Wranglers a Success in Oklahoma

Mick Cornett
Tuesday August 15, 2000

As a sport, Arena Football is wildly unpredictable. Live balls bounce off uprights, nets and walls. The clock can seemingly race to the one-minute mark, and then practically grind to a halt as touchdowns pile-up in the final 60 seconds of each half.

But the idea of selling football in Oklahoma was predictable. Just put tickets up for sale and watch them disappear. Despite several marketing roadblocks (short time-table & player-labor problems), the Wranglers put fans in the seats.

“I thought the entire season was an unqualified success,” says general manager David Vance. “There’s certain facts that can’t be disputed. We averaged over 10,000 people per game and were on national TV three straight weeks. It all points to a bright future.”

For a variety of reasons, the Arena Football League seems to flourish in some markets and struggle in others. Oklahoma seems to be a perfect fit. During the season, head coach Bob Cortese said he has heard from several opposing coaches that they were envious of his situation. As a state, Oklahoma’s reputation for loving its football is well known.

During Free Agency, the Wranglers hope to keep QB Ron Lopez in Oklahoma Image courtesy of Mike Wright

In the long-term, it is not entirely clear who will own this franchise. CEO Ed Gatlin is trying to sell his majority share and several of the local investors are interested in obtaining a piece of the AFL pie. That type of talk will always make fans nervous because a sale can often lead to a franchise relocation. That doesn’t appear to be a serious threat in this situation, especially with a new arena just one season away.

The most interesting aspect of the AFL as a whole is the acceleration of the NFL’s involvement. Vance sees a direct link between the two leagues in the future with the NFL branding the AFL as NFL Indoors. The NFL connection could be huge in terms of marketing at both a local and national level.

Season ticket sales should improve significantly over last year because of two factors: a longer off-season to make a sales pitch and people looking for priority seating in the new arena.

The league is about to sign a new collective bargaining agreement that will sure to make for a busy season for head coach Bob Cortese. It’s a complicated situation as veteran players will get more money and more say in where they play. The teams will be allowed to designate some ‘franchise players’ and that will help keep rosters in tact but it’s a major concern for coaches. The Wranglers led the league in total defense this season and now Cortese could lose his entire starting unit to free agency.

“My number one off-season priority,” Cortese says, “is to keep our good players. Then, I’ll see what other players I might be able to bring in.”

Cortese says he will try and keep starting quarterback Ron Lopez who, despite a season of injuries and interceptions, remains a valuable asset to the franchise. Another of Cortese’s priorities is to keep defensive coordinator James Fuller who might be tempted with AFL head coaching opportunities or a job in the NFL.

 

The opinions expressed in the article above are only those of the writer, and do not necessarily reflect the thoughts, opinions, or official stance of ArenaFan Online or its staff, or the Arena Football League, or any AFL or af2 teams.

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Tough Run to Playoffs for Wranglers 7/11/2001
Wranglers Can`t Start Winning Streak 6/26/2001
Lopez Ties TD Record 6/19/2001
Wranglers Losing Style is Baffling 6/11/2001
Wranglers Mid Season Report Card 6/6/2001
A Perfect Game Makes for Wranglers Win 6/3/2001
Phantoms Demolish Wranglers 5/21/2001
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