The Great Unification

[Steve Miklos]

I wouldn't say my viewpoint is entirely negative, but the sport certainly has some barriers.

First off, how do you get the average person interested enough to care? There aren't enough of "us" to get a soap, beer or tobacco company to go deep with their wallets, so you need outside fans. You're most likely not going to attract thes fans from outside of the motorsport enthusiast community, so you need to take a portion of their attention away from other motorsports. So how do you do that? Wheeled motorsports is very easy for the average person to relate to and even those folks are having trouble retaining fans- NASCAR is losing viewership quickly. Drag racing is a dedicated but small sliver. Indy Cars is about the same. Formula 1 has a statistically insignificant fan base. So where are these new fans coming from? And more to the point, why should they? Where's the action? After the initial impact of the speed, size and power of the boats, what makes me want to spend my beautiful summer Saturday afternoon in front of my TV- more than once? NASCAR can't even retain these people anymore. I read recently that the average fan ranked the pit stop action very high on their interest scale- and the networks were cutting to commercials and skipping that part. If the competition isn't holding their interest, what does it take?

The real issue is this is all before we address the issue of a dozen classes on the course at the same time and no real way to tell who's racing who- especially if there's only one or two boats in that class.

There's just so much more competing for the average person's attention these days. Can you imagine making a list of what people's interests were in 1984 and sitting it next to a list from now, 25 years later? The sport needs to completely reinvent itself and become non-enthusiast friendly or it will continue to be a niche sport. Reunification will happen, but only because of a constricted marketplace that forces consolidation. And then the economy strengthens and entrepreneurship kicks in and you'll have a breakaway- either an enterprising club or new pro series. And the cycle will begin again.

That about sums it up!
Steve

[Sean Stinson]

Isn't this what APBA LLC was doing? I believe it was!

I agree with you Mr. Carter.....I am just trying to make them see the light... I have a method to my madness!!!! Trust me!!!

[phragle]

I have said it before, and I will say it again. If your idea of success is tv and money, to build a model first take the racers out of the equation. The money will come from sponsors, sponsors dont give a damn about boat racing. they care about advertising. They could care less about class parity and sealed engines, they only care about numbers of people watching. Now for those people watching. They don't care about class parity or sealed engines either. They want excitement and carnage. you take a boat thats made to run in 6' water, throw it in a river 1' chop with a helicopter over it... on tv thats about as exciting as sitting on an overpass watching cars go down the freeway. People need something to watch. People watch nascar waiting for the big one. We don't need to kill anyone, but these boats need to fly, they need to bounce around, the guy on his couch is lured in by the sense of impending doom. A turbine cat doing 190 is impressive to us, to the average tv veiwer.. that excitiment lasts about 30 seconds. 2 turbine boats 20 feet apart 10feet on the air at 130, huge splashes of water
batteling it out... now he is watching tv and not changing the channel to CSI reruns.

Now more than ever, people want a spectacle, they want chaos and excitment. it's not racing it's short attention span theater. if you want to be a rockstar, you have to bring the noise, bring the pyro onstage, the music has to have a hook. you can be the worlds greatest guitar player playing the worlds best guitar and you will be hungry. or you can suck as a guitar player, play a cheap guitar but have the hooks to get radio play and a flashy video and you have got it made. Unify all you want..boycott untill the cows come home..make 1 class of 40, it matters not. look no further than the cont. success of monster trucks....... you want people to watch you have to give them something to watch.

[Mike A.]

Respectfully, the APBA LLC model was working. We had TV. We had ratings, and crowds at our events, growing fan interest and sponsors. We were transitioning into the second half of our 10 year plan but the boycott killed it all. I still think the basic model would work today, but there is no way it can be successful long term without a premier category. You cannot have such a category unless it is boycott proof, meaning the sanctioning organization would have to control (i.e. own) all the boats. That would cost a huge sum of money. Also, given the damage caused by the boycott, you would have to finance your own races and television product for years to show sponsors the series is stable. That would cost even more money (i.e. investment capital). The fatal problem? No one in their right mind would invest that kind of money without some assurance the risk would be rewarded in the form of profits. The only one I know of who has ever made a profit is JC but it has only been enough for him.

