Growing the sport
 

Did anyone else happen to catch the story on CNBC this morning about Rodeos? The report said that redeos are now second to NASCAR and that they followed the NASCAR model. They also said that sponsors are lining up to be part of it. Why? The report said that Redeos represent "clean cut and traditional American values." Might be time boat racers take the pictures of naked women off their tow rigs and make this a "professional" sport. Then maybe the sponsors will follow.

Don't most NASCAR fans have pictures of naked women on their mudflaps?:D

I disagree with that.Most people know the sport is on the edge and has many loud players in it.I have heard more positive things about the teams with girls on there rigs and boats.Its a sport for cowboys with money and most dont care if they had a sponsor or not.They are there to have fun,me included.
Randy

i agree to have fun but it sure would me nice to have a good sponcor.

I don't think the cost of riding a horse can compare to the cost of riding 1000 of them.

Can you define the Nascar model that they followed? I wish I saw the TV show, we are looking for new fresh ideas.

I agree that our racers need to become more of a clean cut role model. Sort of like Randy and the rest of the dog pound.

One thing I'd like to see is a racer (who is being interviewed after a win) who has the ability to do more than give his crew credit for the win. "Yeah it was nasty out there but she held together to the end and here we are in the winners circle." Has anyone ever seen John force get interviewed? Now that's an interview, hell I pray he wins just so I can hear him talk.

t

Actually I think most would be BLOWN away how much $$$ are in horses..I know I was!

Mr. V may be right...on the other hand maybe the WWF way would be a good direction too:rolleyes: ...ya never know....but I think we have seen the other side.

I think the point Mr. V was focused on was the professionalism aspect of that comment....not the pin up.

We can't race without sponsors!...It's just that simple for us....

We need ALL races to be like this years worlds at KW.

Mr. V is definately right to a certain extent. The professionalism that the Nascar teams display is something to behold, Minus that Jerk Tony Stewart( what a head case). Business's today are definately focusing on presenting themselves with integrity. You can still be wild and have integrity, I'm here as proof. But it is hard to get the general public to see it that way. I was told recently by one of my employers that he has heard around that I can be a little wild when out on the water. So, work is work, fun is fun. But NO, people see you no matter where you are at, whom ever you are with, who ever has your company name on them as a product, and representaive of that company no matter what. I do not agree with it, but it is not for me to decide. I do not have my avitar anymore, and will not be posting pics anymore. My job, and its supposed integrity in the community, and my financial wellness is more important than fun thats on the edge of crazy. It sucks, but it became very real in my evaluation meeting. Who knows who visits this site, (there are spys about). Business' are going to support sponsorships that represent them in the best possible light, with the values they hold in there Mission Statements, and unfortunately for all of us, Naked women on engine hatches or haulers isn't professional. Midnight

No offence but Typhoon is exactly why the sport will not grow and only those with a lot of money will do it until they get tired of the political BS. And it's not a sport, it's a hobby. It's not fun, it's a business that you enjoy. Until it's treated as a business the only people that will benefit from it are the sanctioning bodies. To them it is a business and they will keep taking your money to have you go in circles for fun.

Ron P, they really didn't go into details on the model. They just said that Rodeos have grown ala the nascar model. It was a small blurb on Squawk this morning. Some horses cost more than most of the boats racing. The cost my 6 year old's pony with training (pony and rider) and stabling fees could easily keep a top F2 team running each year. Also the top riders are making millions, yes millions. They also signed a huge contract with CBS to carry the events. Where is boat racing????

Let the fans have the naked girls and flaps, the sponsors aren't paying them to represent the company. I've dealt with corporate sponsors and you do represent them and they expect nothing but professionalism. There is money out there, but most large corporations aren't going to touch this bad boy crowd.

Midnight gets it, unfortunately the hard way.

And guess what? A rodeo isn't cancled because of rain...OFFSHORE, they stop a race for lil' 4' waves? Some sports are real! Others will keep on tryin! RODEO guys are worried about there equipment, so they are moving forward!

it's the people who hire the PR firms that cause the problems...why not get the same people who promote NASCAR to promote Offshore? WHY? Because the people running offshore are not at that level, they can't think like that....they are too imature and into themselves, THEY WON'T REACH OUT AND DO THE RIGHT THING! And this has been going on for 25 years or more!

