08:47:40am, Wednesday, April 24, 2024
|
New Opinion Article - How to Grow the Sport of Pulling - part 1
|
Moderator Registered: 03/25/2008 Posts: 1,446 |
As you have seen reported on this website and others, there are a number of folks who are doing their part to promote or “grow” the sport of pulling. I applaud their efforts. All of us – fans, pullers, promoters, sponsors and sanctioning bodies alike should have some stake in this. So that got me to wondering, are there a non pullers that are really fans of the sport? What percentage of people that call themselves fans are really pullers, former pullers or team members of a puller? Is there a fan base to the sport? So the question is, what are we actually trying to grow, and what is pulling competing against...
Click here for the rest of the article Dick Morgan www.PULLOFF.com Independent Pulling News Edited 3 time(s). Last edit at 04/26/2016 03:04PM by Jake Morgan. |
|
Re: New Opinion Article - How to Grow the Sport of Pulling - part 1
|
Anonymous User
|
My wife and I were in Cancun the last 4 days for a business trip of hers. There were couples in our group from all over the USA. All of us guys sat around one night talking while having a few drinks and we got on the subject of my deep involvement with Lucas Oil and Gordyville. I was very surprised that these guys (mostly non Ag related guys) were actually fans of the sport and most said its just been the last few years that they really got into it. I did a little question asking just to get a view from what I would call a "common fan". I asked if they knew what cubic inch Pro Stocks run, how many turbos a super farm can run, and other very simple questions that we as pullers and promotors view as common knowledge. None of them knew the answers, but they all knew that Tomah is a big pull, and that the bigger the class the more smoke the tractor blows. When I asked what drew them to become fans most all answered with #1 raw horsepower and noise, and #2 a place to go with family and friends and enjoy an evening. I educated them as much as they allowed me and believe that I grew their interest in the sport and am pretty sure a few of them will be attending Gordyville for the first time this coming winter. My point in this is I believe we have a huge potential fan base out there and we need to keep drawing a crowd in with promoting and educating mush like I did with this group of guys over a few mixed drinks on the beach. Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 04/27/2016 10:47AM by Brandon Holcomb. |
|
Re: New Opinion Article - How to Grow the Sport of Pulling - part 1
|
OP
|
I disagree about regional and state shows being as bad as you describe them. Maybe I was spoiled growing up in Ohio. R2 events with Jim Miller and Tom Jackson start on time and are always well run. We have some very good announcers in Denver Geitgey, Alan Washburn, Duane Edwards. I can't speak to other regions but R2 is a well oiled machine. |
|
Re: New Opinion Article - How to Grow the Sport of Pulling - part 1
|
Moderator Registered: 03/25/2008 Posts: 1,446 |
OP; you are right,I should not have put the regional organizations in that part of my article. Most, if not all of the regional shows are run by one of the three major organizations who generally do a good job with their shows. Thanks for pointing that out. Dick Morgan www.PULLOFF.com Independent Pulling News |
|
Re: New Opinion Article - How to Grow the Sport of Pulling - part 1
|
Registered: 03/26/2008 Posts: 343 |
I agree and disagree with State and regional level, can have bad nights, but so can a show like Louisville, but I agree with some that start late and that makes for a bad show overall. But some of the best pulling action you can see comes right here on a state level. Eric Prewitt The Prewitt Pulling Team Public Relations for The Pulling Radio Network |
|
Re: New Opinion Article - How to Grow the Sport of Pulling - part 1
|
OP
|
I have sat and thought on this a little more Dick. Sometimes the promoter is there own worse enemy. You have lots of promoters who think they know how to build a track and really don't know what they are doing. They either add to much water, not enough water, don't have the proper grooming equipment, not enough toe vehicles or tow vehicle drivers not paying attention. (How many pulls have you been to waiting for the puller to get off the track because they can't find a tow vehicle?) they wait to build the track to late so then the show starts late. There are all kinds of cogs in this apparatus and for it to reach the next level; everyone needs to work together, instead of getting into a who knows more proverbial pissing match. Promoter you have hires sanctioning body now let them do their job. |
|
Re: New Opinion Article - How to Grow the Sport of Pulling - part 1
|
Registered: 06/07/2014 Posts: 87 |
Running a good pull is a balancing act no doubt. Having ample parking for spectators and in the pits for pullers, having a good sled and operator, good people at the registration table, at the scales, hooking and unhooking the tractors, one telling each puller when they can come on the track, flagmen, one operating the backhoe or forklift, running the scraper tractors, announcers, sound system, lighting, concessions, having enough pullers, arranging the classes so that way the fans are not seeing the same thing for so long, etc. It is not the easiest thing to do. You need to know your crowd. Are they ones that will enjoy seeing local farm tractors, antique tractors, and mph classes or do they want speed, smoke, and noise? Are they the ones whom for them this may be the one or two pulls they go to all year or are they die hard pulling fans that will travel an hour or more to come? The announcers have a tough juggling act themselves. They must get to know the pullers and their setups, class rules, and track history. Who is my audience? Do they want the technical information or do they want the "Where are my red fans? Where are my green fans?" high energy hype man annoncer? Am I being entertaining as well as informative? Am I giving enough time to my sponsors?
