Over a Cup of Coffee
by Jerry Hewitt
Published on March 29, 2010 under Continental Indoor Football League (CIFL)
Anyone that knows me knows one of my biggest issues with teams and leagues are their websites. When the NIFL first started out in late 1999, websites were still a novelty and toy, not the prime news outlet for a league or its teams. In the ensuing years, that has slowly changed until the last couple years where the information highway has exploded. More organizations today than ever before use the internet as their prime source for news.
I doubt seriously that major news outlets such as CNN, Fox News, USA Today, ESPN and others would devote so much effort into their suites if that wasn't the case.
Today a website for a league or team isn't just a toy, but should be considered as their number one outlet for news. Some I see are taking this challenge more seriously than others. The CIFL and SIFL have no problem it appears in getting up the news seven days a week in a very timely manner, yet the two leagues with more teams and maybe more at stake feel it is not that important. Again, I'm speaking of the leagues, not their teams.
Indoor football is a business first, a sport second. All things related to the game need to be looked at from a good business perspective and today the online presence needs to be included in the business plan. It is most likely the number one source for team and league news as I've said. In some respects this is great as it is the first time in history that teams and leagues have real control over their own media. Some have recognized that fact and are working hard to meet today's expectations, while others are still lost in the woods. The good news is some are taking this seriously, the bad news for those who don't is it's only going to become a more important part of the business of indoor football.
I think having a good looking site is important, but second to two things, the first being timely current information and second, being able to easily find any information on a site. I think the CIFL and SIFL pretty much meet my first criteria, but fall short in the navigation area. But to be honest about it, that very well could be just me.
I do not claim to be a website guru. There is much about them I don't know how to do, but I have much experience in creating them and have my own opinions of how they should be organized and what information should be available to any who look in.
If you have the real opportunity to control what is said about your league or team, is any cost too high? As a matter of fact, yes, in the direct cost of building and designing a site. In maintaining it, updating it, no. The first, well a website can cost from near zero to even over $15,000. Granted near zero may not meet your needs and $15,000 for the latest and greatest is out of the budget not to mention unnecessary. But I feel a league or team can get a website for a reasonable number that meets all expectations. The second part of cost is for updating and maintenance. Leagues or teams need to find those who are willing to put aside the nine to five mentality and do what it takes. Yes, this is difficult and maybe more than one person is needed.
I know one media professional who would agree with me that at least at the league level, interns and wannabe's should not have the role of the league's media needs, but a professional should instead be in charge. Unfortunately those people cost money. I am not saying there isn't room for interns and wannabe's, but in secondary roles, not the main man so to speak.
In this day and age, regardless of a league's budget, there is no excuse for not hiring qualified individuals to fill key roles, especially in the communications area. Right now, official websites are extremely close to job one in the sports world. Yes I know, there are other concerns some might feel are more important, but let's be honest, how important is the face you put on for the public? It just may be more important than anything else since that face can sell tickets and can affect the media's perception of the team.
I have said for many years that the upper crust of sports should be who indoor football tries to emulate, and at the risk of being redundant, I'm going to go through it again. Leagues such as the NFL, NBA, NHL and others spend thousands of dollars in researching what works online and what doesn't. One look around at their league and team sites should give anyone a clear idea of their direction. I am not saying an indoor football league can imitate the NFL site, for example, as that would be cost prohibitive, but there are features of that site and others that could easily become a part of a site at this level. Look at the basics: stats, standings, etc., what fans and media should expect.
Sunday's action
Yesterday saw two very good games and two so-so ones. The AIFA saw a close one between Baltimore and Richmond with a blowout between Yakima Valley and the Arctic Predators, while in the IFL, La Crosse fell at Sioux Falls and Rochester got nipped at West Michigan for the second week in a row. It was expected that Sioux Falls would have no problem doing away with La Crosse. The Storm continued to be the best in the IFL with the 35-13 win to stay undefeated at 4-0, while the Spartans fall to 0-4. It's difficult for two teams who are pretty much equals to play back to back and the same franchise win both, but that was just the case as Rochester (1-2) traveled to West Michigan (3-0) for the second week in a row. Last week the Thunderhawks survived the battle with a 59-55 win. Fast forward to this week and the 'Hawks pulled off the near impossible by again besting the Raiders, 57-51. West Michigan remains on top of the Atlantic East of the IFL tied with Richmond. In a game not expected to be close, the Baltimore Mariners (4-0) remained perfect in their best season start ever with a 49-45 victory over the Richmond Raiders (1-3) in the AIFA. In the final game of the night in the far North, the Yakima Warriors (1-1) took out the (0-2) Arctic Predators by a final score of 55-21. That score courtesy of AIFAFans as the official AIFA site had no score at the time of writing.
A shout out to those over at AIFAFans.com, another great job following games when the league doesn't! The Sioux Falls Argus Leader had a live chat during the Sioux Falls, LaCrosse game going. Another shout out to them on their coverage!
This article and more archived at The Indoor Football Report located at www.IndoorFootballNetwork.com Comments about this article or suggestions can be made to indoorbowl@yahoo.com
Continental Indoor Football League Stories from March 29, 2010
- Cincinnati Commandos Top Marion Mayhem - Cincinnati Commandos
- Over a Cup of Coffee - OSC Original by Jerry Hewitt
The opinions expressed in this article are those of the writer(s), and do not necessarily reflect the thoughts or opinions of OurSports Central or its staff.
