Welcome back Slamball!!
What a righteous game to kick off our 2008 Slamball Showcase Series. The Goldman-to-Fletcher game winner! The in-your-face blocks by Redmond and “Ice” Lattimore. And the ESPN’s SportsCenter-like highlight of “Shakes” Fletcher’s 360-degree faceoff slam. Outfrickinrageus!
Speaking about the Shake-monster. Let me tell you a little something about Shakes. As you can see he has a Kobe-like ability to take control of the game. He has an aerial awareness and fearlessness in the spring beds second to none. And he has a creative skill set that enables him to get to the basket using the spring beds to their full advantage. But with all that said, I’m most impressed because I witnessed Shakes come to camp this season in the best shape of his life.
I have found that some of the most gifted athletes rely soley on their God-given skills and do nothing more to take their game to the next level. Not Shakes.
On the first day of camp at IMG Sports Centers in Bradenton, Florida, Shakes took off his t-shirt to perform the warm-up drills prior to the physical testing regime required of all players. I said, “Holy shit, Shakes, where did the muscle come from?”
The metamorphosis from a lean athlete I watched in 2003 to the muscular professional athlete I was witnessing was remarkable - and a testament to Shakes’ desire to succeed. Following my comment about his new physique, he told me, “Not only do I want to be great at the sport of Slamball, but I want Slamball to be great in the eyes of sports fans.” Right then I realized that not only did Shakes adopt more muscles, but he adopted a leadership role in the league.
And I couldn’t wait to watch him perform - which he surely did in game one.
Another athlete that I’d like to give a shout-out to resides on the opposing Rumble team. You know his as “Cheese” Meyers. A philly boy - like myself.
The last time I saw Chese was in a courtroom in Philadelphia. He had some problem with the law prior to his breakout 2003 season. The hearing didn’t occur until the following summer, which I attended in hopes of convincing the judge of Cheese’s new lease on life. And I believed it!
The judge was appreciative of my glowing reference - especially since he knew me and knew my word was real. Nevertheless, Cheese was sentenced to prison. Immediately, he was handcuffed and then escorted away. He waved good bye to his family members and me.
I love watching Shakes and Goldman and the Sheriff and Take Flight White, but it gives me enormous pleasure to watch Cheese play and excel in a sport he loves while he takes his life to the next level.
To watch the first game and the rest of the 2008 season visit www.slamball.net.
This entry was posted
on Tuesday, September 2nd, 2008 at 8:25 am by Pat Croce
Leave a Reply
September 2nd, 2008 at 9:56 am
Great post, Pat. I hope Cheese maintains success on his new “lease on life”. I also wish you the best with Slamball. As for me, I am on my way to the trademark office to buy the word “Outfrickinrageous!” - just kiddin’
September 14th, 2008 at 1:04 am
I still can’t believe you guys aren’t utilizing a hype man or an MC to work the crowd. Maybe the MC isn’t practical with guys doing play-by-play but a hype man is essential. Work the crowd before the game and more importantly work the city in which you’re playing in.
And 1 built an entire brand around that concept. They show up in a city, hold an ‘open run’ and then put on a show in the evening. Everyone in that area knows what’s going on and the buzz it generates on the local level is astounding.
Slamball will never shake the label of being a ‘fringe sport’ until you get it into the inner cities and expose it to more people. You need people who aren’t afraid to get into some really rough areas, like Compton, CA, downtown LA, downtown Detroit–and anywhere else that has the label of ‘dangerous’ attached to them. These markets are ALWAYS untapped. Nobody wants to mingle with folks in areas like that for a variety of reasons. Chief among them is fear. Fear of being hurt and/or fear of interacting and communicating with people who don’t look like or act like them. Sports can unify people on so many levels. I’ve seen this first hand.
I worked as a social worker for six years and 99.9 percent of the time I was the only white person amongst hundreds of people in housing projets and countless other very urban areas.
I always used sports as a means to bridge the cultural gap. And once people see that you’re personable and can ‘relate’ to them on some level, you’re no longer a white person who they view as an ‘outsider’, you’re one of them. And they love that.
The UFC went broke because of their inability to appeal to a larger audience. Dana White stepped in and captured an entirely different market. There just weren’t/aren’t enough ‘die-hard’ and hard-core fans to financially carry the UFC.
Pat, you guys will ultimately suffer the same fate unless you incorporate some serious grass roots, guerrilla marketing tactics.