Sports Radio Service


		Pro football returns to Sactown! By Charlie O. Mallonee September 25, 2010

	Saturday night marked the first time since 1994 that a professional football game was played in Sacramento. That game in 1994 featured the Sacramento Gold Miners of the Canadian Football League. The game on Saturday showcased the Sacramento Mountain Lions of the United Football League (UFL). Sacramento is the 20th largest market in the United States with 1.4 million people. It is also an area that craves an identity. It wants to shake the “cow town with the Capitol” personality. Sacramento embraces its Kings. Arco Arena is legendary for the loud, passionate crowds who cheer the Kings to victory. Sacramento loves the Kings and that has not been easy to do for the past five years as the team struggles to rebuild. The fans of Sactown also love their minor league baseball team. The Sacramento Rivercats – Triple-A affiliate of the Oakland Athletics – have led all of minor league baseball in attendance for the past five seasons. Sac fans look to Milwaukee (#35 market) and wonder why they can not have a major league baseball team, a NFL team (Green Bay) and a NBA team. Sacramento has the population, but it lacks a big corporate base that buys the luxury boxes and the ads for a pro sports team. The big corporate employer in Sacramento is the State of California. The Department of Motor Vehicles and CalPers are larger than many companies but they are not allowed to buy a luxury box for their departments or their clients (can you imagine that legislative hearing?). Sacramento may yearn for the A’s and the Raiders, but that is not going to happen. A second tier pro team like the Mountain Lions are the best hope for the fans of Sac. There are two key questions to be answered: 1) Will the fans support the Mountain Lions? 2) Is the UFL strong enough to survive in today’s professional sports environment? Will the fans support the Mountain Lions? Who knows? The economy of Sacramento is in shambles. Forced furlough days for state workers, layoffs and home foreclosures have hit the Capital City economy square in the jaw. Fans may want to attend a pro football game but can they afford to go? As for the UFL, the principals appear to be successful, well funded business people. The odds however are against them. New sports leagues do not have a track record of success. I arrived at Hornet Stadium on the campus of Sacramento State University at 5:30 PM – two and one-half hours before kick off. Traffic control was set up to handle a crowd of 25,000 plus. Tailgate parties were well under way with smoke rising from the barbeques. Another 500 people were enjoying the fan fest set up near the stadium. Head coach Dennis Green was on stage speaking to the fans. The fans were especially happy when the cheerleaders joined the fan fest. Fans love cheerleaders – major or minor league. The Will Call booth had four lines five deep. The walk-up ticket booths had lines of up to 50 people waiting to buy tickets. By 6:45 PM, fans were in the stands and along the sidelines watching the teams work out without pads. At 6:50 PM, the PA announcer told the crowd that a pre-game chalk talk with members of the Mountain Lions staff would begin at 7:00 PM. I was beginning to see a high commitment to fan enjoyment even before the game begins. Much to my surprise, the game included the luxury experience for fans that require such amenities. A large party tent was set up along the south end zone and divided into “suites”. Fans in suites were less than 10 yards from action in the end zone. There were also “suites” set up on top of the press box. All were served by wait staff in white shirts and bow ties. At 7:30 PM the evening turned serious; on the large video screen a three minute vignette played highlighting the Mountain Lions involvement with the Keaton Raphael Memorial Child Cancer organization. The team was establishing their commitment to the community. At game time, the team introductions were punctuated by loud music and fireworks. It definitely was show time Sacramento! Just prior to the kickoff the fans gave a loud “roaring” welcome to the national TV audience on the Versus Network. Between plays the crowd was quiet and almost “church” like. That may have been due to not being familiar with the team. It may have also been due to a lack of exciting plays on the field. At 8:52 in the second quarter, the big crowd – estimated at 20,000 - was rewarded for its patience when the “MoLos” scored a touchdown. The score brought the crowd into the game. The crowd seemed to be reenergized by the music of rocker Jackie Green at half time and was ready for the second half to start. The Mountain Lions passed a tough test at the beginning of the fourth quarter. With Sacramento down 17 -10 and the time at 10:32 PM, how many people would leave early? The answer was approximately 10% left the building. Score that as a win for the Mountain Lions. When the Mountain Lions tied the game at 17 -17 with 6:59 left in the game, the crowd bordered on becoming rowdy for the first time of the evening. The Mountain Lions scored a touchdown with 31 seconds left in the game to take the lead 24 - 20. The crowd went wild! The Mountain Lions won the game 24 -20 for their first win of the season. Pro football had returned to Sacramento with an exciting victory. Now comes the most important question … will the 20,000 fans come back for home game number two? Time will tell.