Media Savvy
Fan Power
By Andrew Stockey

2002 is almost over. Time for us sport pundits to take you into our time machine, look at the preceding 12 months, and compile all kinds of year-end lists and rankings. So who gets my nod this year for the events and people to remember? The Steelers? The never-aging Mario Lemieux? The resurgence of Pitt basketball? I choose the one common denominator in all three. You. 2002 belonged to you-the fan.

Think about it. You are the most important component in the sports equation. Look at baseball? Remember that ridiculous ending to the All-Star game? They actually called the game because they ran out of pitchers! So the game ended in a tie. The reaction? Fans booed mercilessly, flooded talk shows and vowed never to return. Baseball got the message. Why else do you think a possible labor stoppage was averted? For all its tradition, baseball was losing fans faster than Jenny Craig clients shed pounds. The victory of the continuation of the season belongs to the fans.

How about college football? Saturdays used to belong to these amateur athletes. No longer. Because your lifestyle has changed, so has that grand old game. Now games are played Wednesday, Thursday and even on Fridays, a day once considered a holy day for high school football.

The NFL has also acquiesced. Next year’s divisional playoffs are set for the evening to make sure as many of you fans will watch, knowing full well some of you might skip the games if the weather makes it possible to tee one up in January.

Fans now think of themselves as consumers. Refusing to spend money blindly unless teams not only put a competitive product on the field, but also make their viewing experience pleasurable. Why do you think a Pirate game is more akin to a high-end movie theatre-complete with extra comfy chairs and seat-side service-than a trip to the ballpark? Why do you think there is a giveaway at seemingly every other Pens home game?

Teams are bending over backwards to make the game-viewing experience a pleasure for everyone. From a gourmet menu worthy of a Mount Washington restaurant to the always-popular bobble head giveaway, the fan-friendly atmosphere is because of you-the demanding fan. Many of you-perhaps unknowingly-have shown teams by your actions that the status quo will not do. If you are going to pay big-time prices to see sports, you want more than the game.

Fans have been empowered-thanks to a wealth of information at their disposal. Once, knowing batting averages and third down conversion rates were requirements to be a hard-core fan. Today’s sports fanatics are knowledgeable on subjects like players’ contracts and how much they count against the cap. With fantasy games all the rage, fans suddenly berate their favorite athletes for not only not scoring, but also not gaining enough yards to help their imaginary teams win-even when their real teams enjoyed a 40-point victory.

More knowledgeable fans aren’t always smarter though. This year, fans attacked a coach at one ball game and a player at a CFL game. Some believe with this newfound power, they should not only be able to watch the action, but be part of it. Perhaps the safest and ultimate form of “audience participation” is sports talk radio. It’s a healthy, entertaining exchange of ideas, but I’m amazed by the idiotic callers that take to the airwaves. My heart aches for guys like Mark Madden, Tim Benz, Stan Savran, Paul Alexander and of course, Ellis Cannon. They field some of the most inane questions from people who obviously know how to use a phone but not their brains.

As the New Year approaches, time to make resolutions. Mine are done with the fans in mind and I hope you’ll join me in making a few key changes to continue your rise to power as sports fans in this country.

One. Continue to vote with your dollars-and your clicker. Sports depend on you to make money, and you have much more power than you realize. If you don’t like the product or the services, don’t go. Teams on all levels will get that message loud and clear.

Two. Planning on calling a sports talk show in the next year? Be entertaining, interesting and, for goodness sake, please be intelligent. Have a coherent thought and a justifiable argument. Fans, you’re smart and intelligent. Prove it when you pick up the phone.

More power to you-in 2003.

Andrew Stockey is sports anchor for WTAE-TV.