is worth paying to see. Period.

Simply put by Cuban: The Mavs are even more worth your money to see our show. He didn’t say that Kidd would bring a title, or that they would win more with him, or that it would be a failed trade if they didn’t WIN….he said that Kidd was a key reason to come support the team.

I might be splitting hairs a bit, but I think the difference between saying that your fan support hinges on a winning record and you just brought in a player that the owner himself would pay to see is a chasm. In one case if the team loses, how do you then ask fans to come and support you? In the other case it says….we are worth your money and support.

Sports Marketers can’t control wins and losses….but they can control what they are selling.** Are you selling wins and loses, or entertainment value?

–Cudo

** It’s worth noting that sports marketers can’t control what their owners say.

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As you can already imagine, the possibilities for good are endless.  However, as a non profit, your price of 2,495 dollars would cause our organization serious financial hardship.  Thus, I am writing to you today to ask for a discount. I feel that the investment your company could make in our organization would be an excellent one–in our community, and our future.

Please contact me as soon as possible.

In great admiration of your services,

Rebecca
University of CA at  Berkeley

I thought I would share a letter from my inbox as part of this week’s blog-fest.  I said I would blog everyday….I didn’t say it would be helpful.

–Cudo

The 2007 Best of Gameops.com Awards were announced in December and the awards are finally complete.  This first year had a couple delays as we had the bobbleheads produced and had to find a source for the individual engraved plaques for the front….but the awards are in and will ship out this week to the respective winners.

I also had the chance to visit Benny the Bull this week and personally present him his (it’s?) 2007 Best of Gameops.com Honorable Mention Mascot Award.  Benny is proving that he is among the elite mascots every night in Chicago and it was a pleasure to see him work live.

The 2007 awards mark the debut of our new golden bobblehead award, the Golden Steagle.

I am looking forward to the 2008 Awards and trying to keep track of more nominees.  The ability to showcase and view more of the talent on video sources like YouTube is making the awards more accurate and complete.  I am also excited to see the entries for the new categories of Best Entertainment Group and Best Introductions in 2008.

You can always submit your best to us using the Blog or email.  You don’t need to wait til August to submit, you can send nominations any time.

He I am with Benny presenting the Golden Steagle….I am on the left.

–Cudo

Wolves Thank Fans

Minneapolis/St. Paul - In response to the likelihood of former Timberwolves player Kevin Garnett not being able to participate in tomorrow night’s game between Minnesota and Boston, the Timberwolves announced today that all fans in attendance will receive a voucher redeemable for one ticket to an upcoming Wolves game. The gesture is in recognition of the special circumstance of Garnett’s return to Minnesota, the fan sentiment surrounding this game and also serves as a thank you to loyal Wolves fans in attendance.

“While injuries are a part of the game and there is never a guarantee that any player will be in uniform, we recognize that this is a very special circumstance and share our fans’ disappointment at the prospect of Kevin not being able to participate,” Timberwolves President Chris Wright said. “Just as we know our fans are eager to thank Kevin for his immense contributions to this team and this community, we want to thank the fans for their continued loyalty to our franchise.”

Ticket vouchers will be distributed to all fans as they enter Target Center for tomorrow’s game. The vouchers are redeemable for one ticket to one of the following Wolves home games: Sunday, Feb. 10 vs. Toronto, Tuesday, Feb. 19 vs. Philadelphia, or Tuesday, Feb. 26 vs. Utah.

I love this promotion from the Wolves.  For a franchise in transition, ticket stock is not in short supply….and they weren’t to proud to admit that when an injury took away a major selling point for their game against the Celtics.

Anyone familiar with KG and the Wolves understands how valuable he was to them and what he means in the community.  KG will hit a near sell-out for any visit back to Target Center….so when it was announced that he would miss the game fans would clearly be disappointed.  I can’t think of a better way to temper that disappointment than to offer fans another chance to experience the team a second time.

Extraordinary circumstance call for extraordinary measures and the Wolves made the right call on this promotion.
–Cudo

Just wanted to wrap up a rather long week at Gameops.com with a thank you to our readers and staff.

We had been suffering from some too frequent site errors recently and decided to move to a new server. Assured that the move would be “easy” we undertook the shift a week ago Thursday night. 48 hours later it was clear the move was a disaster….so we shifted back to the old server. That shift piled even more problems on our plate, putting the site, email, and my nerves into complete disarray.

Thankfully by late Wednesday we are back to “normal”….and a shift to a new server is going to be put on hold until summer, along with some additional changes.

While it was an easy week on the surface (you don’t get a lot of email when your site is down and email isn’t functioning) it set us back a ways for the March update…but I will be hard at work on the new content and another significant project that has been under development for about 2 months.

Thanks again for sticking with us and thanks to the all-star TEAMmate Sales Staff who patiently trudged through a difficult week (where most of the frayed nerves were taken out on a healthy Roger Clemens discussion.)

To try to get back in the groove I will be posting a daily blog next week….and pending another web disaster, you can check that out Monday thru Friday right here.

–Cudo

The Washington Nationals are using the team web site to find talent for their award-winning on-field contest, The Presidential Race.

The Nationals seek part-time, seasonal staff to perform as the famous Racing Presidents.

Each runner will wear a costume depicting the four Mt. Rushmore presidents and race around the RFK diamond, while thousands cheer.

Presidents will also pose for photos, sign autographs and appear at select outside events.

Requirements:

* Between 5′7″ and 6′6″ in height
* Ability to run from right field to home plate (app. 100 yds.)
* Ability to wear a costume weighing app. 45 lbs
* Availability for at least half of the Nationals home games

Contact:: Mascot Coordinator - 202.541.1636 or email entertainment@nationals.com

–Cudo

Also see:

• Let Teddy Win Blog
• 2007 Best of Gameops.com Awards