Dear Mike Repole

[u/astroknight1701]

So you’re demanding 5,000 Stallions season ticket purchases in the next few days, and then you promise “better marketing” AFTER that? Forgive me if I find that a little @$$-backward, Mike.

How about a month of solid advertising and then see how many purchases are made? Otherwise this sounds like Stan Kroenke saying he’ll keep the Rams in St. Louis if only the city spends a billion on the dome, when in fact he decided he was leaving years before.

I’ve talked to friends and family in Birmingham, big football fans, who didn’t even know the Stallions existed, and it would certainly be easy to not know given the near-total absence of marketing! If you truly believe in Birmingham as you say, let’s see it. Give the city a chance. Really get the word out and allow a little more time, and I think you’ll get the response you want.

[u/braves-geek]

You can't tell a fanbase that what really drives the league is the TV deals and TV ratings and then beg for ticket sales.

The is also the 11th Birmingham indoor or outdoor team since the 70s. When you don't know if the league is going to last more than a year or not, people don't want to commit anymore.

Protective Stadium is horribly ran. Security is belligerent, concessions are sky high for spring football, and it's HOT when they play.

And Alabama and Auburn football will always be king. People don't have room in their hearts for professional football. There aren't even a lot of NFL fans around repping gear.

[u/MCallanan → u/braves-geek]

You can't tell a fanbase that what really drives the league is the TV deals and TV ratings and then beg for ticket sales

No one ever told Birmingham or any other team in this league that attendance didn’t matter — at least not in an official capacity. The ‘television ratings are the only thing that matters’ narrative was created as a coping mechanism by fans. The USFL always had a business model of individual ownership groups of each team meaning that in eventuality attendance was always going to be a major source of income.

The is also the 11th Birmingham indoor or outdoor team since the 70s. When you don't know if the league is going to last more than a year or not, people don't want to commit anymore.

So when do they get over this and why do they commit to watching on television? If this argument is true attendance should be increasing year to year as the league proves it’s staying power rather than decreasing.

And Alabama and Auburn football will always be king. People don't have room in their hearts for professional football.

That’s a damning indictment of Birmingham as a spring football market.

[u/astroknight1701 → u/MCallanan]

I'm looking around and I see far larger markets barely managing more than Birmingham outside of St. Louis. So the country isn't exactly teeming with strong spring football markets.

[u/TwizzlersSourz → u/astroknight1701]

It is almost like spring football is a niche sport.