If you have not made Ed Sherman’s Sports Blog over at Crain’s Chicago Business a regular daily stop on your interweb voyage, you are missing some great stuff on Chicago Sports. Sherman does a real nice job talking about the business side of Chicago sports and sports media. Today he has a Q&A with Cubs director of sales and promotions Matthew Wszolek. Their topic is the Cubs in this economy:
How is the economy affecting the Cubs?
Mr. Wszolek: We know the economy is bad. However, most of our partners have been with us for a long time. They’ve been waiting for the Cubs to be back-to-back champions for a really long time. They might say we were doing 50 to 60 things out of the market. Now we’re down to three or four, but you’re one of those three or four. It’s the Cubs. You might be able to give a festival here or there, but not the Cubs. We’re on pace for 2009.
Next Sherman asks him about ticket sales:
Are ticket sales still strong?
You’re never going to know where you stand until tickets go on sale Feb. 20. Season-ticket returns have been strong. It all comes back to: I might be on a tighter budget at home, and maybe I won’t go to the movies, but I’m not going to give up on my Cubbies. They look good on paper. I’ve been waiting my whole life for this. I’ll cut elsewhere, but I won’t cut the Cubs. They are who I am.
“They are who I am”? WTF does that mean?
Finally, Ed asks the question that is on everybody’s mind:
Then are the Cubs recession-proof?
I wouldn’t say the Cubs are recession-proof. However, when you are a Cubs fan, you’ll let people know it within 30 seconds. I’ll say, hi, I’m Matt, I live in Lakeview and I’m a Cubs fan. That is the part of the culture of who you are. If the recession goes on, other things might be compromised. Does that mean somebody will buy one hot dog instead of two? It might. But they’ll still support Cubs baseball.
What world does this guy live in? “I’ll tell you I’m a Cub fan in thirty seconds”? “Part of the culture”? What the hell is this guy talking about? Does he actually believe this shit? Is this kind of thing being talked about in the offices at Clark and Addison? What high regards they must have for themselves.
This is a great piece by Ed Sherman. I don’t know Mr. Wszolek from Adam, he may be a great guy and this is not to reflect on him personally, but I am really bothered by the arrogance in his answers. It’s a fucking arrogance in the way this franchise relates to their sponsors, advertisers and most importantly the fans.
I’d like to let Mr. Wszolek and the Cubs in on a little secret: these are tough fucking times. Businesses are going away and people are losing jobs and money. If the Cubs are doing as well as they claim to be, they should count their lucky stars. Most of us are not as fortunate as them to be working for what appears to be a golden goose. A little humility in ones answers and not this smug ‘we’re the Cubs’ attitude would go a long way. It’s bad enough that these fuckers have raised ticket prices and want fans to pay a $295 service fee (disguised as a fan club) to get to the front of the line to buy their tickets. With all of that going on Mr. Wszolek has the balls to say that people won’t cut Cubs baseball out of their entertainment spending because: “They are who I am”. Go fuck yourself Mr. Wszolek.
One thing that I hope to see when the ownership change is this sort of attitude in the Cubs front office. You never take your paying customer for granted, that’s what these guys have grown accustomed to doing. If I were Tom Ricketts, Hersh Klaff or Mark Utay I would use this interview as an example of how not to act or be portrayed in the media. This franchise needs to lose it’s smug attitude in a hurry. (Just to be clear I am not talking about Piniella and the boys on the field.) This is only directed at the front office of the Chicago Cubs.
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14 responses so far ↓
uncle dave // January 14, 2009 at 4:29 pm
Interesting read once again, ccd, thanks. As noted before, I’m rosier on the future of the Cubs than most, if only due to my cynicism on who will really suffer at the hands of the recession — in short, the club priced the little guy out of the park a long time ago, and the little guy will be the one who walks away from the next couple of years with a decidedly bowlegged gait.
It’s more complex than that and we’ll all suffer, of course, but looking at it solely in terms of ticket sales I think that there has been a strong enough demand for the product that it won’t suffer. What will suffer is the secondary market — you’ll see more folks sell more tickets from their season packages, and that will flood the scalpers and brokers with cheap product. The Premium Ticket scam aside, that doesn’t look to affect the club at all.
