Six from Six: Gameops.com Team Reviews In 2006 Gameops.com will feature six game reviews from six teams around sports. We have selected teams across different sports, leagues, levels and markets to hopefully give readers a good variety of subjects.
For these game reviews we visited each team for a game with one goal: Find six things each team is doing well and discuss how other teams can find similar success by following their lead.
Game Notes
When selecting the six teams to review I wanted to show a mix, both of sports and of the style teams use. You might look at the New York Rangers as an odd choice, since they are not a team that presents game entertainment as a priority...but we thought it was a good choice for that same reason.
The Rangers are a team steeped in tradition. Founded in 1926 and built on a solid history of success on the ice. As the NHL expanded teams were added in markets like Anaheim and Carolina who focused more on entertainment, the Rangers' stuck with their more traditional formula.
The Rangers now are making small moves towards supplementing their show, yet keep the emphasis on the fans and the tradition of New York Rangers hockey.
It was easy to find six things to like about the game night experience and most were things you might miss at other venues. The long history of a more purist game experience made some of the smaller things stand out.
As noted, the primary difference in New York compared to the other teams we have reviewed was the fans. The Rangers presentation staff clearly knew their fans. They knew that a silly mascot dancing in the stands wouldn't work and they knew their fans drove much of the atmosphere. So in most cases the front office did the smartest thing: Stay out of the way or build on the fan's own direction.
Enhance and Embrace the fans: All night long the rowdy Ranger faithful started their own "Let's Go Ranger" chants and claps. In some cases the video board would pick-up on the chant and put the appropriate graphic on the scoreboard and in others the organ would jump in on the chant and play. It was clear where the chants started (with the fans) and the team was wise enough to just follow their lead. Any time your fans want to start something, it's wise to find out how you can enhance and embrace it, for two reasons.
First, (hopefully) you can make it more powerful and more effective. Adding a scoreboard prompt to a chant that is already happening just lets the rest of the arena know what's going on. Second it sends a message to the fans that you support such organic support of the team....you empower them.
Lesson: Listen and watch to see what your fans already do and find ways to enhance it with the elements you control
Lesson 2: Tell your fans about your players
Each team should have at least one game element that tells your fans about your players, that is, who they really are. Fans are more likely to connect to your players if they feel like they have something in common.
For example, does your goalie like country music?, where is he from?, what does he do when he's not playing hockey.
Many athletes come across as aloof or one-dimensional until you show your fans the another side of them.
These elements usually take the form of a video board piece. They can be complicated video edits or simple graphics and voice over depending on your situation.
The Rangers used both video and animation to tell the story of Jed Ortmeyer, including fun facts about his birthplace. Undoubtedly anyone who was born in Nebraska will share a bond with Jed in the future which is a very simple way to connect fans and players.
The Rangers did a great job with the players in the this video. Jed specifically mentioned the tradition of the Garden and the passion of the fans as part of what makes playing in New York so special. The entire piece not only personalized the player, but dovetailed into the team objective of honoring the tradition and saluting the fan base.
Lesson: Connect your fans to your players with in-game player profiles and vignettes.
Lesson 3: Shock your fans
The tone was set early on this night, right from the anthem you knew the game was something special. As noted the Rangers are typically a traditional presentation. That all changed when former Ozzy Osbourne lead guitarist Zakk Wylde played the national anthem.
Wylde played an electric guitar solo, a la Jimi Hendrix, to the delight of a somewhat shocked fan base. Wylde is a well know NY sports fan and widely considered among the greatest guitar players in the world.
The lesson could easily be "Use Celebrities" or "Use a unique anthem version"....but the overwhelming feeling I got from the fans around me what shock. The team probably could have used him for an anthem for years....but they hadn't. the fact that they went outside their standard presentation was a positive jolt to the fans.
The buzz lasted well into the game and had a clear effect on the fans.
Lesson: Break your comfort zone on occasion (or call Zakk Wylde for an anthem performer)
Lesson 4: Customize the music you use the most
Every team has a song, and most teams have several songs that they play every game. In hockey the goal song is the obvious example. Ten years ago it would be very costly to edit and customize a song and more costly to create a song from scratch. Now with the advent and proliferation of digital music creating and editing tools the cost of edits is very low and the creation of custom music is in-reach for most teams.
The Rangers have a fantastic goal song, and one that the fans are completely in to. You can hear the song by clicking the logo to the left.
Audio Editing Software is easy to find and good programs can be purchased for under $100. Better programs like Sound Forge cost about double that, but are powerful enough to justify the expense.
Lesson: Review the music you use the most and consider simple edits to make it more effective or powerful.
Update: Here is the Ranger's Goal song on video from YouTube
Lesson 5: Play off your competition
This game had a clear established and long-term rivalry: The Rangers and the neighboring Islanders. The Rangers played off the rivalry very simply and effectively to get a strong reaction from their fans.