Consider that Viagra is a product of a corporate sponsor, Pfizer. Who was their spokes person, Bob Dole. Never saw the TV ads? Why not Ron Jermey or some other porn star? Because integrity is important to their "corporate" image. Although Viagra can be considered a recreational drug, Pfizer would never lower their corporate image to market it in a sleazy manner.

It doesn't matter what the fans do at a race, it does matter what image the teams project. Look at the big corporate sponsored teams and look at the image they project. Tommy Bahama is a first class act. We raced for a corporate sponsor and made sure that we projected a first class clean cut image. Sometimes we needed a little reminding, but we were always aware of who was paying the bills and what they expected from us.

Supercat you can run any engine, still that group doesn't grow. Until the sport becomes real and people can make money at it, it will just be a hobby for those that can afford to have fun running in circles, to the left.

Face it, there have been many many attempts by many different sanctioning bodies to grow the sport. None worked. None have taken the sport to the level of professionalism that corporate America demands in order to be involved. APBA almost did it, in the first few year it was amazing to see how many boats were at the races. Then it just puttered out. Blame the economy and you have my point, less people have the money to play. You need to make this a business for the teams and keep the money flowing from the sponsors.

And you just described 3/4s of all the race teams.
But will PR firms really help? What will they promote? Many teams come to the races, leave the boat covered until race day. They don't even spend the days in the pits or if they do they sit on the trailer drinking a beer. Why aren't they there going over their equipment, talking to fans, or just making a presence? How many teams had "hero cards" made up to hand out to fans? Jelly Belly did, awsome marketing team and Rick was always there to talk with the kids. That is a perfect model of how it can be done right and they attracted the fan. Well at least people looking for the free handouts. We did the card, picture of the boat on the front, bios and info about the boat on the back. Also had info about the sponsor. I couldn't count how many were handed out but it was in the thousands. The kids loved to have them signed. I'm not a fan of any of the sanctioning bodies, but there is more wrong with the sport than just them.

Amen Mr Velocity,

In all other professional motorsports the driver is always a hired gun, never a team owner. Look at how JT presents himself.

I have said for a long time that racing is backwards. Were else do the performers pay to perform, especially for a paying audience? In Key West I understand there was a substantial fee to get in to the pits. Like $30 on race day. Did any of this trickle back to the racers? Same deal in New Orleans. Are we all suckers or are the racer getting thier moneies worth?

This sport has always been about rich (for lack of a better word) guys and gals racing thier toys against other rich guys and gals. They paid the sanctioning body for supplying them with a Coast Guard approvel, secure and safe place to race thier toys.

There is nothing wrong with this, its a ton of fun, in fact its the ultimate rush. It's just that at what point do the racers get treated like partners in the deal??? Shouldn't some money, like 35% (pick a number) of the money that the sanction body receives - over and above the cost of running the race, go back to the racers?

How about getting $1 per mile you drive to a race? Would that help ease the financial pain? How about reduced entry fees? SOMETHING!!!!!!

The new Vortec deal sound amazing. Is APBA kicking in some money help keep the cost as low as possible or is Innovation passing back a commission to APBA?

I dunno, am I nuts or is something wrong with this picture? I don't think I'm missing much, I've been involved on the organizational end of many many races. I know what the expenses are and where the money goes. At NJ Offfshore, we all do it as volunteers..... all 70 of us..... we do it for the love of the sport.

Maybe if this was the way I made a living I'd look at things very differently and if I had stockholders to report to I'd be looking for anyway to increase profits and lower costs. Paying tow money would never be considered....as long as the boats came on thier own nickel.

I'll stop now. The medication is wearing off.

What I find interesting is the Outdoor Life Channels complete covereage of the blowboaters Louis Viton Cup. Very little sponsorship on the boats themselves and I wouldnt think that big of an audience. They are calling it the battle of the billionaires. I also have to admit to watching :)

