| MLS, WUSA Want It Now (January 2004) |
By Jay Martin
Do the MLS and WUSA have it wrong? Both leagues want it all now. The players want NBA-like dollars, the owners want NFL-like crowds and the marketing department wants MLB-like sales. They cannot understand why the fans aren’t flocking to their product. What is the answer? Is there an answer?
As we look at the history of the “big three” (NFL, MLB, NBA) we see similarities with MLS and WUSA. Both soccer leagues are struggling. So did the big three. All of these leagues struggled early and struggled for a long time. It took a concerted effort by a lot of people over a long period of time to get these leagues to where they are today. To wit:
- The New York Times reported in November 1925 that “…Red Grange did more than any other individual to introduce the new professional sport of football to the United States. With a $10,000 guarantee for each game, Grange led the Chicago Bears on a 30-game barnstorming tour of the Mideast and South. It is estimated that he introduced the game to tens of thousands.”
- In 1869, the Cincinnati Red Stockings set out a challenge to all comers. For one-third of the gate they would play your team. The Reds got on the transcontinental railroad and played 56 games throughout the West. Estimates suggest they introduced baseball to more than 200,000 new fans.
- The Boston Celtics played “home games” in Portland, Maine; Hartford, Conn.; Providence, R.I.; and Springfield, Mass., through the 1970s. They did this to create a fan base in New England for professional basketball.
- The 1978 NBA championship game between the Portland Trailblazers and the Philadelphia 76ers was broadcast tape-delayed after the late news. That was 42 years after the league was formed.
- In the NBA’s early days, a local high school coach only had to call the front office to get a professional player to visit practice. How about Bob Cousy to help your high school team? Not bad.
This type of marketing and promotion was not limited to sports in the United States. In the summer of 2001 the Bayern Munich team played more than 50 games in Bavaria before the Bundesliga season began to show its appreciation to the fans. How many new fans does Bayern need?
These leagues all had growing pains. Everyone involved with the “new” leagues knew that extra work was needed by all to ensure survival. Players had to be accessible. The teams had to travel around and play games. If the fans did not go to Fenway Park, the Boston Red Sox went to them. There was an educational process that started at the grassroots. “Show ‘em the game; teach ‘em the game and maybe they will come in to watch the game.”
Are MLS and WUSA doing that? What are these teams doing to set in motion the educational process? Instead of comparing themselves with where they are in relation to the Big 3 now, maybe they should compare themselves to that trio’s early history or where those leagues were then. The MLS and WUSA want the TV contract before they have a fan base. That won’t work.
Maybe it’s time to change the marketing picture. Maybe it’s time to “barnstorm.” But it is definitely time to do something. The answers may not be found in marketing. The answers may simply be good old-fashion common sense and treating people right.
MLS and WUSA teams say that they have extensive community outreach programs, that the players spend the afternoon at shopping malls trying to sell tickets, that they are benevolent to youth groups in their areas and that they go above and beyond the call of duty to “sell the game.” They don’t. What can they do? A few suggestions from real MLS fans at a September MLS game:
- Effort. All MLS/WUSA teams could simply try harder. Get back to the effort of the first few years. Although the MLS/WUSA have been around for a while, they still are the new kids on the block. As Avis showed us all, No. 2 must try harder.
- Embrace. While increasing the fan base is vital for survival, not forgetting the hard-core soccer fan is equally as important. Better effort must be made to embrace these people, not forget them. Many hard-core soccer people are not going to games today. They feel ostracized and forgotten by the pro club.
- Tactics/Technique. Teams could consider inviting local coaches to training sessions. Offering a mini-clinic during the summer months at selected training sessions would not only be very beneficial for all levels of soccer, but would certainly develop an enthusiastic fan base. And coaches would bring their teams to the games.
- Barnstorming. The number of games with local teams has dwindled. Colleges, semi-pro and high level amateur teams would love to play the local MLS or WUSA team. Go to the teams’ home fields, offer an MLS/WUSA night, sign autographs and meet the kids. That will increase the fan base and expose others to soccer.
- Appearances. Get the players out and into the neighborhoods and stop charging an appearance fee. An afternoon appearance should be part of the job. Sure, the players don’t get paid as much as other pro athletes, but without appearances they won’t have a job. And the appearances should be classified, at very least, in the “pretend to care” category. Spending time with people will go a long way to increasing support and increasing numbers at the gate. NASCAR drivers have taken personal appearances to a new level. The amount of time they spend “on the road” or “in public” is unbelievable. Look where NASCAR is today.
- Deals. How can we find ways to get first-time fans into a game? The MLS/WUSA can develop creative ways to get people there. How about giving a ticket to each kid on a youth team? Then the parents have to pay to get them into the stands? Who knows, it might work.
- Make the Game an Event. More effort can be given to the game as an event. One need only go to an NFL/MLB/NBA game and see that the game is only part of the show. Soccer purists will not like this, but to compete for entertainment dollars, you must have entertainment. If the public perceives that a soccer match is boring, then make the event a good time.
These are just a few suggestions from random fans at an MLS match, but they confirm that some fine-tuning of the product is necessary. Maybe it’s time for MLS/WUSA teams to listen. Maybe it’s time to start some barnstorming. |
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