A View From NFL Europe: Promoting the AFL in New York
Lee Zakow
Wednesday August 2, 2000
I try to explain to my NFL E friends in Europe that they are going to love this game, and Albany-Orlando and New Jersey-Florida bear this out. Unlike other sports in which you can jump on the bandwagon because of water cooler talk (see the Mets of 1999), Arena fans are tried and true. In talking with Red Dog fans and walking the field before the game, one had to have a deep sense of sadness, because the game hasn’t caught on here in the New York Metro area as it has in other parts of the country. I have to ask why that is – and maybe it’s a chicken and egg thing. Is there enough marketing going on to let the club know there is a team, or are fans not interested?
 Tina Cervasio sets the standard in sideline reporting Image courtesy of Fanguides.com |
I hated business school, but they did teach me one valuable lesson – think out of the box (so much for the MBA). And today, we’ll apply it to the Red Dogs. Fans: Do you go to games for the rock music blaring and the cheerleaders? No. You go to see Ricky Foggie hook up with George LaFrance with 15 seconds left for a victory. You’re there to see Albany seemingly with the game wrapped up with 20 seconds left only to have Connell Maynor steal it right back with a laser beam and three ticks left. Let the game sell itself – think out of the box! Scheduling is difficult – think out of the box! Getting sponsorship is tough – think out of the box! Here’s what I suggest.
Scheduling: The New York/New Jersey thing is very, very tough. Plenty of baseball and other diversions. There’s also the Jersey Shore crowd. If a few games were moved to Sunday at 6 p.m., perhaps you can grab a lot of the shore traffic. I wouldn’t suggest moving any games to New York, because that would royally upset New Jersey fans who have built an identity with the team. Saturday nights in the spring might work before Memorial Day.
Promotions: In Manhattan, we have one of the better sports facilities in the country – the Chelsea Piers. It is the home to leagues in ice hockey, indoor soccer, roller hockey, basketball, lacrosse, etc. It also has bowling alleys, hitting ranges, health club facilities, etc. I’ve played indoor soccer for four seasons and I love it. The competition is intense. Now, if the soccer fields were reconfigured, you would have an Arena football field. Why not start a Sunday morning league there during “dead” time? Play in full equipment like the lacrosse people do or play a flag version of it. And the Red Dogs could be on hand during their seasons (seasons at the Piers are 10 weeks long) to lend instruction. Everyone is happy – the Piers get more money, people have a new activity and the Red Dogs have exposure in New York.
Rivalries: And finally, start the season by developing geographic rivalries. Start with the Empire Cup – round one to open the season. Albany, New Jersey, New England and Buffalo would play on consecutive nights to start the season. Yes it would take away a home game from one team, but think about this: Amtrak has a special train starting in Buffalo, comes through Albany and lands in New York City. Fans stay in the city where they can eat, shop, grab a museum and then we have football at night in the Meadowlands. Busses will whisk the fans over to the Meadowlands, and then there will be fan parties at the game. Its sort of like the Big East meets party time. Put together a packaged deal for fans and make it reasonable! Think about it – hotels, Amtrak and other sponsors would love it.
O.K. folks. Let’s go out there and make this thing work!
Lee Zakow was a writer for ArenaFan Online from 2000 to 2001.
