ESPN writer Rick Reilly has never toured or attended a game at Wrigley field. Ok, I don't know that, but in his recent article on ESPN.com, Holy Cow! What a Mess!, Reilly makes it pretty easy to believe he hasn't. Reilly comes across as a big business in his article by the way he thrashes tradition of a place he has probably never been in order to squeeze out every dollar possible.
I am a lifelong Atlanta Braves fan. Every year I watch a good amount of Braves games -- enough to be able to tell you the batting order top to bottom -- and I certainly live and die with the team. That said, if I were going to watch a baseball game in any park in America, it would not be Turner field -- where the Braves play -- it would be the Chicago Cubs home, Wrigley field. I will preface this by saying that I have not been to a game at Wrigley field, but I have toured it. Wrigley is America's best ballpark.
Rick Reilly's article talks about the need for Wrigley field to finally get with it in terms of updating their stadium to be like those of the 21st century. Reilly remarks on how Wrigley's famous rooftop seats are sold for exorbitant prices by the building owners and the Cubs see very little of that money. He talks about how Wrigley's famous ivy along the outfield wall is costing the Cubs millions in advertising. He complains that the team owners let the local businesses run the show when it comes to financing. Rick Reilly's main point is that the Chicago Cubs are losing out on tons of money that they could be using on better players that would pull them out of franchise-long cellar of the MLB -- The Cubs claim the longest drought of never winning the title in any North American sport by not taking the MLB pennant in 104 tries.
It's true, year after year the Cubs are the laughing-stock of the MLB, they don't make the money other franchises do from advertising and their facilities are not the most up to date to say the least. My question to Mr. Reilly is: why, if the Cubs are so bad and have such bad facilities, are they one of the MLB's most popular franchises?
The Cubs organization has continually not done something the rest of America struggles to do: sell out. I don't mean in terms of seats, I mean that they don't think it's all about money. The Cubs boast without a doubt the most traditional field in all of baseball. Going to Wrigley field makes fans remember what baseball is really about and how it all started. They go to a very scenic place to watch a game, not socialize in a box that doesn't even have a view of the game or watch TV on a jumbotron. When people see Wrigley they see baseball, not a business. They look out and see ivy, a classic scoreboard and seats on rooftops, not a bunch of advertisements with a baseball game going in between. The team's management and owner is willing to sacrifice some money to preserve a classic feel around the stadium. Often the organization has had the team to win the series they just haven't performed, or they had fans catch foul balls in the NLCS game 6. To think it is money that is holding the team back is just silly. Just look at this year's Los Angeles salary versus their record.
I believe Rick Reilly has never been to Wrigley for two reasons. The first is that he has a false claim when he says that attendees have add up scores on their own using the manual scoreboard in center field. The second reason is the pageantry of Wrigley. Anyone who goes in the stadium is immediately swept away by the tradition preserved in the stadium. Rick Reilly would not have been able to write this article if he had this experience.
So in the end if everything is so bad about Wrigley including the team, people don't actually go to games, right? Wrong. With the second worst record in baseball this season, the Cubs attendance average was 10th in the MLB. That put them ahead of many playoff teams and their crosstown rivals, the Chicago Whitesox who almost were a playoff team. The fact of the matter is that people love the tradition Wrigley has. Obviously they aren't going to see a great team or hang out in the nicest of luxury boxes.
The Cubs haven't sold out like every other professional sports franchise, and for that, I say good for them.
The financing of sports definitely has a lot to do with the different experiences. As you note, MLB is a very localized experience, so even though it is possible that the teams are missing out on ad revenue, there is an argument that this is better, as it keeps the local experience of going to the ballgame better.
ReplyDeleteIs there some kind of difference between the ownership structure of the Cubs and other teams? Owners generally want to maximize profits, so it is curious that they would be passing up the opportunities. Maybe it is not as obvious as Reilly makes it seem?
It is even more admirable that they don't tear the ivy down because they are not winning. Most people would say if you aren't winning at least make the bottomline look good. Despite their historic losing streak they are still one of the iconic MLB teams almost everyone can name. This probably has something to do with the fact that it is just baseball at Wrigley which is a refreshing change of pace.
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