Cashing In On Sports
Beware The Power Of Entertainment Dollars
By Guy Junker

A number of people have told me they don't care if baseball players use steroids, they just want to see home runs. In 2001, Michael Strahan of the New York Giants set a new single-season NFL sack record when Brett Favre took a dive late in the season's last game. Earlier this year, two opposing Illinois high school coaches staged the final minutes of a game so quarterback Nate Haasis could break a conference passing record.

Where is the line between competition and entertainment? Do fans care? Would you rather see Joe Horn make a great catch or stage a cell phone call? Or both?

There are sporting events where the outcome is known ahead of time, yet people still go. Professional wrestling, the Harlem Globetrotters and the Pittsburgh Pirates come to mind. Pro wrestling is so popular that it affected NFL Monday Night Football ratings. The Globetrotters always win. Still people watch them again and again. The Pirates haven't had a winning season in over a decade. Yet all-time attendance records were set during that period. The question is - would you go to a sporting event to see world class athletes, knowing you would be entertained by their skills, but also knowing the outcome was pre-determined? If sports franchise owners could increase profits, would they make entertainment a higher priority than competition?

Tom McMillan is the Penguins' Vice President for Communications. "You can't lose sight of the fact that the game itself is the most important thing. People want to see the Penguins win," he says. Attendance figures support that. Yet the Penguins recognize the need for entertainment. New this year at Mellon Arena is the Blue Line Band that plays during games. They also added dancing hostesses to spice up the atmosphere.

The Pirates single season attendance record was set in the title year of 1960 and stood for years. It was eventually surpassed during the playoff years of the early 90s. But the current attendance record was set during a 100-loss season, the year PNC Park opened. People wanted to see the new digs. Baseball was secondary - at least for one season.

Pirates' owner Kevin McClatchy knows it takes more than baseball to do business these days. Pierogi races, mascots, fireworks and promotional giveaways are all a big part of the Pirates' presentation. But the game is still the thing.

"Once an inning starts, fans are as serious as ever about the team playing and trying to win,' says McClatchy. He points to last year's turn-back-the-clock day against the Red Sox as an example. It was a game played without any of the modern day electronics and hype. The crowd loved it, "but the game dictated the mood. We won a very exciting ballgame. Had we lost 8-0 it would not have been received as well."

No sports organization in town is as conservative as the Steelers - exactly the way the Rooney family wants it. Steelers' Communications Coordinator Ron Wahl says, "Even they know you no longer can just throw 11 guys out there and have them start playing. We've tried to create a festive atmosphere with live bands playing throughout the stadium and we try to get big name entertainers to sing the National Anthem, but people still come because they want to watch football and the see Steelers win."

The Penguins are likely the most proactive when it comes to taking fan surveys and McMillan says those clearly show that people want to be entertained. The Penguins actually employ a game presentation manager. The Pirates have a manager, coordinator, and an assistant for in-game entertainment. The Steelers have no employees with such titles. You won't see any cheerleaders on the sidelines at Heinz Field, either. Then again, the Steelers have a season ticket waiting list.

Personally, what draws me in is the drama of not knowing what might happen. Even a seemingly meaningless Pirates-Brewers game in August could produce a no-hitter. So as a new sports year awakens, think about the reasons you attend sporting events. Has being entertained become more of a priority than the outcome? More important than your allegiance to a certain team? Maybe for some it has.

The Nate Haasis kid from Illinois that I mentioned earlier? When he found out that the coaches had rigged his record setting pass, he petitioned the Central State Eight Conference and asked that his name be deleted from the record books. Seems real competition and sportsmanship aren't dead after all.

You just have to look a little more closely to find them.

Guy Junker covers sports business for Pittsburgh Sports Report.