THE STRANGE SATISFACTION OF WATCHING THINGS SPIN |
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The following newsletter solely contains the personal thoughts of Phoenix part-owner Johnny Goodtimes and does not necessarily reflect the views of the Phoenix organization or the AUDL. If you enjoy this email, pass it along. If you you were sent this email but aren't already signed up, be sure to sign up here. I grew up on the Eastern Shore of Virginia, a rural farming and fishing community, and when I tell you that there wasn't much to do…well, teenagers on the weekends would literally go to the same department store parking lot and drive around it in circles for a couple of hours, then all go home. There were few restaurants, there were no amusement parks, no water slides, heck, there weren't even really playgrounds. It really was the middle of nowhere. But there was one place that the kids I grew up in the 1980s wanted to go on a Saturday night: Pappy's Pizza. Pappy's was a place that had it all, styrofoam hats they gave to kids on their birthdays, a lovable mascot, a player piano, arcade games (including Q-Bert!), and delicious pizza. They also had a star that every kid would be talking about at school on Monday: HK Lee, the magician behind the glass shield. Lee would do the impossible with pizza dough. He would spin it high into the air, catch it on his finger, and keep it spinning. Then he himself would spin, toss the dough up in the air, and catch it when he came back around. Then he would toss it up and catch it behind his back. Amazing. If you had asked any kid in Pappy's in the early 1980s what they wanted to be when they grew up, the answer was all the same: pizza spinner. Watching HK with pizza dough was like watching a member of the Globetrotters with a basketball. And when you grow up in a place with very few entertainment options, it was as good as it got. Even now, 40 years later, if I bring up the word Pappy's with someone in my age group, it produces a big smile and a happy memory. That's powerful. I was in Madison last month for the Final Four, and while the games were somewhat lopsided, the show was tremendous. And I did something I hadn't done at an ultimate game before, I sat in the end zone. And that's when I thought about Pappy's. Seeing that thing spinning in the air, floating high, guys twisting and turning and catching it, and I thought about HK Lee, and the dough, and the smiles, and the sheer visceral enjoyment of seeing flat circular things spinning. It is, as my son says, “strangely satisfying”. And this sport also offers us that opportunity to provide our young fans what Pappy's gave us: a smile 40 years down the road. That's an awesome opportunity, and it's an awesome responsibility, and I'm really excited to get to work on it, so that next year's games are an even better experience. How can we do that? Well to start with I'm determined to have seating in the end zone. That was a valuable lesson learned in Madison. A lesson we learned at our last home game was that we're going to have youth clinics before every game in 2023. Esser did an amazing job of running one before the final game and the kids LOVED it. And there were lots of things that we learned from YOU in our recent fan survey. Shout out to everyone who filled one out. (And if you didn't yet, no worries, you can still do so here). Here were some of your suggestions that we promise to work on in the offseason: - We're going to improve our sound system.
- We're going to do more activations.
- We'll engage with more local high schools.
- We'll improve our merch selection.
- And yes, we promise even more Adam Booth singing and dancing. 😂
We're already looking forward to providing more magic than ever next year, we can't wait to see you all in the stands, and we can't wait to put on a show that we hope will be “strangely satisfying”. |
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- Christina, Jeff, and I are in Minneapolis for the Owner's Meetings this weekend. We will keep everyone up to date on what's happening, and what exciting plans the league has for 2023. Christina has some thoughts about the owners meetings below. Be sure to follow along on our Instagram, and I'll have another Insider Email out in October with more info about what we learned.
- The Hotbirds are playing at Halftime of the Eagles game on Sunday (weather permitting)! We'll have lots of content going up live on IG on Sunday. If you haven't watched it yet, check out this vid from our exhibition there in January.
- We're hiring! That's right, we're looking for a new GM to help us take Hotbird Nation to another level in the future. We've already gotten some great resumes, and are excited to start the interview process soon. If you're well organized, passionate, and want to be part of the team, apply here!
- We're going to be talking with the league's new marketing team this weekend about our rebrand for 2023. Lots of exciting options on the table. Definitely going to do new jerseys, going to talk about some other possibilities as well, so stay tuned.
- We'll be recording another Broad Street Backhand next week. With Kenny and Adam going to the Eagles exhibition, and me at the owner's meetings, there' a whole lot to talk about. Be sure to like and subscribe where every you listen to podcasts.
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5 QUICK QUESTIONS WITH TEAM PREZ CHRISTINA |
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1. What are you most looking forward to at the owner's meetings? The Owners' Meeting is the one time every year we all come together. Yes, we have about 16 full hours of meetings, panels, and workshops, but there is also time carved out for socializing. It's a great time to reconnect with friends, meet in person people I've only seen on a zillion Zoom calls, and get to know all the new faces that join the AUDL every year. You, Johnny, have launched what is going to prove to be a raucous yearly trivia session and the "party planners" always try to find a field for the old guys to re-live their glory days. On a more serious note, we entered the largest and potentially most impactful partnership this year in signing a deal with Legends, a premium "hospitality" company founded by Jerry Jones and Yankee Global Enterprises, and they will be the keynote speaker on Friday's opening session.
2. What will you be presenting on? On Saturday I'll be presenting the rationale for the proposed implementation of Minimum Team Care Standards (MTCS) which outlines Health and Safety standards to which all teams will have to meet beginning in 2023. I serve as the co-Chair of the AUDL Inclusion Initiative (Aii) and over the past few weeks a committee of four women across the league conducted a survey of Women in the AUDL to better understand what the AUDL and its teams are doing well to create a workplace that supports and fosters success for women in sport and to identify areas for improvement. Our partners at Rothman Orthopaedics will help with statistical analysis of the data and I'll present those findings on Sunday during the Aii portion of the meeting. 3. Why do you think those topics are important? MTCS (Minimum Team Care Standards) are imperative because it is the responsibility of the AUDL and its teams to provide a safe environment for players, coaches, and staff and AUDL athletes must receive medical care that adheres to best practices and peer standards. It's our job to ensure 1) our players are fit to engage in the highest levels of athletic competition and 2) create systems to prevent and facilitate early diagnosis and treatment of injuries sustained during AUDL activities. The Aii Women's Survey provides a voice for women in the AUDL and I hope to use it as a starting point to make the league, as it continues to evolve, a pioneer and standard setter for women to succeed in the sports business. I strongly believe we have a chance to shape the future of not only professional ultimate, but the business of sports as a whole. The big four have cultures and systems that were created by and for men whereas we have the opportunity to change that paradigm from the very get-go. And we're not going to squander such an immense opportunity if I have any say in the matter. 4. What other specific things that the league is going to be discussing this weekend are you excited about? The league is shifted to being laser-focused on fan experience and marketing. We've hired two rockstars - Alexia Walker and Ryan Pierce - as Senior Directors of Marketing & Sponsorships and Product Marketing & Communications. Alexia spent years with NASCAR and the Special Olympics while Ryan was with the NBA's Orlando for almost a decade. The two of them will be leading nearly all of the Saturday sessions. I've enjoyed speaking with them over the past few weeks and I'm really excited to see what they bring to the table for the big picture. Hotbird marketing is definitely one of the league leaders but we still have much to learn and I can't wait to bring what we learn back to both grow and make Hotbird Nation the most fun and robust community in Philly. 5. Which are you going to eat more while in Minneapolis: Swedish meatballs or Juicy Lucys? Totally a Juicy Lucy. Cheeseburgers are one of my favorite foods. I'd eat one every day if I could but rumor on the street is I'd probably die of a heart attack before the next time we get to play at the Linc. |
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