Every Day is Election Day
Patrick Daly
Thursday December 30, 2004
Its basis is pretty simple. It’s not about the two-party system and mudslinging campaigns. Rather, every time you spend a dollar on a product or service, you’ve essentially voted for its continuance. Withhold your money, and that service’s fate lies in the hands of others who might or might not pay up. So, now you must be wondering where this leads.
How many of you have cried foul when your favorite team has upped the price of a beer? How about your season tickets? And what have you done about it?
Chances are you complained to someone. Maybe it’s your neighbor or your buddy that shares the seats with you on gameday. Some of you might even go so far as to call your favorite team’s front office or shout out on message boards. All of that is fine, but how have you spent your dollars?
On the other side, how many of you are worried that your team, the team you’ve given your heart and soul to, might leave or simply fold up their tent? Is your team under new ownership? How do the stands look?
Regardless of where you stand, you do have a say and you can do something about it. You may not have the loudest voice, but if you let that keep you quiet, you’ll miss the most important aspect of voting: your chance for input. You may not feel that it’s one fan at the game that makes a difference, but without that one fan the team would be nowhere. Because without that one fan, you can’t add a second one to make two. And then add a third one to make three. From there it grows.
To start, the free agent season is well under way in the Arena Football League, with a number of teams gathering their forces. With each new season, that’s where teams retool or add key pieces. It’s also a time where your team starts on the campaign trail, looking to earn your vote of confidence.
In my book, the most notable signing this offseason has to be Philadelphia snaring quarterback Tony Graziani, which gives the Soul instant credibility at the quarterback spot and should earn more votes at the ticket counter. Grand Rapids also ponied up for Graziani’s primary target in Los Angeles, offensive specialist Chris Jackson, leaving the Avengers to find a way to replace one of the most potent AFL duos while Jackson moves from one of the AFL’s largest markets to its smallest.
Here in Arizona, even with a new coaching staff in place, the Rattlers have focused on what they do best, which has been resigning players that have made up the core of talent in the desert for a number of seasons. That includes the resigning of fullback/linebackers Bo Kelly and Frank Trentadue, linemen Wendall Gaines and Vince Amey, offensive specialist Siaha Burley, wide receiver/linebacker Tom Pace and wide receiver/defensive back Randy Gatewood. They’ve added some new faces, including wide receiver/defensive back Evan Hlavacek and defensive specialist Terrance Joseph, which brings in new blood that’s often vital to turning the campaign trail into a journey that’ll bear fruit at season’s end.
At the same time, we have a lot of uncertainty here in Arizona. With new ownership led by Robert Sarver now firmly in place, many fans are wondering where this will lead. Some believe there may not be another season after this one. With the commitments made to new head coach Todd Shell and recently signed players, that’s not something I’d expect, but I realize this is also a business and businesses normally have the primary goal of making money. Yes, there are some exceptions, but no matter what I believe, all fans will have to vote for themselves.
Regardless of what your team has done, or has yet to do, you have your say when you vote with your dollars. Now I understand that sports engender a different loyalty than say toothpaste or laundry detergent, but every sports franchise is a business that should earn its keep, because at the end of the day each franchise is viewed as a business by its ownership. They must fight with other entertainment options for your dollar, which for some franchises becomes a frantic fight for survival.
That fight was no more obvious than in Carolina, Detroit and Indiana where franchises were folded. You might wonder how a league with so many seasons under the belt can allow three franchises to go away, especially when two of them (Carolina and Detroit) aren’t the first teams to fold in those markets. By all accounts, there just haven’t been enough dollars voted towards each team’s future, whether it’s a lack of fans (Carolina and Detroit) or a lack of qualified interest in ownership (Indiana). As a result, we’re seeing a variation of Darwin’s law; it’s still survival of fiscally fittest.
Conversely, we’ll witness the resurrection of the Nashville Kats under new ownership where Kats fans will once again take their place in the polling booths. Some original Kats fans will stay away, shunning a team that bears the same name as the one that packed its bags and left for Georgia, while others will return. Either way, it’s their choice.
With the 2005 season looming, there will be plenty of opportunity for you to vote with your dollars and make your voice known when the polls open up at an arena near you. And whichever direction you go, know that you’re vote will be counted. Polls open on January 28th.
Patrick Daly has been an Arena Football League enthusiast since he first stumbled across the late-night ESPN broadcasts and has followed the Arizona Rattlers since their inaugural season in 1992. He graduated from Arizona State University with an engineering degree and is currently a member of a web development team for Direct Alliance in Tempe. Patrick currently resides in the Phoenix suburb of Chandler, Arizona with his beautiful wife, son and a very large football helmet collection.
