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Much ado about nothing
Back on April 19th I blogged about an interview on that orange site in which Corey Rosen of AdventureRacingTV.com lambasted me (obliquely) about an earlier post in which I speculated that the site had been shutdown. Turns out it was just a prolonged server issue and I was wrong. Mea culpa...again...
Corey stated that ARTV was still alive and kicking and went on to promise big things this year and next. He even had an event schedule posted on the site. You should see the email I got from Greg Yetter (an orange site guy) threatening to sue me for libel over the matter.
In fact...lets go ahead and show it to you now just for fun :-)
Dear sir,For what it's worth I should mention that I did not repost anything without permission. I quoted it with an attribution for the sake of commenting on it, as is common practice in all forms of media.
You were given neither written or verbal permission to use whole or in part the story you have posted on your site regarding ARTV.com. Additionally, your posting is libelous to both myself and ARTV.com. This is a very disturbing situation. If the story in question is not removed from your site immediately I will have no recourse but to initiate legal proceedings against yourself and XXXXXXX for sponsoring this attack. Please respond within 2 days of this post.
Sincerely,
Greg Yetter
After all that ruckus it nows seems Mr. Rosen has had second thoughts won't be producing anything for ARTV afterall. I'm shocked.
Instead it seems he's got something new up his imaginary sleeve:
Adventure Racing TV is working on a new project with top Adventure Racing Athletes and Members of the Sporting Community to launch in 2008. While all the pieces are being put together, ARTV will dedicate its resources to the project at hand and not pursue any events for live television in 2007.What could he be referring to you ask? When will we find out? Is the anticipation killing you?
Relax...Yak's gonna hook you up :-)
It turns out that I know a guy...actually I know a lot of guys. It just so happens that I've picked up a few tidbits through the old grapevine that might shed some light on this new project and crack it's veil of secrecy.
What I hear is that Mr. Rosen is planning...drumroll please...a professional adventure racing league...
Picture teams (with coaches and rosters and everything) based in major cities competing against teams from other cities in regularly scheduled events :-)
So the Balance Bar series didn't make it even with a $250k prize purse and TV coverage on OLN. Eco Challenge got shelved in favor of Survivor. The Raid has morphed into the Mountain X-Race. Primal Quest has shed it's veil as the "world's richest adventure race" and the TV spotlight with it.
Does anybody really think there is a market for this kind of thing? Check the Neilsen ratings folks. Professional hockey is damn near on life support. Anybody wanna claim that adventure racing can drum up a fan base, TV audience and product licensing revenue on par the NHL?
I've got more details I'm not going to spill just yet. Like who he's working with :-)
Stay tuned...
posted by Yak @ 1:57 PM
22 comments
22 Comments:
As always, Yak you rock. I, too, have been wondering for quite some time what those folks over at ARTV have been up to, or lack thereof. Seems to me, they should be careful about making veiled threats when their own life support is about to be turned off.
Average Joe AR
Hmmm....Yak - please stick to what your good at...an informative US AR website, cptracker and some promising AR events and series.
Why make it some personal vendetta to belittle Sleepmonsters or ARTV for just trying to promote the sport and taking on some ambitious projects. AR is on life support right now and everybody's positive efforts or ambitions should be respected :)
I love that. Why the hell does everyone think AR is on life support? Because it's not on TV?
Check the calendar...roughly half the AR type events offered in 2007 as to 2006...No major events in the US at all (I define a major event as one that trully brings the best from all over the world)...and a giant drop in $$ sponsorship from the "high water mark" of 2002...maybe "on life support" isn't fair..."not a growth enterprise" is certainly accurate.
Maybe that's not bad...
Do we need a national AR racing association like the NFL? (it makes me think more about Dodgeball, frankly.)...Of course not. Will that type of series come to fruition beyond a race or two in the SoCal area?...nope.
Ok now we're getting somewhere. High dollar expedition racing may be...in flux...that's a long way from saying the sport at large is on life support. I see just the opposite. I had 60 teams of 3 at my first race and that was a 24. Gravity play had a 12 hour in May with 325+ racers and the Siege on Fort Yargo in Atlanta this weekend has over 100 teams signed up.