Things like merch and media will be a different story, of course, and we’ll have to see how it all plays out. I don’t know what the local and national media contracts are like, but those effects may not be felt for a year or two depending on when their deals are up. And don’t forget that MLB has done an excellent job of protecting new sources of revenue from the players — that extra eight percent (or whatever the number is) that the clubs are pocketing compared to a decade ago will go a long way to offset any declines.
Of course, that all depends on how much hubris the owners show in their evaluations of ‘financial success’ through this whole thing. If they act like the asshole clowns they appear to be and insist that they’re failing at any level of profit below what they earn now, we’ll hear plenty of sobbing from them, to be sure. And if we do, well, fuck them.
wpbc // January 14, 2009 at 4:33 pm
we’ve already begun to hear it Uncle Dave. The Brewers, Bucs and Astros owners have all called for salary caps. LMAO.
gaius marius // January 14, 2009 at 4:56 pm
i wonder — did mr wszolek see the december retail sales figures out today?
the cubs might be recession-proof. but this isn’t a recession. this is a depression, and they are not depression-proof. i suspect 2009 ticket sales may be down but go decently, but they will likely feel the effects in vanishing corporate support sooner and more intensely. i’d further wager 2010 will be an all-around disaster unless they win the world series in 2009 and maybe even if they do.
mr wszolek is a salesman and it’s up to him to tell anyone who asks that everyone is still buying and therefore so should you. but that ain’t going to put the WMD in iraq, if you follow my meaning. baseball like everyone else is in for a long lean period of retrenchment.
gaius marius // January 14, 2009 at 5:00 pm
i agree with you on the ‘tude, ccd — the cubs would do well to introduce five-dollar mondays and the like, not crow about their preeminent claim on the livelihoods of their fans.
wpbc // January 14, 2009 at 6:18 pm
I read the interview one more time to make sure I wasn’t over reacting. I cannot believe the Cubs would allow for that sort of PR out of any office in the franchise. The whole “Cubs attitude” really fucking pisses me off. The fans and the ballpark have made that franchise, it certainly isn’t the front office or the team on the fucking field. Where the hell did humility go?
wpbc // January 14, 2009 at 6:22 pm
I’m at a real loss on all of this gm. These mother fuckers have increased ticket prices again, while their many fans are going to be making less and some even heading for the unemployment line. In the midst of this we get an interview like that. Ask this fucker if he knows what it’s like to lose a home? Guess what? Alot of Cubs fans have found that out in the last twelve months. To not even recognize the hardship…it boggles my mind.
wv23 // January 14, 2009 at 9:23 pm
you are who they are.
wpbc // January 14, 2009 at 10:03 pm
that’s what he told us. honestly…when did all of the fans become bti readers? that’s what he thinks. good grief.
uncle dave // January 15, 2009 at 12:13 pm
I’m at a real loss on all of this gm. These mother fuckers have increased ticket prices again, while their many fans are going to be making less and some even heading for the unemployment line. In the midst of this we get an interview like that. Ask this fucker if he knows what it’s like to lose a home? Guess what? Alot of Cubs fans have found that out in the last twelve months. To not even recognize the hardship…it boggles my mind.
Tasteless as it is, it’s still the proper tack to take from a business perspective IMO. Think about it this way: what’s the incentive to purchase season tickets? Either you’re that chick who always gets her grey-ass mug on the TV during the 7th Inning Stretch and can go to all 81 games, or else you know you’re going to go to some of them and have the desire to avoid problems of scarcity that buying single-game tickets can create.
I’d wager that most individual customers are in the latter group. If the club starts making noise about soft sales figures, doesn’t that make the decision to downgrade from season tickets to mini-packs and single games a little easier?
I concede that it’s definitely a dick move to spout the bullshit that was in that article, but it’s almost necessary from a business standpoint.
the cubs might be recession-proof. but this isn’t a recession. this is a depression, and they are not depression-proof. i suspect 2009 ticket sales may be down but go decently, but they will likely feel the effects in vanishing corporate support sooner and more intensely. i’d further wager 2010 will be an all-around disaster unless they win the world series in 2009 and maybe even if they do.
