Time to hype the ABA Finals

[ABARedWhiteBlue]

still don't have a definitive schedule, list of teams, standings or stats - but who cares? Joe has more important things to do, like sell, sell sell!

http://www.oursportscentral.com/services/releases/?id=3764658

Playoffs Tickets On Sale
January 15, 2009 - American Basketball Association (ABA)

Nashville, TN. The American Basketball Association (ABA) announced today that tickets for the ABA Championship Playoffs and All-Star Game are on sale, and according to Joe Newman, ABA CEO, "This has to be one of the best sports and entertainment values ever. Scott Lumley, the Nashville Broncs owner and host of this years Playoffs and All Star Game, has truly put together a fabulous event with very affordable pricing. It is going to be something very special indeed."

The games will be played in the beautiful 10,000 seat Municipal Auditorium in one of the great entertainment capitals of the world, Nashville, Tennessee. The eight best teams in the ABA will be competing in the tournament as well as the 24 best players in the league competing in the All Star Game, Slam Dunk competition, 3-Point Shooting competition. In addition, there will be pre-game, halftime, and post game entertainment, music and other events.


"We are very pleased and proud to have been chosen to host the ABA Championship Playoffs and All-Star Game," added Lumley. "Crowds of 5,000-10,000 have been standard at these events when held separately. Held together, with the remarkable addition of great Nashville entertainment, and with ticket prices lower than any of the previous events - this should be one of the great ABA sports and entertainment values ever.


"And, as an added incentive," Lumley stated, "We are giving FREE TICKETS to the first 500 people who purchase tickets to the Playoffs or All Star Game to the world famous WHITEHORSE SALOON, hosts for top Nashville stars like Kenny Chesney, Carrie Underwood, REO Speedwagon and others. To order tickets, visit www.abalive.com or www.nashvillebroncs.com - click the ABA Playoffs/All Star Game banner - and follow easy instructions. Order soon.

[The Sweeper]

"The eight remaining teams in the ABA will be competing in the tournament"

Fixed Joe's press release. Of course, the Gwizz will be one of the 8, with a 1-29 record, and Embry will announce playoff plans next week.

[robster2001]

You have to wonder if E.Kentucky will be invited since they're a short drive away... and, of course, you can't have the ABA playoffs without the Patroons, right? :)

[rockhound]

I think Mr. Newman means the WILDHORSE Saloon, Not WHITEHORSE. Oh yeah a free ticket to the Wildhorse saloon actually means a voucher for a free cover charge (an amazing $6 value!)

Calling the Municipal Auditorium "Beautiful" is also a bit of a stretch.

[Paul S]

ABARWB called it.


Sell sell sell.

[nhamilton88]

Can you imagine the NFL giving 500 FREE tickets to the SuperBowl for purchasing tickets at a specific location?

Let's figure out their attendance for this YMCA debacle:

Take into account the 500 FREE tickets given away as an incentive (actually a pleading!!!), the 1,000 tickets given to the players, coaches, dance team, etc. for their family and friends and anyone else who will take them off their hands, the 200 FREE tickets to the media BEGGING them to come, the 2,000 FREE tickets given to "charities" for fund raising.....I am predicting that they will average about 450-475 fans a game, with approximately 15-20 PAID attendees. You can also count on the fact that Joe's marketing budget for this amatuer hour is less than $1,000, and even that is a stretch.

I love how the low lifes at the ABA always attempt to plug in celebrity names when they can and try to link them to THEIR events. Kenny Chesney? Carrie Underwood? Have the ever even heard of the ABA or the Broncs?

[preeths]

This is the part that caught my attention:

"We are very pleased and proud to have been chosen to host the ABA Championship Playoffs and All-Star Game," added Lumley. "Crowds of 5,000-10,000 have been standard at these events when held separately. Held together, with the remarkable addition of great Nashville entertainment, and with ticket prices lower than any of the previous events - this should be one of the great ABA sports and entertainment values ever.

Either this quote was just made up or Mr. Lumley has as tenuous a grasp of facts and history as others in the ABA. Crowds of 5,000-10,000 have been standard!? Where? When? Take 10 percent of that, and you're much closer to the truth.

[Paul S]

This is the part that caught my attention:



Either this quote was just made up or Mr. Lumley has as tenuous a grasp of facts and history as others in the ABA. Crowds of 5,000-10,000 have been standard!? Where? When? Take 10 percent of that, and you're much closer to the truth.

I say 10 percent is still too high. Crowds of 20-80 people are the norm and a crowd of 500 would get talked about as a success.

nhhamilton is spot on too. Every blasted release from this circus has to reference some celebrity or name we've heard off. The Gwizz always shoehorn somebody like that into their poorly proofread releases.


ATTENTION ABA OWNERS - This idiotic name dropping is tantamount to me loudly shouting into a (turned off) cell phone at a crowded restaurant "HEY SLY, tell Arnold when he's done being Govenor, the three of us will have to go out. You see the thing is Sylvester, I don't have time to call Arnie back" I mean its so counter-intuitive it beggers belief. Nobody believes these idiotic releases and nobody would believe the above BS conversation was with anyone, let alone Sylvester Stallone. Watch one of the Lethal Weapon movies where Joe Pesci does exactly what I've described and see how daft he looks.

Just Plain Morons.

[ABARedWhiteBlue]

Either this quote was just made up or Mr. Lumley has as tenuous a grasp of facts and history as others in the ABA. Crowds of 5,000-10,000 have been standard!? Where? When? Take 10 percent of that, and you're much closer to the truth.

Was there a huge crowd at the ABA finals, once upon a time?

Yes.

The RimRockers - who did things their own way, without the Joe Newman keys, drew nearly 15,000 for their finals win on '05. Then, of course, they bolted in the off-season:

http://dev2.arkansasnews.com/?p=5576

Rochester also drew well for their own finals games, though not so much for the games of other teams playing there - witness the game played before a couple dozen fans that went to double overtime.

These teams are the exceptions - teams that generated a big following in their home market, and drew fans because they did things the right way, not the Joe way.

The thing is - what has been the attendance at Nashville's game so far? If they are only drawing a couple hundred fans now to see the home team play, why would there be any increase in the interest to see teams and players that nobody in Nashville has either heard of or cares about?