I've seen great non-sanctioned pulls and I have seen not so great Grand National and Super National pulls. One that comes to mind was the Friday afternoon session a few years back at Bowling Green. The tracks on Friday afternoon seem to give the tractors a beating. Seeing the rear wheels bouncing back and forth on a light super stock I cringe and wait for the breakage to occur. Another thing was there were too many announcers. They had what seemed to be five people on the microphone and not one seemed to talk about what was happening on the track. Some pullers were not announced until their distances were up, which with the new big screen took a while as the sponsor's ads had to cycle through before it was given. They were promoting Make-A-Wish, and Miles Beyond 300, and what have you. Now these are great organizations and other things that must be mentioned, but it made the pull at least in my eyes to be a side show and not the main event. Granted you cannot make everyone happy. Even the makeup of a class can affect the quality of the pull. Seeing only Internationals and John Deeres is not as exciting as seeing orange ones, yellow, blue, Masseys, and Olivers. With modifieds one doesn't just wanna see just blown automotive blocks, they wanna see Allisons, DT466's, Packard PT boat engines, they wanna hear the whine and see the flames shooting out of the turbines. They wanna see the semis with the airbrush paint jobs, decked out lights, and air horns. There are so many variables that it is never the less a challenge. |
|
ONE SANCTIONING BODY
|
OP
|
Think of all the sponsor dollars spread across three national organizations. There is only one NHRA, NASCAR, MLB, NBA, NFL, PBR etc. imagine if that one sanctioning body had all the major events for one true national circuit and all the sponsorship money was going to one organization. Everyone in pulling says competition is good. I ask this,why in all other major sports in this country is their only one sanctioning body that matters? Competition dilutes the money and the numbers available. You then set up a feeder system at the state and regional level. I will use the light super since that is what I am most familiar with.
State light super 505 OEM heads only 3 chargers Component chassis No puller 2000/Mitas Regional After market heads 3 turbos Component chassis No puller 2000/Mitas National After market heads Max of 4 chargers Component chassis Puller 2000 allowed as well as Mitas Imagine a national circuit in which ALL national classes ran Benson Tomah Chapel Hill Wisner Hamburg Etc Competing sanctioning bodies dilutes the show because everyone is loyal to one circuit (usually), dilutes sponsor dollars and has knocked the rules back 50 years because most are on different pages in one shape or form. With one sanctioning body the marketing department could offer a much larger, wider audience and fan base instead of regionally interested companies. |
|
Re: New Opinion Article - How to Grow the Sport of Pulling - part 1
|
I'm not going to speak on promoting events since I never had though I do have an idea of what makes for a good an bad show. I want to go back to the origional question from Dick regarding who is the fan base. I've never pulled, known a few folks who do/have and have announced a couple state level county fair pulls. I became a fan becuase as a kid I grew up on a farm and have always loved anything with wheels and a motor. I still remember my first pull (a bush pull on by the local VFD) and cheering on my neighbors pulling the same tractors they used to farm their property. I also remember the first time I walked into the Super Pull of the South in Chapel Hill and realized they weren't pulling farm stock tractors anymore! I'm a fan most of all becuase I'm a fan of all motorsports. but especially grassroots motorsports like tractor pulling and dirt track racing. I like that there truly is no other sport like it.l I love the roar of an Unlimited Modified that's only rivaled by a Top Fuel Dragster, I love seeing a Diesel Super Stock blow smoke 50 feet in the air or the wild ride that only a mini can give and can't be matched in motorsports. Most of all I love that unlike many other motorsports their is rarely a run away at a tractor pull. Sure not every class is like 4WD where the entire class can fall within 5 feet of each other but very rarely are the top vehicles in any given class not with in a couple feet of each other and the class usually comes down to a late hook or a hot run in the pull off (if you have one)! |
|
Re: New Opinion Article - How to Grow the Sport of Pulling - part 1
|
C Downs
