You make some great comments and pose some interesting questions about how a pro athlete’s work “off the track” can positively impact the success of that athlete, the team, the events, and the league . It seems like such an obvious correlation but one that’s maybe been forgotten in this age of mega celebrity athletes, huge money, and ultra commercialized sport.

I remember as a kid growing up in Edmonton having all kinds of opportunities around the city to meet Wayne Gretzky, Mark Messier, Paul Coffee, Jari Kurri, etc. These guys were the best players in the world playing for the most successful franchise in the NHL. And they were accessible to the fans! Heck – you could bump into them on the street or in a restaurant or stick around after any game and meet them. I suspect if you asked those guys, they would agree that in those days, it was normal to be accessible, out in the community, and working hard to build connections with the fans and community that supported them. Perhaps today, alot of that has been lost (for various reasons).

Relating this back to racing and Alex Tag and IndyCar – I think if most of the IRL drivers worked even 1/4 as hard as Alex does off the track, you’d see more fans, higher fan loyalty, better attendance at races, better TV ratings, more value for sponsors, more sponsorship dollars, and overall a way more successful sport, league, and races.

At the end of the day, a pro sport is only as successful as the strength of the connection between its fans and the sport and athletes. Huge numbers of fans with an evangelical love of their sport and their athletes equals success in professional sport – on all fronts. Perhaps we just need to be reminded of that.

I’m a big believer in the old saying “necessity is the mother of invention” so I think an upside to this recession is that athletes, their teams, and leagues are innovating and thinking about new & creative ways to (1) better engage fans and (2) provide more value to sponsors. That’s a great thing for everyone!

Cheers,
Ian

P.S. I asked Alex to tell you his preferred race-day detergent so you know for next time

I think your point is valid that the Edmonton Indy needs to not only do a better job promoting itself, but spend a lot less money doing it. The issue could come from three areas:

1. Sponsors see little opportunity for TV exposure
2. Sponsors perceive the Edmonton Indy’s audience to be outside of their own target audience
3. Promoters need to reduce expenses by using relatively cheap mediums of communication like online blogs and social networks

I think that if sponsors are not lining up the main issue has to be the reduced TV audience for the Edmonton Indy as opposed to other Indy Events. Assuming this reasoning holds true, Edmonton Indy promoters will have to become very creative in the way they package their corporate offerings. Tagliani can offer exposure on every size stage of Indy event, but the Edmonton Indy does not have that luxury.