How to save football in Southeast Wisconsin.
Some of the developments and occurences over the past summer here in Wisconsin, coupled with a downturn in the economy, have put amateur football in this half of the state in a semi-precarious state of jeopardy. Why? Because the system is broken.
It's about time we acknowledge the fact that it is conflicted and mismanaged and struggling at a time when other areas are doing much better. We have one league that can't seem to get its collective stuff together and has trouble with admitting teams every season. We have another league that makes so many seemingly illogical and poorly-timed decisions and can't come down off its high horse. We have a third league that just one year ago seemed so promising but now only boasts the Racine Raiders - and NO ONE else, period - in its division and has had to constantly reschedule games. Add to this a fourth and fifth league that seemingly do nothing in Wisconsin besides host a team or two, and its not hard to come up with a list of reasons why things are spinning out of control It's time to put together a plan to arrest the slide and put football back on a better-than-bar-league setting.
REALIZE IT'S BROKEN
The first step for all of us to do, especially those who are team owners or players, is to swallow our pride for a second, take a step back, and look at this objectively. We've diluted the talent in the largest population areas in Wisconsin to such an extent that we're seeing teams lose consistently when they should have the largest collection of talent. I saw a stat a few days ago something along the lines of this: there is one team for every 60,000 people in the greater Milwaukee area, whereas elsewhere, that ratio is approximately 1:180,000. This means that, in a time of economic hardships, teams are having to compete three times as hard for sponsorships. Or to put it in another light, there are only 1/3 as many potential sponsors for every team. The same thing happens with talent. And when you can't field a team from Milwaukee to challenge a team from Madison to anything closer than 45 points, you've got a problem.
Furthermore, fans begin to lose interest. A recent trip to a Madison Mustangs game showed that the Mustangs are building a small empire in the capital city. The fans were excited for a game, seeing as how they were supposed to be playing last seasons NFC runners-up. However, when the score was 35-0 at half, fans were quick to pack up and leave. Where is the fun in watching a classy, athletic team play someone one to two notches below their talent level. The Raiders have witnessed the same problem in Racine in recent years. Take away any chance of fair competition, and people begin to tune out. There's no fun in it anymore.
To put it simply, there are too many teams in the Milwaukee region. The IFL has brought this upon itself with its admission policy that has seemed to let just about anyone into the league over the past few seasons who could front the check. The only other teams it has admitted have been teams that are splits of established teams within the league, furthering diluting its talent pool. Now, the IFL boasts a whopping If the IFL isn't an option, the WSFL has been. And the admissions track record for the WSFL has been just as shoddy these past few years. Witness the debacle in 2008 where three teams were admitted, of which only one ended up having a squad to start the season, while two teams that were fully established (Lake Country Cyclones and NEW Storm) were told "thanks, but no thanks." This season, the WSFL admitted a team from Fond du Lac who had yet to secure a field, and when push came to shove, the Falcons weren't around, forcing the league to redo its entire schedule.
NOT THE ANSWERS
The IFL is not the answer. The league is not without its wonderful points, because it certainly has put together a great website and a strong product on the field among its several top teams. The problem with the IFL is two-fold. One, its management has made some terribly horrible and seemingly blind decisions without any regard to anything resembling a thought process. The overturning of the Rush/Blue Devils game before even watching the videotape (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bs1-vWynZVg) is just the latest in a string of hard-to-explain decisions. Selecting a site 45 miles away from the closest team (and two hours from its fanbase) as the host site for the Iron Bowl was ridiculous. Upon further investigation, the field is a joke compared to some of the other sites that have hosted in the past. But at least this decision was made prior to the season, as opposed to last year when the venue was "bid out" mid-season and wound up going to Madison. The league claims to be the only league with a "magazine" dedicated to the IFL, yet misprints and team omissions abound, sponsors are left out and the family-friendly magazine has a *#@%-d out curse word prominently displayed. The Board of Directors seems to be deaf to the complaints or suggestions of anyone with an eye towards helping the league improve. When teams have secured radio broadcasts with ESPN, or fantastic venues as home fields, the league website has been quick to tout itself as the dealmaker, while distancing itself from any controversy, or glossing over them completely. Is it any wonder that 15 teams have left the league since 2006?
The Racine Raiders are not the answer. For the last 80 years, the Raiders have personified semi-professional or amateur football in America. However, as with anything, there is an up period and there is a down period. The Raiders, for whatever reason, are battling through a declining period right now. Attendance is down, players had been down, interest in general is down. They're battling a decision to stay in a league that has not performed well this year. They're also battling a rising threat from the appropriately named Racine Threat, in their home town. Yet the Raiders remain the model of consistency and have adopted some of the best approaches to reaching out to fans and the community. By saying they are not the answer simply means that a league will not be able to promote and tout itself simply by their presence. The Raiders are at the peak of amateur football, other teams and leagues must follow instead of latching on.
The WSFL is not the answer. There's a very common saying that is brought out whenever the WSFL is discussed: "Too many chiefs and not enough Indians." Sure, the WSFL elects a board and has a competition committee. But when you only have 8 teams in the league, it's not hard to find the committees being overwhelmed by too many members with too many teams they have an agenda towards. Ideally, a league with 10-12 teams should have a BOD of 3-4 people.
What can be learned from these, however, are a few insights into what SHOULD be the answer. No team in the state, much less the country, has the media presence that the Raiders do. Tapping into their model is a must. A consistent website, social networking and all other forms of cheap media should be utilized. The IFL also provides some framework. A well functioned and in-depth league website is a must. It should be updated more than once a week, but the IFL website contains more information than any other league site out there.
HOW TO SAVE IT
Taking these lessons as a whole, and seeing what works in each league, one can easily come up with a working draft of a model for how things should be. Whatever league springs up here should not SHUN the other leagues or think itself superior to other leagues, as both examples above have been accused of doing. Instead, it should embrace and work with other leagues. This only helps to foster better relations.
Secondly, it should be a summer based league, leaving time for regional and national tournaments in the fall.
Third, it should have a governing board that is ELECTED by the teams themselves. This ensures that the Board will always have the best interests of the league at heart and won't be motivated or swayed by cash considerations.
Finally, long travel should be at a minimum. If there is one thing that keeps some good teams from going national, it's that they can't afford to travel multi-state trips very often (see diluted sponsorships above).
PROPOSAL
There is currently a proposal that has been in the works amongst several key entities for the last few months. The details are not yet ready to be released, because some of the individual details are being worked out. Suffice to say, it will consist of one uber-league for the state, not owned by any individual, with pooled resources available to help secure fields for teams without and utilizing existing contracts and contacts to finally secure participation from local and regional radio and television stations. In the interest of making sure all needs are met, the proposal will not be published yet. However, key teams and personnel have been contacted and input has been given. Please stay tuned to this space for more details.