I agree that times are worse than anyone wants to admit, gm, but what does that really mean? Ten, or maybe twenty percent of the individuals and businesses out there need to make significant changes to stay afloat (or go bankrupt outright)? You could lop 20 percent of the demand for these tickets off the top and still see the vast majority of the suffering occur in the secondary market. There’s a waiting list a mile long for season tickets (if my recollection is right), and I just don’t think you’ll see tumbleweeds blowing through the upper deck anytime soon.
gaius marius // January 15, 2009 at 4:05 pm
uncle, i think it’s less a matter of mathematics than psychology. the wind that’s prevailed for the last 30 years has shifted decisively. people who lose their jobs, it’s a no brainer that they won’t be going to the park much unless they can scalp ‘em for a fin. but it’s the people — many more people — who, even though they haven’t lost an income stream, suddenly understand they really could be in jeopardy and didn’t have enough money saved even before their brokerage account was cut in half. will those folks really choose to cough up $5,000 a seat to renew their block of 4?
no tumbleweeds (lol) i agree — but a 10% decline in ticket sales? just possible. and that would have massive ramifications for the club.
btw — if you really want cubs seasons, try ebay. there’s going to be plenty of people finding they can’t afford theirs.
gaius marius // January 15, 2009 at 4:06 pm
yeah uncle, but i think it’s less a matter of mathematics than psychology. the wind that’s prevailed for the last 30 years has shifted decisively. people who lose their jobs, it’s a no brainer that they won’t be going to the park much unless they can scalp ‘em for a fin. but it’s the people — many more people — who, even though they haven’t lost an income stream, suddenly understand they really could be in jeopardy and didn’t have enough money saved even before their brokerage account was cut in half. will those folks really choose to cough up $5,000 a seat to renew their block of 4?
no tumbleweeds (lol) i agree — but a 10% decline in ticket sales? just possible. and that would have massive ramifications for the club.
btw — if you really want cubs seasons, try ebay. there’s going to be plenty of people finding they can’t afford theirs.
gaius marius // January 15, 2009 at 4:07 pm
right uncle, but i think it’s less a matter of mathematics than psychology. the wind that’s prevailed for the last 30 years has shifted decisively. people who lose their jobs, it’s a no brainer that they won’t be going to the park much unless they can scalp ‘em for a fin. but it’s the people — many more people — who, even though they haven’t lost an income stream, suddenly understand they really could be in jeopardy and didn’t have enough money saved even before their brokerage account was cut in half. will those folks really choose to cough up $5,000 a seat to renew their block of 4?
no tumbleweeds (lol) i agree — but a 10% decline in ticket sales? just possible. and that would have massive ramifications for the club.
btw — if you really want cubs seasons, try ebay. there’s going to be plenty of people finding they can’t afford theirs.
T.J. Brown // January 15, 2009 at 4:21 pm
There’s a marked difference between saying something like, “Sales have been good, especially in light of these economic times. But we understand what our ticket-holders and sponsors are going through, and we hope we can provide our sponsors even better value than we have in the past, and we hope our product can provide our ticket-holders with a much needed diversion from all the bad news we’ve had…” and saying something like, “WE’RE SOOOO HOTTTT! YOU CAN’T RENEW? YOU’RE WONDERING IF A SPONSORSHIP DEAL WOULD BE PRUDENT? WELL, SCREW YOU! YOU’RE OBVIOUSLY NOT A REAL FAN OR YOUR COMPANY WILL DEFINITELY GO BANKRUPT WITHOUT SPONSORING US! YOU CUBS FANS CAN’T BE WHO YOU ARE WITHOUT PAYING $50 FOR AN UPPER DECK BOX SEAT!”
Personally, I passed on the 13-pack they offered people on the waiting list today. I don’t think buying baseball tickets would be the best move in today’s environment…”
Cubs season tickets renewed at a 98% clip « waxpaperbeercup // February 20, 2009 at 8:24 am
[...] hailing the Cubs as recession-proof (or in this case depression-proof), like some moron in the Cubs ticket office insisted back in mid-January. Let’s keep in mind the fact that back in the Great Depression the Cubs didn’t feel it [...]