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One more time.
Crowds today at pulls have everything to do with the following: 1a) The movement of the population from rural to suburban areas and thusly to urban areas. 1b) A shift from a 150 acre farm to a 1500+ acre farm - less farmers a. A lot of people are 2-3-4 generations removed from the farm at this point. 2) The rise of other activities to be involved in a. greater disposable income for a variety of hobbies - camping, fishing, boating, trail riding with ATV's/SxS machines...the roads on Friday afternoon are FULL of trailers with Side-by-Sides headed to "go muddin'" for the weekend. b. young family involvement in youth sports, "travel ball" for one c. Soaking our brains in front of: 1. gaming systems 2. television and home theater systems that are a better experience than attending some sports in person 3. playing on a ^&%^ smart phone 3) Dilution of the product, primarily at the STATE LEVEL in SOME places. Three hooks for the same class on a Friday and Saturday night and 45 hooks for a class over the course of a summer???? County fairs that have shows that are similar to neighboring county fairs...how do you capture the fan if they see the same thing over and over again? The outliers, the exceptions to the rule: 1) Well established events that have a track record of bringing the best of the best to town, insert your favorite pull's name here:___________ . 2) Events in locations that do not normally see pulling as heavily as the core Midwest states do. Florida is ripe for the picking for a revival of the winter circuit, for example. A final observation or ten: This continued fascination with the good ol' days? I dig it. I love it. I watch old video too. I marvel at the crowd sizes. That initial early fascination with the sport was a perfectly timed chain of events for a time in America where good clean entertainment was much harder to find. Heck I remember as a kid getting stir crazy when the local fair circuit started, as there were four really nice (and subtly different) pulls all within an hour of the house, and it was the only game in town unless you wanted to go make 200 laps through town and the mall parking lot. That's the past, it's not coming back, just like the good ol' days of NASCAR. Those events that had big crowds back then and still have them now speak to the quality of their shows. How do you get the crowds back? Well, again, it bears repeating: if you love this sport as much as I think many of you do, invite a friend to a pull, maybe two or three. Buy their ticket, buy them a beer or a cold pop. Take them through the pits before the pull and let them see the engineering and professional look of many vehicles and their teams. Park yourselves close enough to the track to feel the sonic majesty of a supercharged engine or hear the rush of a turbocharged engine. The smell of the turned dirt, the diesel fumes, the alcohol, are all intoxicating in their own way. And if you're lucky and the track is right, that light shower of dirt that falls on you about 5 seconds after a vehicle passes offers you a baptism by sight, scent, and sound if you will...Thats how you pack the stands, again. Even with this messed up year, pulling is ripe for a revival; are you willing to accept the task of bringing new friends into the family when the opportunity to pull comes again? and remember: I want you to go pulling again so I can too! Bryan Lively - 
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