Indoor Football Team Asks for Feedback

[daytonadan1983]

Greetings, Professional Scribes:

I'm asking for some feedback.

My team is the Frisco Thunder of the Intense Football League, a nine-team indoor football league based in Texas. We are in the Dallas market, and while the Dallas Morning News has given us the coverage a minor league team drawing 2,000 a game warrants ... well, let's face it, the outdoor team over in Irving will always get the lions share.

So we decided to do it ourselves. Each game gets a lead story, sidebar and notes on the web site. The coverage package, including photos and stats, is e-mailed to a database of 1,075 ticket holders and subscribers. We've also launched a junior journalism program for broadcast journalist students from two area high schools and the work has been impressive.

Here's a typical gameday page:
http://www.friscothunderifl.com/gameday0413.php

The student videos can be accessed on the home page. Scroll down to the last one and see where one student asks our QB if he's dating Jessica Simpson as well. Classic.

For those from Minnesota, our owner is former Vikings WR Jake Reed.

Thank you for your time.

 

[Armchair_QB]

You might want to fix your website so people can actually look at the roster.

 

[playthrough]

I'm with you, "the outdoor team over in Irving" gets far too much attention.

 

[BigSleeper]

For a league and team I've never heard of, the site looks far more professional than I expected. It's probably better than most college athletic sites.

As for your approach to coverage, it's probably what the fans of the franchise want and you appear to serve their needs. As for the quality of the writing, well, I only needed to read two paragraphs of a game story to see it is pretty much what I expected from a team and league I never heard of.

However, you've got a great foundation. Just needs polish.

 

[BYH]

IJAG loves your website b/c it doesn't put a period in Dr Pepper. :D

And I was going to say this will not end well, but that's a sharp-looking site and the writing is better than I've seen on many official sites. Good luck with it.

 

[deskslave]

Damn, who the hell decided it would be a good idea to play seven straight home games, then seven straight road games?

Also, minor quibble, with a name like Deja Blue Arena at blah blah blah...don't try to use the arena name as a modifier. Just say "in front of a crowd of 2,001 at ..."

Other than that, good luck. If/when the team folds, try to keep the site up to show future employers.

 

[mdpoppy]

If/when the team folds, try to keep the site up to show future employers.

Burn.

 

[daytonadan1983]

If/when the team folds, try to keep the site up to show future employers.

You get used to it .. but for the record, the Intense Football League was the only football league that did NOT have a team fold last year....

Burn.

 

[Diabeetus]

Count me among those impressed with how the site looks. If you have someone to devote to editing stories with a styleguide (think AP), you'd be even better off. Good luck!

 

[-Scoop-]

That's a very impressive site. I actually used to cover Coach Esprit and Jackson a year ago so it's good to see they're doing well.

But to answer the original poster's question, I think it's accessible and is very nice considering the league. Shows a lot of the effort that was put into it.

 

[daytonadan1983]

I want to thank everyone who took the time to view my web site and provide feedback. It was very helpful.

Now here's my second question: Do you see minor league teams such as mine needing to produce their own coverage on their web sites and e-mail lists as a future norm or is this something we have to do because we're in a major market?

 

[TheHacker]

The original poster doesn't mention what position he has with the team, but if it's a question of trying to generate more coverage, I'd suggest digging into the smaller media outlets -- the suburban dailies and community weeklies in the region -- to see if you can get them to see where they might have some local angles.

My paper covers a team in a league similar to this and roughly half the guys on the team played their high school ball in our area. And at this level of football, of course, they all have day jobs, so it makes for some interesting stories. Still, few people go to the games, so if you've got a decent fan base, you're doing better than a lot of other indoor football franchises. As others have said, Web site looks good. Try to dial down the homerism and cliches in the stories, but it does look like something that was done with care.

 

[HejiraHenry]

I want to thank everyone who took the time to view my web site and provide feedback. It was very helpful.

Now here's my second question: Do you see minor league teams such as mine needing to produce their own coverage on their web sites and e-mail lists as a future norm or is this something we have to do because we're in a major market?

Well, I would argue that this sort of treatment would be good for any kind of "minor" pro sports franchise, if only because it would create some jobs for my fellow journalists who are losing paying gigs at newspapers.

 

[reformedhack]

You get used to it .. but for the record, the Intense Football League was the only football league that did NOT have a team fold last year....

Well, there was that other league with the outdoor team in Irving ...

 

[BigSleeper]

I want to thank everyone who took the time to view my web site and provide feedback. It was very helpful.

Now here's my second question: Do you see minor league teams such as mine needing to produce their own coverage on their web sites and e-mail lists as a future norm or is this something we have to do because we're in a major market?

I would say yes. The best coverage your team is most likely ever going to get is the kind you provide. However I use "best" fairly loosely. I doubt you'll want to provide the kind of coverage that requires you to write about things like when a star player gets whacked out, beats his girlfriend and runs over over a bunch of neighborhood kids in a stolen car.

 

[daytonadan1983]

My apologies ... I meant to say only league other than the NFL ....

As far as the off-the-field drama ... I've had to handle an on-field death; after that experience, I think I can handle anything...

 

[amraeder]

The Web site is quite good. As a guy who covers the IFL I can say it's one of the best in the league. If you want any tips on stories, feel free to PM me. I have to read up on the league for the day job anyway, might as well help out while I'm doing it.

As far as coverage, we cover our IFL team pretty well up here (I like to think), but then they're just competing with Junior A hockey and high school right now. I can see how you'd get overlooked in your market.

Some very nice work, though. You guys should be proud.