You sure you are not thinking about the sports that involve using a ball?
I wouldn't sterotype NASCAR fans like this any more than I would sterotype a person riding on a Harley as a lowlife. I think if you really looked hard at both you will see that they both have priced the dirtbags out of participating in either. It's the fan base that makes it work, everyone has a car in thier garage, how many people have boats in their driveways? (go fast ones no less) The thing Nascar has going for it is EVERYONE in the FAMILY has a car on the track they can relate too. Either a driver or a sponsor, Ford/Chevy, beer/soda, Tony the Tiger/M&M/cartoon network, Kmart/target, tide/coffee, oil/gas. Something for anyone to relate to or cheer for. Not to mention the fans are very loyal to the sponsors. Add to this you can let your kids look up to most of these drivers as somewhat of a role model. When was the last time you heard of any of these guys getting in trouble with the law or tied up with drugs? (Tim Richmond but that goes back a long way and they outcast him from racing) Just think what would happen if they drug tested the NBA!! Someone said something about "clean cut and American tradition" WOW can you beleive they still say a prayer before the race on Primetime TV (bear with me CATMAN), ask people to REMOVE thier HATS and sing the National Anthem, then have a jet fly over. Makes you pround to be an American. I just don't think that thier is a big enough fan base for offshore racing to every get big. I'm just glad that there are enough rich guys that still keep showing up to race a hobby sport. It's still the only motorsport I can get my wife to go to because of the Quailty of people we meet and the many friends we have made. Not to mention the events are held in resort type settings. I don't have the answers but I wish someone could make it work under one sanctioning body. It will never be NASCAR but it could be a whole lot better than it is now. Anyone remember when the sport had some big sponsers on the side of thier boats? I wish nothing but the best for the future of the sport. I'll get off my soapbox now:cool:

A lot of people say "Well everyone has a car in their driveway so people can relate to the sport." My original post was about the amazing growth of Rodeo. How many people have a horse or bull in their yard? The closest most can relate to these animals is by eating a steak for dinner or licking the seal of an envelope.

When you say "GROWTH" do you mean taking tiket sales from 1500 people to 3000 people? Because Nascar #'s are in the 100k's. We have one of the oldest Rodeos down the street from my house and it doesn't draw that kind of numbers. (they even give the kids off from school so they can attend) I didn't see the report so I don't know where they were coming from. But I do know that the animal rights peoples numbers are growing that picket the rodeo every year? It is a big thing, I know the riders on tour can make some good money. But 2nd to Nascar?

Mr Volocity what you are missing is there are NO sponsors that are paying for ANY of the boat teams total expense.I beleve it has been tried to death by being clean cut by many teams and failed.Most fans go to the races to have fun and party.Without creating an image you will never be seen.
As for me not being good for the sport thats your opinion and I will respect it.You might wonder why we get so much TV coverage being such a poor role model for the sport.Let me tell you.We try to create an image of having fun,trash talking,winning and playing up to the camera with a story.Last year we handed out 8000 posters and sighned more for fans than I can count.We open up THE DOG POUND to anyone and offer free food and refresment to anyone.We have a open cooler policy if you want whats in just reach in.We have tee shirts made for differant races and a crew that is second to none.We always congradulate every team and have NEVER protested anyone.If we dont have the biggest fan group then you havant been to a race lately.If we arent good for the sport then you haven't meet us.Come on by and say hello ,I am sorry if I have offended you and the sport.
Randy

I have to agree with Randy. It was entertaining to watch Randy and BJ go at it all year-not just on the race course, but on fourms like this. All offshore "rivalries" should take a lesson from these two. Both went about "trash talking" all year with a 'fun' attitude. It was great to follow these teams all season and to know that it was done without hostility.
Keep it up!
Bob G.:D

tell me this: If you are in a sanctioned king fish tournament and say have Mercs on your boat, have a Loadmaster trailer, have a certain kind of boat, certain kind of tackle you set a record or win tournament, you get paid. I'm talkin a possible $50-75K. WTF are racers not getting this money from say Mercury. The entry fees are about the same and I have done this a couple of times and it was more fun. We didn't win anything but at least there was a chance to win . Racers need to come out from under the ether believing how prize money will get better, BS. It could happen right now. How much tv time do you think these fishing boats get, they for the most part could care less, only the manufacturers do.

That's my point. The sanctioning body takes the sponsorship money for themselves (it seems) and doesn't share any with the racers in the way of increased purse, tow money, decreased entry fees.

Please someone tell me I'm wrong! Also tell me at what point the next great motorsport will benifit the racers, or must they continue to get sponsor money on thier own?

Mercury pays to sponsor APBA - what did the racers get? Other than being mandated to run merc drives? I can see how Merc benifited, I can see how APBA benifited? How did the racers benifit from this relationship?

Same deal with SBI, they are no different.

Without the racers, there is no show. When will the racers get their fair share?