[smokeybandit]

I have said it before, and I will say it again. If your idea of success is tv and money, to build a model first take the racers out of the equation. The money will come from sponsors, sponsors dont give a damn about boat racing. they care about advertising. They could care less about class parity and sealed engines, they only care about numbers of people watching. Now for those people watching. They don't care about class parity or sealed engines either. They want excitement and carnage. you take a boat thats made to run in 6' water, throw it in a river 1' chop with a helicopter over it... on tv thats about as exciting as sitting on an overpass watching cars go down the freeway. People need something to watch. People watch nascar waiting for the big one. We don't need to kill anyone, but these boats need to fly, they need to bounce around, the guy on his couch is lured in by the sense of impending doom. A turbine cat doing 190 is impressive to us, to the average tv veiwer.. that excitiment lasts about 30 seconds. 2 turbine boats 20 feet apart 10feet on the air at 130, huge splashes of water
batteling it out... now he is watching tv and not changing the channel to CSI reruns.

Now more than ever, people want a spectacle, they want chaos and excitment. it's not racing it's short attention span theater. if you want to be a rockstar, you have to bring the noise, bring the pyro onstage, the music has to have a hook. you can be the worlds greatest guitar player playing the worlds best guitar and you will be hungry. or you can suck as a guitar player, play a cheap guitar but have the hooks to get radio play and a flashy video and you have got it made. Unify all you want..boycott untill the cows come home..make 1 class of 40, it matters not. look no further than the cont. success of monster trucks....... you want people to watch you have to give them something to watch.

Right on the money. BIG SEAS!!!! That's where the excitement is.

[T2x]

One point that really adds to the size of this challenge.........

The Champ boats, and various predecessers and relatives, (IOGP and UIM Formula 1) have had a stable competitive model for over 30 years with minor modifications. They have enjoyed major sponsorship, good, consistent venues nationwide and have long term, and highly talented, racers. The actual racing makes Offshore look like a slow motion exhibition by comparison. Yet, with all that, they have not garnered great ratings, better than Offshore, no doubt, but still not what you would call successful (Motorcycle racing levels).

I have long said that until and unless Champ Boats become successful on TV, Offshore doesn't have a chance. If a better, simpler, competition, boat racing model has not caught on, a slower, complicated, uncompetitive, and confusing exhibition will not be a channel surfer's destination.

Champ boats need much more background stories and higher production values to put them over the top. As Mike A said until Offshore gets a truly premier class and loses the background noise there will not even be a chance to make the same changes that Champ still needs.

T2x

[phragle]

I just remember seeing it on tv when I was a kid, that and baja...man vs machine vs nature... trying to go as fast as possible without dying.. big air..big splashes.. commentary that gave you the felling that if the driver or throttleman blinked, the boat would flip or stuff..somebody dropping back then fixing a problem and charging back like an out of control maniac. people getting launched out of boats..engine hatches flying off.. like everyones favorite apache video they have watched 10,000 times.. launch, launch launch HOOK!! big splash...right back into it harder than ever making up for lost time..is he gonna wipe out again?? worse?? the cheetos can waith untill the next commercial.

[phragle]

champ boats were designed to go round and round in a river..off shore boats were designed to..................

[T2x]

champ boats were designed to go round and round in a river..off shore boats were designed to..................

Actually, Champ boats were designed to........... RACE!!!!!!!!!

Many Offshore boats were designed to go to the beach..or a bar.

T2x

[phragle]

or to give the poker runner the sensation of being a race boat driver without the safety equipment.....

[Ratickle]

With all due respect, I think you're all missing one of the main points of all sports (my opinion). There is a reason NASCAR used to be the best (Chevy, Ford, Chrysler). There is a reason the NFL was the top (free agency was almost never an issue for the top players). There is a reason that Factory classes were so important to offshore television ratings (My Cigarette is faster than your Donzi). The America's Cup races, now that it is legal to hire a foreign driver, has had a tremendous drop in popularity.

Ownership Loyalty

I think you can directly look into NASCAR's drop in popularity to two things.

1. Popular drivers jumping all over for the money and not caring about brand. (The old Ernhardt Chevy vs, Elliot Ford).

2. The new car of the future where it is all the same race car, not a modified Monte,Taurus, Charger etc. (Toyota, who knows what damage that caused). Even Drag racing's popular classes are Pro Stock and Funny Car besides the Premier Top Fuel.


I would probably get better ratings on TV with a bunch of colorful characters in Bayliners, Lunds, and Sea Rays running in the Long Island Sound than Champ Boats in Detroit. Hence the factory classes importance.

People are attracted to what they relate too and are attached to (college football the alma-mater, small market Green Bay with Favre). If you remember that in the race model, I think the sport can and will grow back.

[Mike A.]