Promoters old and new are testing various business models. The market is there. The issue is how to tap it. I think we're closing in on a model that works for the racers, the promoters, the sponsors and even the fans.
[shameless plug]
Keep your eye on upcoming announcements about the CP Tracker Series :-)
[/shamelessplug]
Yak said : "I love that. Why the hell does everyone think AR is on life support? Because it's not on TV?"
I thought this thread was referencing a proposed "pro-league" not grass-roots events. To avoid the confusion I should have said "Pro-AR is on life support!"
Life Support is fair term if you compare the sport to its commerical peak in 2002, 2003 & 2004. With very lucrative sponsorship of events and series (Balanace Bar Colorado US110,000, Gorge games $60,000, Eco $60,000, PQ 250,000 etc). Please note that TV coverage and other media coverage is an important part of a pro-event where sponsors are fronting up with big amounts of $$$.
Presently we have PQ (prize purse now $100,000) currently asking 12,500 per team for a scaled down race and sponsor cash for races and events is VERY scarce. I think its fair to say that on a "professional level" AR is definitely on life support. Again, thats what i thought this this was about.
As for grassroots - certain regions are doing very well - but thats based on folks (RD's in particular) going overboard (losing $$$ or certainly not paying themsleves for the time & effort) all for the love of the sport. Which is GREAT! but its shouldn't be confused with pro-leauges where promotors and athletes can make a living.
I love that Yak tells it how it is. From what I have heard sleepmonsters bad mouths checkpoint zero ALL the time...I think its great Yak throws around some fun commentary - this sport needs more FUN associated with it.
Anony said: "I love that Yak tells it how it is. From what I have heard sleepmonsters bad mouths checkpoint zero ALL the time...I think its great Yak throws around some fun commentary - this sport needs more FUN associated with it"
FUN??? hmmm...I guess thats whatever floats your boat. Personally I worry that if CPZ, SM etc spend their time and energy badmouthing the eachother and their endeavours then the sport that suffers.
If I worked for Octogen Sports Marketing and was doing a prelimnary investigation of AR for a client (say PowerBar) looking to invest $250,000 into a AR race series all the negativity would be a turn off.
I think Yak and CPZ would benefit from SM or anybody else SUCEEDING as success of your competitors in business is a sure sign your industry is healthy and provides YOUR business with something to market with. I.E "Look what PowerBar is investing in AR with race sereis XYZ...I can provide you better exposure for $100,000 less"
If your in business for an ego boost then knocking competitiors publiciy is entertaining and a "hoot" but if your in it to make money and see the sport succeed then is definitely counterproductive (IMHO) ;)
Lurking :-)
I have been surfing both SM and CPZ for years. I have seen a number of times where CPZ has posted negative information about SM. I went back through the SM site the other day and I couldn't find one situation where SM posted a negative comment about CPZ. I found here to have at least five negative comments posted about SM or ARTV.
I thought we were all here to help the sport. Creating personal vendettas against other people in this small community is just juvenille. Yak, it sounds to me like you don't want this to happen. Doesn't sound like you don't think it will happen.
This helps no one. Why cause problems for the sport where none exist? Any the funny thing is, ARTV can be contacted by phone and email from their website. If someone wants to know what they are up to, why not just contact them?
The reason you found 5 (is that all?) "negative" comments on my site and none on theirs is because any time I have been critical, my criticism has been a) valid and b) public. The same cannot be said of all involved. I will not bore you with an explanation. That would be unprofessional.
As for helping the sport...I'm a capitalist. I intend to help the sport by continuing to offer high quality events, constantly improving race management software, a thriving news site focused on the sport and national points series unlike anything we've seen before.
For this to happen I need to be able to run my company on a full time basis (yes, folks I do all this at night after Baby Yak is in bed). To do that I have to be able to pay my bills and buy ridiculously expensive health insurance. To do that I have to make money. To do that I have to win in a competitive market (don't kid yourself...more than a couple RDs are making a nice living and plenty more are working at it). To do that I FULLY intend to continue to be extremely opinionated as to the efforts of my competitors and to share that opinion with you...on the Yak Blog :-)
PS - Everyone "getting along for the sake of the sport" sounds great in some kind of AR utopia. What's wrong with competition forcing innovation and creativity? Do you think Primal Quest and the Raid and the ARWC all sat around drinking coffee and planning out next years schedule?