|
*** Caution this post is long and potentially boring but is here to make you think **
I have personally tried to figure out pulling fans for many years. Between announcing and being a board member of a sanctioning body and as the proverbial hardcore fan I have discovered that I don't know any other type of fan. The truth is that I (and many other pullers and hardcore fans) seem to gravitate and associate with other hardcore fans. I think the real issue of finding new fans or bringing in new fans is that we, as hardcore fans or participants, don't really know who the other fans are. And I think the reason we don't know is because we don't ask that fan what makes them tick. Of all the events over the years that I have been to, the only real take away that I have gotten is that they came to see someone they know or they just like one class and wouldn't be here if it weren't for this class or the other. What I have also observed over the years is that organizations have been primarily focusing on the pulling classes and the organization. This of course is an important part of the organization but as a whole I personally don't think we are asking the correct people (the fans) how to make it better, we are asking pullers how to make it better. These are two completely different people. Even though everyone hates it when we compare ourselves to NASCAR and NHRA, we have to ask ourselves how did they get their shows in the spotlight while ours waned? Did they ask the people at their shows who they were and why they were there? Did they hire a marketing company to take those metrics? I believe that is the direction that needs to be taken by any pulling organization. I mean seriously, a TV show about a bunch of guys street racing is more popular than pulling. People who don't know anything about racing except "man that Bg Chief goes fast" and they are buying merchandise from a group of guys who for the most part were probably two steps away from bankruptcy before they became well known due to a successful marketing strategy (whether it be their own or someone they hired). Why wouldn't a sanctioning body, whether it be a local, state or national, set up a small booth and set up a survey of the crowd? Give away some group SWAG and ask a couple of quick questions. Why are you here? How old are you? What is your occupation? Blah Blah Blah. That is how we are going to find out who the fans are at our events. Seriously, what in the world made M&M's think, "hey let's put our names on this NASCAR, it may work out for us." I am sure that it is because someone was able to go to them and say, "you know that out of 50,000 people at theses races 5,000 of them don't know what M&Ms are all about, you need to reach those 5,000 people with us." In a way we have limited ourselves because our common thinking is that only machine shops and Ag related people are going to sponsor pulling. Let's think about it, whether or not you think about it, multiple people in the stands probably use Tide laundry detergent. Why wouldn't Tide want to sponsor a truck, tractor or organization? Because we can't tell them that we reach the people who buy their product because we don't who is at these events. As stated earlier, kind of long and boring but I hope I have gotten at least two of you readers who work in your organization to take another look at how you can find out who your fans are because I still don't know who they are and it is a shame. |
|
Re: New Opinion Article - How to Grow the Sport of Pulling - part 1
|
Registered: 06/07/2014 Posts: 87 |
Well didn't the sport have that when Big Tobacco sponsored the sport with the Copenhagen Skoal and TNT Redman series? USHRA had Budweiser beer cans for distance markers and a six pack on the weight box. There was an AC D21 super stock with Pepsi as the sponsor and Arfons had Busch on the shields of his turbines. What happened to that? |
|
Re: New Opinion Article - How to Grow the Sport of Pulling - part 1
|
Registered: 07/06/2008 Posts: 1,347 |
The Clinton administration happened to that. Do you remember the tobacco deal.... er...shakedown of the 1990s? That is why longtime sponsor Winston was forced to leave NASCAR and NHRA, and why the famour Marlboro Penske Indy 500 winners had to find new sponsors. Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 04/30/2016 10:10AM by The Original Michael. |
Website Statistics
Global: Topics: 38,608, Posts: 229,662, Members: 3,324.
This forum: Topics: 37,062, Posts: 225,886.
Global: Topics: 38,608, Posts: 229,662, Members: 3,324.
This forum: Topics: 37,062, Posts: 225,886.
Our newest member JD_8520
