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I took 3 kids to a baseball game tonight. The organizers (promoters) of this event get a big fat "A" from this race fan. Even though baseball is not my choice of game (its so slow!), there was clearly an energetic and effective group working to keep the fans awake, and provide them with all kinds of fun. They were great at it!
I will admit to being surprised at the lack of spitting and scratching! Thank goodness the players kept thier urges and excretions largely to themselves. But as I sat there and looked at all those guys, identical to each other except for their numbers, I couldn't help but think that some fans may view racers in the same way, so it reinforces the need for cars and drivers to have something distinctive that makes them memorable. Put some personality out there guys! The baseball players were staggering through the motions and appeared to have no passion for their game.
The stadium team did a lot of things right, and here are three ideas we can steal for racing.
They had a radar gun that displayed the speed of each pitch. I found myself checking on the speed of most pitches, and thought that it would a cool addition to have at the track and point at the cars. Especially if the radar gun was in the hands of someone theatrical, maybe working it in the vicinity of the flag stand, and interacting with the crowd. It would highlight the difference in classes, the difference between first place and last, and especially the tremendous speed of whoever was the fastest that night. I really like this idea! I've looked into those systems before and they are pretty inexpensive. Getting it in the right hands is important and I think it would add a lot of interest, especially among kids. Maybe it would remind them of a video game.
Next, they had a tiki bar located over the wall, beyond the outfield. This place looked like a fun and inviting destination. What a place to sell frozen drinks, ice cream and cold beer! There were plenty of seats too; it was the kind of place that you would expect to find Jimmy Buffet hanging out and watching from there. Yes, lots of tracks have bars, but you see the races live from them, and they look like a dive. This one looked family friendly. Btw: it was packed all night. Can you imagine how successful this would be in turn 4 at OSW, turn 4 at NSS, turn 2 at Citrus, etc...
They sold baseball tickets using beer. LOTS of beer! Tonight, and every Thursday, is "Thirsty Thursday" where drafts are $2. I swear that this attraced young families and young singles. I know because I watched the young girls walking by all night, and most of them had a draft or two in their hands. In a few days, they are having "Beer Fest" at a game, where you can sample the products of 50 local brewerys. On and on it went....beer = ticket sales. I didn't see anyone over doing it either.
We didn't spend much money, and we sure had a good time. The worse race is so much better than baseball, BUT give the baseball people credit for organizing a fast paced show around a slow paced event, and keeping it very entertaining.
I will admit to being surprised at the lack of spitting and scratching! Thank goodness the players kept thier urges and excretions largely to themselves. But as I sat there and looked at all those guys, identical to each other except for their numbers, I couldn't help but think that some fans may view racers in the same way, so it reinforces the need for cars and drivers to have something distinctive that makes them memorable. Put some personality out there guys! The baseball players were staggering through the motions and appeared to have no passion for their game.
The stadium team did a lot of things right, and here are three ideas we can steal for racing.
They had a radar gun that displayed the speed of each pitch. I found myself checking on the speed of most pitches, and thought that it would a cool addition to have at the track and point at the cars. Especially if the radar gun was in the hands of someone theatrical, maybe working it in the vicinity of the flag stand, and interacting with the crowd. It would highlight the difference in classes, the difference between first place and last, and especially the tremendous speed of whoever was the fastest that night. I really like this idea! I've looked into those systems before and they are pretty inexpensive. Getting it in the right hands is important and I think it would add a lot of interest, especially among kids. Maybe it would remind them of a video game.
Next, they had a tiki bar located over the wall, beyond the outfield. This place looked like a fun and inviting destination. What a place to sell frozen drinks, ice cream and cold beer! There were plenty of seats too; it was the kind of place that you would expect to find Jimmy Buffet hanging out and watching from there. Yes, lots of tracks have bars, but you see the races live from them, and they look like a dive. This one looked family friendly. Btw: it was packed all night. Can you imagine how successful this would be in turn 4 at OSW, turn 4 at NSS, turn 2 at Citrus, etc...
They sold baseball tickets using beer. LOTS of beer! Tonight, and every Thursday, is "Thirsty Thursday" where drafts are $2. I swear that this attraced young families and young singles. I know because I watched the young girls walking by all night, and most of them had a draft or two in their hands. In a few days, they are having "Beer Fest" at a game, where you can sample the products of 50 local brewerys. On and on it went....beer = ticket sales. I didn't see anyone over doing it either.
We didn't spend much money, and we sure had a good time. The worse race is so much better than baseball, BUT give the baseball people credit for organizing a fast paced show around a slow paced event, and keeping it very entertaining.
,now all i need is a new 1/4mile oval near Miami
,vs nearly 4hr away ,one way
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