Commissioner David Baker, the Right Man at the Right Time?
Tim Ball
Thursday August 15, 2002
Well, the following goes against that grain…
Although I do have some concerns and dislikes about the up-coming season, especially games on Sunday, I have confidence that we have a man (“person” for the politically correct) at the top that is good for the sport. Yes, that’s right, good for the sport.
The following really happened. The names have not been changed because everyone is innocent. It shows the side of management rarely seen and never highlighted.
A Man with a Mission.
Commissioner David Baker was involved in his usual pre-game, during game and post-game activities and gave me quite a bit of his valuable time.
On the field before the game as he walked towards me for the first time, I confess, I immediately started looking for smooth stones and a sling.
My concern for this giant of a man and his position as commissioner (and who at 6’ 9” literally towers over my 5’ 6” frame), turned to, dare I say, instant friendship as his hand engulfed mine in a firm handshake and we spoke about our passion for Arena Football, its players and fans.
All charismatic people have a similar quality that aids them in their rise to the top. They make others feel valued. Commissioner Baker is no exception. Within minutes he was genuinely asking me what I thought about different aspects of the sport. Not just passing the moment with vapid chat, but with honest concern.
It was several minutes before I remembered my recorder. After all, I was at this game as a reporter.
The following interview was conducted after a SaberCats home win and was held between two men who are concerned fathers and passionate Arena fans and shows an important side of David Baker. We were leaning against the wall in the walkway between the coaches and players locker rooms. It was more of a conversation but is still important to those who value where the sport may be heading.
All of the players and coaches, trainers, event staff, reporters and all the other arena’s staff, were running this way and that--- and here is Commissioner Baker and I leaning against the wall talking amidst all of the interruptions and handshakes, high fives and kudos---holding our conversation. It had to be quite a site to those walking by, as Commissioner Baker literally has to stoop to talk with me.
Just two guys:
Tim Ball: Thanks for taking the time to speak with Arenafan.com. Our readers obviously want to know what you think about the game.
Commissioner Baker: You’re welcome. Did you get my note? (Commissioner Baker had written some comments on an article I had written.)
TB: I got it, thank you. What do you think about the talk between the players on the intensity of the fans today “willing” them to victory?
CB: One of the things I love about Arena Football is the intensity of the fans. That’s true whether it’s here in San Jose or Arizona, LA, New Jersey and the other arenas. I mean, here’s a day today, where you have a game that’s played at noon and when I was on the phone, I couldn’t hear the caller because it was so loud! I think if we are here in two weeks, every seat will be filled and it will be deafening!
TB: They did announce the crowd at 13,000 plus (tickets issued, I assume) but clearly though they sold that many seats, that many people did not make it.
CB: There are lots of sports that don’t sell out for play off games. But whether it’s here, Arizona or Chicago, it’ll be a great ArenaBowl.
TB: You’re not going to change the sport when NBC gets involved, are you?
CB: Well the gist of your article ( AFL: It’s All About Family), was that we have made it fan-friendly and increased our exposure but we’ve tried to do so by guarding the integrity of the game. When I came here there was a hot tub in every arena. I’ve always believed as the number of hot tubs went down the quality of football went up.
TB: That did seem strange. But are the things that have appealed to fans going to be changed like the player and fan interaction?
CB: To me that’s what the mission statement and fans bill of rights is about. We want to have fans down on the field after the game. We want to have players signing autographs; we want all of those things. We want to have music; we want to make it a great entertainment experience. But, we want to balance it against the integrity of the game. The game, the quality of the players, the quality of the officiating and the quality of the coverage has gotten better every year. We are prepared to do whatever it takes to enhance the experience as long as we don’t compromise, ever, the integrity of the game.
TB: My family is at (almost) every home game. It’s important for me and the fans I speak with, that the game stays for the most part unchanged. When I think of Arena Football, it’s fun, has awesome athletes and I think about what it’s done for my family. Is this important to you?
CB: That’s why I love my job. My job, if I do it well, I can make a living, have fun also and I can do some good. All three of those things, if you can find a job doing all three of those things at the same place, that’s the kind of job I want!
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TB: By the way your son Benjamin has a great attitude towards the sport. At the corporate office, he’s always been so helpful. Does he mind how busy it is now that Arena Football is gaining such exposure?
CB: He loves Arena Football. After 9-11 he turned down a lot of other opportunities to work with me in the office. My youngest son is a top collegiate prospect in football, so I share the family-view on the sport.
TB: Thank you Commissioner, I’ll see you next week for the semi-final.
CB: Thank you, I’ll keep reading Arenafan and keeping up with things on the site. You and your associates are doing a great job!
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Well, there you have it. Hard hitting journalism like nowhere else. No spin, no bull. We have a commissioner who is still on the same page as us. A father and a fan as well as a businessman involved with the sport we all want to see succeed.
I encourage every reader to call the corporate office or go online and give your input to a man and a staff that is still willing to hear from the people who pay the bills. And better continue to…
The point
Other sports refuse to see the writing on the wall: that they have been weighed and found wanting. Baseball is in that kind of denial and it’s sad. Changing the sport to wiffle-ball wasn’t the answer; returning its value is. Though not at sixty dollars a ticket -- Baseball is no longer worth that.
Like a 45 year-old, mostly-bald guy still wearing a ponytail, earring and Led Zeppelin shirt (I hope I misspelled it), the NFL old guard is finding it hard to open their mind to something new. They’ve shut their minds to a version of football that is not competing with or trying to replace the ol’ gridiron game, but is a complement to it. Luckily there are progressives in ownership that can think for themselves.
Arena Football is still honest and has yet to slide into the cronyism and elitism that has all but doomed major sports to a life somewhere on 500 channels of satellite and cable TV. Where the life span of programming coincides with the dosage of Ritalin of the average latchkey viewer.
And, Arena Football has survived against an onslaught of mainstream columnists and TV sports carpetbaggers, whose only goal is to suck up and look the other way to the felonious behavior they perpetuate to keep their place at the banquet table of greed that has become American sports.
Commissioner C. David Baker, Arena Football and its players, deserve our support. Value isn’t just the price of admission -- it is its substance.
Literally, they are worth the price of a ticket.
Tim Ball is a writer in the Chicagoland area. Married and father of three, his opinions on Arena Football reflects the positive aspect of the game as a family event second to none in pro sports.
