Comments on: Don’t Forget The Current Fans

By: oilpressure

oilpressure — Mon, 23 Nov 2009 13:56:12 +0000

Guy:

I was among the CART fans back then. I felt cheated and abandoned. I didn’t attend Indy from 1996 until I finally returned in 2003 (although I did go to qualifying in 2002), so please don’t mistake me for those that thought the IRL was wonderful in those days. I didn’t. – GP

By: GUY

GUY — Mon, 23 Nov 2009 03:41:26 +0000

George, now you know how us CART fans felt when the upstart IRL segregated the speedway and introduced the “crapwagon” (Paul Tracy said it, not me). But, in this market, having a sponsor that WANTS to spend lots of money is definitely a gift horse and maybe Indycar is at it’s bottom with nowhere to go but up? So, welcome any new fans and I’m sure current fans will stay, the only people watching now are diehards and aren’t going anywhere.

By: IndyFan

IndyFan — Sun, 22 Nov 2009 03:37:27 +0000

“in the early 90s” — when F1 champ Mansell crossed the pond to compete in the PPG IndyCar World Series

By: James O.

James O. — Sat, 21 Nov 2009 17:22:38 +0000

Yesterday I was fortunate enough to find a copy of JEREMY CLARKSON ON CARS at a local bookshop (Clarkson is the fun and opinionated host of the tv show TOP GEAR).

In one of the early chapters he was complaining about the BBCs wealth of cricket news at the expense of auto racing, even though auto racing is far more popular. And he mentioned (this appears to have been written in the early 90s) that he watched Indycar racing on satellite.

I can’t imagine him saying the same thing today.

By: BC

BC — Sat, 21 Nov 2009 16:05:25 +0000

Any overrun of any fans would be a welcome turn of events at this point…

Bottom line: the product must be a good one, at least in the eyes of a core group. That’s how you turn prospectives into real fans and keep the fans you already have. Real enthusiasm by the core audience – “Hey, you gotta check IndyCar racing out! It’s fantastic!!”

How many of us, given the current product, can REALLY say that last phrase?

By: IndyFan

IndyFan — Sat, 21 Nov 2009 00:45:57 +0000

Stop writing about a sport and people whom you don’t like. We don’t want to read your rants.

By: James O.

James O. — Sat, 21 Nov 2009 00:01:14 +0000

I’m finding it hard to believe that it really matters that much. I don’t buy shirts by brand; I start with what I what I’m generally looking for (dress long sleeve, dress short sleeve, casual), and then I go by the style and look, and then the price. Brand is the final factor, but only because there are a couple that I refuse to buy at any price; otherwise it doesn’t matter.

Other people’s shopping habits may differ. But frankly, I can’t imagine myself attracted to Indycar because of Izod, or vice versa. They’re buying product awareness, but they’re not changing my shopping habits.

By: Chris Estrada

Chris Estrada — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 19:39:55 +0000

This was the problem that popped into my head as soon as it was reported that IZOD got the nod. I asked Brian Barnhart about what the league could do to keep the “middle class,” so to speak while I was covering the announcement for Fox, and he basically said that while IZOD was upscale, the partnership wouldn’t be exclusionary to any particular fan base.

http://msn.foxsports.com/motor/story/10331636/Sponsor-in-place,-but-IndyCar-still-has-work-to-do

For the sport’s sake, I wish I was as confident as Barnhart. It’ll be a fine line for the IRL to walk, I think. But as Pressdog intimated, the top priority is getting an on-track product that will ensure old and new fans for the series.

By: oilpressure

oilpressure — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 17:37:42 +0000

Good one!

By: BP

BP — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 17:20:23 +0000

As a 27-year old, I’m probably somewhere in that demographic that Izod and the IndyCar Series wants to bring to the track on a regular basis. However, as someone who has brought newcomers to races (usually the Indianapolis 500) on a regular basis, I think as these young, hip fans come to the track they will gradually catch on to what the Izod IndyCar Series is all about.

Yes, there will be some friction between the long-time fans and new ones, but as the new ones are around more, they will catch on. We’ll just need to have patience with them.