In one case they had two camera shots that alternated between a fan in a Rangers jersey in the crowd (drawing large cheers) and a guy in an Islanders jersey (drawing Bronx cheers). The video simply went back and forth between the two and complete drove the crowd's reaction.
There a several ways to achieve this, but what makes this case so effective was that is was organic and simple....not over produced or staged. I suspect that is even more important in the New York market.
Lesson: Use the rivalries and natural fans responses
Lesson 6: Have a back-up plan for EVERY contest
In every sport you have time limits for contests and promotions that occur between breaks. When working with kids, contestants, and a live environment anything can happen. With that in mind, you always run the risk of running out of time before the contest ends. Or you may have an unexpected tie, rule questions or injury.
The Rangers had clearly thought of this and it paid off on this night. During a intermission contest two contestants shot at the empty net from the blue line in a sponsored contest. Neither contestant hit a shot, the transition between the two ran a little long, and after they had both shot they were left with no clear winner.
Before the host could start a "tie-breaking shootout" or some other resolution the time ran out. If the Rangers had not planned ahead they would have been left with a weak ending, no-winner, unsatisfying conclusion to the contest.
Instead the Rangers had already resolved what happened in the case of the tie and the host clearly announced the resolution to the crowd as they walked off the ice. (Editor's Note: my apologies for not having accurate notes on exactly how they did this).
Whether the host asks the contestants to guess how many shots they would make to break the tie, flipped a coin, or did a brief trivia question isn't important. What is important that you have a plan, or a host who can think on their feet to resolve this in a way that will satisfy your fans. And the Rangers did.
When you create contests, make sure you play each out and talk through different scenarios to see what might happen and how best to resolve the unexpected. Also talk though how it's phrased, some times the host just saying "both people win!" makes the contest seem irrelevant and the time the fans just invested seems wasted.
Lesson: Have a back-up plan for every contest so you can give your fans a satisfactory and clear resolution to every contest
It was very interesting to see a team build more on tradition and sport than entertainment. The Rangers also are a team limited by an older aging building with tools (like the scoreboard). When we selected teams for the 2006 Six from Six reviews it was important to get a wide variety of teams and situations, and the Rangers clearly provided a style very different from an expansion team like the Columbus Blue Jackets.
What was striking about their entertainment was how clearly it connected to their marketing, which is geared towards the tradition and history of the team. Most breaks spoke to that theme and helped establish it with the fans in different ways.
Thanks to Rangers Marketing VP Mike Golub for sharing his insight and hosting our visit in October.
Lesson 1: Build around a Theme (Blue Jackets)
Lesson 2: Great Script Writing Makes a Great Show (Blue Jackets)
Lesson 3: Listen to the fans (Blue Jackets)
Lesson 4: Use Pre-Game to enhance your show (Blue Jackets)
Lesson 5: Use time wisely (Blue Jackets)
Lesson 6: Honor fan participation (Blue Jackets)
Lesson 7: Music ties the show together (Blazers)
Lesson 8: Multiple openings keep the games fresh (Blazers)
Lesson 9: Allow flexibility in your game script (Blazers)
Lesson 10: Connect with the sport and league (Blazers)
Lesson 11: Use simple effects for bright results with lighting effects (Blazers)
Lesson 12: Position Yourself for Success (Blazers)
Lesson 13: Careful placement of elements (Shock)
Lesson 14: Be creative with your premium Items (Shock)
Lesson 15: Setting up powerful moments (Shock)
Lesson 16: Cultivate your staff into your best fans (Shock)
Lesson 17: Stand until you score, bonding your fans (Shock)
Lesson 18: Using Different Voices When Talking to Your Fans (Shock)
Lesson 19: Know your fans and connect with them (Rangers)
Lesson 20: Tell your fans about your players (Rangers)
Lesson 21: Shock your fans (Rangers)
Lesson 22: Customize the music you use the most (Rangers)
Lesson 23: Play off your competition (Rangers)
Lesson 24: Have a back-up plan for EVERY contest (Rangers)
Lesson 25: Spice up your most reoccuring elements (Pirates)
Lesson 26: Use different combinations of technology, performers and sponsorship (Pirates)
Lesson 27: Have fun with your contestants (Pirates)
Lesson 28: Sell yourboard first, then sell everything else (Pirates)
Lesson 29: Buidling on your success (Pirates)
Lesson 30: Profit from your elements (Pirates)
Lesson 31: Premiums that make a difference (Devil Rays)
Lesson 32: Make your building as interesting as possible (Devil Rays)
Lesson 33: REAL fans get the good stuff (Devil Rays)
Six from Six: New York Rangers (NHL)
Lesson 1: Know your fans and connect with them
Lesson 2: Tell your fans about your players 
This game had a clear established and long-term rivalry: The Rangers and the neighboring Islanders. The Rangers played off the rivalry very simply and effectively to get a strong reaction from their fans.
Before the host could start a "tie-breaking shootout" or some other resolution the time ran out. If the Rangers had not planned ahead they would have been left with a weak ending, no-winner, unsatisfying conclusion to the contest.