My point to everyone is simply this: Focus on having fun. Take care of the volunteers and be good to those who bust their tails to give you events. Fun can include dreaming and talking of something new and better too. But, realistically, there is no way the sport will ever be mainstream or a commercial success. Not without a huge deep pocket guy or guys who love the sport and are willing to risk $10,000,000.00 at a minimum on boats, a series of events, staff, TV, and some hard assets, and even then there is no guarantee of anything.

[Coach]

With all due respect, I think you're all missing one of the main points of all sports (my opinion). There is a reason NASCAR used to be the best (Chevy, Ford, Chrysler). There is a reason the NFL was the top (free agency was almost never an issue for the top players). There is a reason that Factory classes were so important to offshore television ratings (My Cigarette is faster than your Donzi). The America's Cup races, now that it is legal to hire a foreign driver, has had a tremendous drop in popularity.

Ownership Loyalty

I think you can directly look into NASCAR's drop in popularity to two things.

1. Popular drivers jumping all over for the money and not caring about brand. (The old Ernhardt Chevy vs, Elliot Ford).

2. The new car of the future where it is all the same race car, not a modified Monte,Taurus, Charger etc. (Toyota, who knows what damage that caused). Even Drag racing's popular classes are Pro Stock and Funny Car besides the Premier Top Fuel.


I would probably get better ratings on TV with a bunch of colorful characters in Bayliners, Lunds, and Sea Rays running in the Long Island Sound than Champ Boats in Detroit. Hence the factory classes importance.

People are attracted to what they relate too and are attached to (college football the alma-mater, small market Green Bay with Favre). If you remember that in the race model, I think the sport can and will grow back.

Thank you for reminded all of us to these facts... and reality!

[MarylandMark]

Post 273- thanks T2x

[Wardey]

Respectfully, the APBA LLC model was working. We had TV. We had ratings, and crowds at our events, growing fan interest and sponsors. We were transitioning into the second half of our 10 year plan but the boycott killed it all. I still think the basic model would work today, but there is no way it can be successful long term without a premier category. You cannot have such a category unless it is boycott proof, meaning the sanctioning organization would have to control (i.e. own) all the boats. That would cost a huge sum of money. Also, given the damage caused by the boycott, you would have to finance your own races and television product for years to show sponsors the series is stable. That would cost even more money (i.e. investment capital). The fatal problem? No one in their right mind would invest that kind of money without some assurance the risk would be rewarded in the form of profits. The only one I know of who has ever made a profit is JC but it has only been enough for him.

I second that. Dave

[Sean Stinson]

I once again ask the question....In everyones eyes is boat racing doomed to the fate that it has become there is no fixing it even if you reinvent boat racing from the ground up??????????

[Fever Mike]

I once again ask the question....In everyones eyes is boat racing doomed to the fate that it has become there is no fixing it even if you reinvent boat racing from the ground up??????????

It is fixable but it is going to either take someone with some money, history with runnng a sancationing race body plus the ungrateful racers are going to have to take a new mindset and understand they are not going to win every freakin' event and not to take their toys home if they do not get their way in the sand box.

Like in many other forms of racing it would benifit the sport if there was some sort of local events every weekend or 2weeks....like Saturday night car racing has...this would grow attention to the sport with sponsors, fans and grow racers. Major hurdle would be Coast Guard approval.

[Sean H]

I once again ask the question....In everyones eyes is boat racing doomed to the fate that it has become there is no fixing it even if you reinvent boat racing from the ground up??????????

Until there is only 1 (or 2 if you go cat and vee) premier classes and enough money behind it so the racers can't/don't afford to go somewhere else it is doomed to what it is. Like Mike said, unless somebody is gonna step up with that large sum of money to put on a professional event (tv, staff, productions and enough prize money to actually pay for the teams to race) we are gonna be stuck with what we have. A bunch of hobby racers racing club events.

Unfortunetly it seems to only to be getting worse with even more classes every year and less boats in each class, we are sadly going the wrong way.

As far as sending the boats back offshore, you wanna see a boring race, now put 2-4 boats (or even worse, 1 boat) per class out in the open ocean. Get everybody back into 1 or 2 classes and that may work, still doubtfull, if you can put 5 seconds on a boat in a 5 mile lap, how boring would a 40 mile ocean lap be? We can all dream of deck to deck racing in 6 footers, but in reality, they rarely race deck to deck on short courses, in rough water, the better (prepared, talented) teams will just be that farther ahead.

[skaterdave]

wish we could get C1 racing broadcast over here!!!!!

the euro P1 stuff was pretty good too. wonder what ever happened to that?

[Wardey]

Mike, Get that Steelers helmet out of here !!! Dave