Super Bowl Gloss Worn Off? Not So!
Tailgating
Jeff "DOC" Dockeray
With death, grief and sorrow, delayed but now slowly creeping into the American sports economy the past 8 months, I had just over 18 hours of road trip to review it, and my life in the sports world, and forecast what I would be soaking-in at Super Bowl XLIII en route to Tampa last month. It was plenty of time to check-in with my tailgating comrades and sports executives state to state over that 700 mile drive. Daily wire reports have many sports executives stating that the sports industry has traditionally fared well in the economic downturn, but ...but....but “tougher times may lie ahead.”But hey, this is the America’s event of events, isn’t it?
I have had the distinct pleasure of co-producing events at three of the last four Super Bowls. From the cold wet week in Detroit to the urban sprawl of Phoenix last year, until this year I was convinced that America’s single largest and viewed sporting event was bullet-proof. For more than two decades, it has always been the crescendo of this country’s largest sports platform, most passionate and engaging fans, and economically the centerpiece of the most viable sports property – the NFL. The economic spin-offs of this week long celebration have always been given, beginning with the two year planning process and executions from the host committees. Tens of thousands of hotel rooms, hundreds of core fan events and VIP parties, tens of thousands revellers and deep-pocketed celebrities have been the norm, assuring the regional economy a stellar return on their investment of time and money.
I pulled into Tampa five days before the big game. Within an hour, I immediately received calls from last minute travelling friends looking for accommodation. A snowball’s chance in hell? Now I had heard rumours that amidst the pending doom and gloom, the Tampa Bay business powers had well overshot their mark on price and occupancy forecasts, all from very reliable sources who have rarely been wrong. My first indicator of that was when I was on my initial web search, and that search brought me hundreds, not dozens, hundreds of affordable hotel options within 20 minutes of Raymond James Stadium. On top of that, I stumbled on a two bedroom condo 3 blocks from the stadium with a hot tub, full bar, and a big screen, and it was offered up for a couple hundred bucks a night. Unheard of! I made that call. Turns out it was a stripper working at Thee Doll House who would be working 16 hour days during SB week, and claimed “she would sleep on a couch for half a year’s income! ” I’d do the same.
Even though I was very aware that dozens of major brand name VIP party staples were cancelled at this year’s SB, I still had not expected this. Rooms and condos 300% less than last year, and 5 days out ta boot.
In the previous 6 months, sports execs alike had said:
“Sports and many core sports events are certainly more recession-proof than the rest of the market.”
“Conventional wisdom is that sports are probably counter-cyclical to the economy.”
Obviously, not so! But hold on a minute! Was this my only indicator? Apparently not so! Over the course of the week, I saw little to indicate that enthusiasm for America’s biggest event had sunk by any large measure other than that. Maybe hotels took it on the chin a little. Perhaps restaurant reservations and average checks dropped a little. There may have been a slip in $1,500 ticketed VIP Celebrity events. Ticket brokers looked like they took a 30-50% hit. But all in all, as in past years, the revelry and enthusiasm of the American football fan was ever present, block to block and party to party. In the middle of this, guess what was Tampa’s diamond in the rough? One of the NFL’s most beloved teams and the most passionate fan bases rolled into to town like a tsunami. “Steeler Fan”, complete with face paint, terrible towels, Bettis jerseys were more prevalent than $4 colas. Flat out, Steeler nation travels as well as any sports community. Every state in the Union was rep’d, and every one I came in contact with or worked with over the five days there took it all in, I mean everything. Jerseys worn four days straight reeked, and by the time the Terrible Towels made it into Raymond James Stadium, they had seen more than a couple of waves – from wiping the BBQ sauce of faces, to drying foreheads, to covering baby carriages of your Steeler toddlers.
Top off the tens of thousands of the Black and Gold with hundreds of the NFL Super Fans and tailgaters that have become the backdrop of American football culture. This is the backdrop that has carried the enthusiasm of this country’s most coveted event.
I was working across from the stadium for three days, and I believe I had the best vantage point to take in the NFL’s ultimate celebration. With what seems like a 2 mile lockdown on tailgating the past three years, this year seemed to present more of an opportunity. And I took advantage of it. While hundreds lined up for the NFL Experience adjacent to the stadium, and thousands were sleeping off the $500 bar bill, a few pots of fresh Jambalaya and Pulled Pork brought the true NFL Super Fan out of the woodwork. Three days of mingling with fans from just about every NFL market, compounded by co-producing the Steeler’s Official Tailgate Sunday, I feel I still got the best of the NFL experience. Give me 30 BBQ vendors, 10 excellent bands, a few painted fans, and a cornucopia of NFL goodwill, and I’ll tell you to keep your Cristal. Kudos to the bread and butter of the NFL for not making my trek a disappointment. It wasn’t the corner of the lot early Sunday morning in the fall with the leaves turning and the meat marinating, but it was a great finish to a spectacular football season. Much to my early surprise, Super Bowl was still super. Nice job Tampa! Looking forward to meeting up with NFL super fans again next year, hopefully over hundred buck a night condos in Miami. ...maybe the only upside to a downturn for gridiron junkies.
Parking Lot Pro Doc
