After Relocating From San Diego, Here’s How To Win Over Fans In L.A.
Dear L.A. Chargers:
Now that you’ve decided to make Los Angeles your new home, there’s a few things you need to do in oder to build a fan base here.
You’re pretty much starting from scratch, you see, for there are not many Chargers fans in L.A. (Heck, there aren’t many Rams fans either, not after the team went 4-12 in their debut season.) The NFL is a tough draw here. You will probably even struggle to fill the 30,000 seats in StubHub Center.
The first thing you must do is win. Yes, Dean Spanos, you said this on an ESPN interview but you’ve got to mean it. Los Angeles will support a winner and only a winner. There’s simply too many other things to do here, too many other places for people to spend their money.
I was here when the Raiders were in town and their last couple years people literally could not give away tickets. Someone would come around waiving tickets to us in Manhattan Beach and there were no takers. After all, who wanted to go spend $100 or so and fight traffic when we could be at the beach? Not many, I’ll tell you.
Second of all, we need to get to know you. See you about town. Come into our communities, have (free!) events, invite us to the stadium for (free!) meet-and-greets, let us know when and where you are practicing in the summer and open your arms to guests. Show us you care, that you really do want to be here, and are not just making a money grab.
Third, you need to work the bars. Seriously. There’s no Rams-watching bars in L.A. There’s bars for the Patriots, Seahawks, Packers, Steelers and several other teams. There’s even bars for college football teams where alumni gather each and every Saturday. You need to establish “Chargers bars” where people can go to cheer the team and become fans.
I have some other ideas, too (for which I’ll be happy to charge you a small consulting fee) but these are the first steps you need to take to put some “charge” into the L.A Chargers.
Oh, and change that logo, too.
Signed,
Kevin Wilkerson
Blogger, PubClub.com
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