I didn't mean you, I meant your PUBLIC statement "Its a sport for cowboys with money and most dont care if they had a sponsor or not. They are there to have fun,me included. " What you are do at the races is a great for the sport but that doesn't really match your initial statement. If more money was available then there would be more boats, a bigger show and more fans. When potential sponsors see comments like that they will never come to the sport. There is money out there if you know how to market the events and your team. Yup you need to take up the slack for the sanctioning bodies and sell the sport as much as you sell your team.

Raising money is not easy, not by a long shot. I can't tell you how many rejection letters I have sitting in my office at home. Most companies will respond with a no thanks letter, Sun Microsystems replied with a "if you want our money you need to do this" letter. Unfortunately our sport doesn't have much need for Sun products, but if you can figure out a way their servers and technology will help your team, you'll have a chance to get their money.

Ron hit it on the head.It blows my mind to think that Merc. wouldnt give true race teams pricing under I mean way under OEM cost.They should be giving us product!We are there R&D and sales dept.:mad: Maybe the Vortec people will shake them up a little with there lease program.If Merc. doesnt follow there lead I think they may lose sales on race motors.
Randy

FRYING PAN...
 

Randy:

Louise says if you don't give her frying pan back she's gonna hurt you - haha - jk there Mr World Champion - BH

I think MikeV has some good points about getting all the info to the race fan. I believe you need to build the fan base before the sponsors will come. The sport has a lot of things in place that will attract many.I guess you would have to see the venue from the spectators viewpoint. Suggestion"s, i don"t know. I am sure many here could tell how to improve it for the race fan. Maybe a large floating barge with grand stands&food tents for infield,shuttle boats(calm seas of course).Scoreboard of some type. I really don"t know how you could harness 100,000 viewing tickets.The spectators choices are pretty limited now.

OK, I guess that I have to add my .02 here. From what I have seen this year, and the pissing matches here on the board between race teams, it is no wonder sponsors don't want to have anything to do with the sport. Would you sponsor anyone who is crying and protesting another team like a bunch of children? Personally, I would never put my name on any team who acts like that.

The "Sport" does not cater to the sponsors, it caters to the sport as a hobby. When interviews were done with various teams most of them never thanked their sponsors. Sponsors want to get national exposure, and the coverage is so poor that there is no use sponsoring a raceboat to market your company. Sponsors give money to race teams to market their company and thats just the way it is.

Have you ever noticed that when John Force wins a race, the first thing he does is put on his team hat and thanks his sponsors, then thanks his team. Also, whe a NASCAR winner goes to the winner circle they also pride their sponsors.

The sport will never grow unless it becomes;
1. More professional
2. Increase exposure of races on National TV, not just cable
3. APBA, SBI, OPA, etc. has to market their organizations to the public.
4. Other equipment companies need to get into the game. Mercury is a total Monopoly!!

There is many more things to list, but I don't think it is even worth it.

I guess there is nothing else to say???? Come on now.

Yes merc has a Monopoly since they signed the deal with APBA. So they get the money and all the racers are forced to buy merc motors for the factory and drives for all classes. Sound like a great deal for Merc and the APBA. Again where are the racers?

Also why can't races be held at the same site multiple times during the year? That would be great in areas that already have a decent fan base, pit areas and gated viewing. St Pete comes to mind. Not only would that be beneficial to the host town, but it would help build the fan base. It may also give an incentive to local business to become more involved in the sport and more interested in sponsoring teams. Hopefully this is something the Jerzey Boys are thinking about. I'd like to see more local racing events her in NJ.

Panther's $.02 is worth much more than that, in fact it's probably the most valuable info for racers I've seen posted here on OSO. His non-boating related high tech company was a sponsor of our's in 2001. People should listen to what "A REAL SPONSOR" has to say about the state of the sport and the teams.

Thanks again Panther

Hey Mr. V. Look for 4 Ocean races in NJ this summer.

Great I'll watch for the dates. You guys are on to something here!!!

TTT You can"t let this thread die. More viewpoint"s are needed !

I think getting rid of the STIGMA that is attached to us as being out of control, drunk, small penis guido's is going to go a LONG way to not only get people to accept us on the water but also to get them to focus their efforts of regulations on other things.

Jon

Ron,

What's the deal with Pt. Pleasant giving resistance to the racers at the events? I would think that they would be happy with the increase in traffic and revenue?

My father even told me that Pt. Pleasant residents gave them problems back in the 80's. I would think it would be good for the town's economy.

What about the Bay Race? It was one of the most interesting races to watch from a boat. good turn out as well.