You know the problem with this debate is that I don't know who any of you are. I'm probably arguing with Corey right now. COREY...get off my blog!!!
Seriously, you guys think I should turn off anonymous posting? I bet it'd get quiet if I did :-)
hey guys, what's wrong with trying.
every league in every sport started somewhere. one problem with adventure racing is that all the early money went into only a few peoples hand. the way the races with money were structured only a few teams (alomost always the same ones) ever won any money. the new league will spread the money around. I'm excited that someone is trying to grow our sport. I will give it my 100% support. There are a lot of people making money off adventure racers. why not give adventure racers a chance to make some.
Rick Sanders
Houston Adventure Racing Team
Yak Said: "PS - Everyone "getting along for the sake of the sport" sounds great in some kind of AR utopia. What's wrong with competition forcing innovation and creativity? Do you think Primal Quest and the Raid and the ARWC all sat around drinking coffee and planning out next years schedule?"
Hmmm...and just look at the state of these races ;-)
Competition is a good thing but it would be best to have a little more to compete over then the likes of Golite etc (great company's, shallow pockets). I'd suggest not poisoning the well and trying to bring back some of the $$ sponsors to the sport like the Ford, Chevy, Subaru's, Balance Bars etc. I do think a bunch of negative infighting is a turn off - everybody out to discredit everybody else can't help. Positive promotion of the sport and CPZ capabilities can ;-)
Cheers,
Neal (i don't have a google a/c!)
PS good to see you have a real blog now...but does that font have to be the largest on your homepage? ;)
Yes, it's my site. When you get your own site you can put NEAL on the homepage in even bigger letters :-)
Yak said "Yes, it's my site. When you get your own site you can put NEAL on the homepage in even bigger letters'
Fair enough ;)...I guess thats the essense of this debate...if it is "your" website alone then who am I to discuss its content/tone?
If the site "belongs" in some way or another to the AR community then I/we have right to critic its content and tone.
Again, I do think you opening the blog is a great move as (to me at least) gives it more of a AR community feel - should up your traffic heaps but likely also up your workload if you want to stay curreent.
Cheers,
Neal
What is this nonsense about MY site "belonging in some way to the AR community"?
Did Eco Challenge belong to the AR community? No, Burnnett shelved it in favor of Survivor and there it sits. Was that done in the best interest of the AR community?
I've spent the last SIX YEARS working nights and weekends building out this little AR eco-system of mine in the hopes that one day it would morph into a viable company from which I could earn a livelihood. I think I've done a decent job to date and frankly...you ain't seen nothing yet. I'm giddy at the prospect of what I can do when I'm doing it full time.
Neal, you've been talking about "the greater good" for as long as I can recall. I just don't have the time, energy or inclination to explain over and over again that I am trying to BUILD A COMPANY not a non-profit.
Believe me...there are enough people losing their ass in AR. I don't intend to be one of them.
You're a crusader and I'm Gordon Gecko. I get it. That's fine. The sport needs both...for the "greater good" :-)
Yak said: "Neal, you've been talking about "the greater good" for as long as I can recall. I just don't have the time, energy or inclination to explain over and over again that I am trying to BUILD A COMPANY not a non-profit"
Yak, I know your trying to build a company & I support you in that.
As for you being Gordon Gecko...give me a break...you wouldn't be doing what your doing if you didn't love AR more then the almighty $ - Mr Gecko would have been off chasing the lower growing fruit long ago!
Again - I think you'll make more $$$ if you don't get negative towards competitors - just out perform them.
Cheers,
Neal
Ya, I know...more flies with honey, blah blah blah :-)
Funny thing I just noticed.... the rare few times I look on this Yak blog I find that you are blasting SM ( SleepMonsters, also known to you as the "orange guys". But nearly everyday I have looked on SM over the past several years and I have yet to see any mention of you personally or of this website or of any other competitor AR site. Maybe they are just too busy providing AR content?
Dead horse. We already lampooned me for being a dick. You're just piling on.
Point in case...the fact that you went out of you way to state that you rarely read my blog. Why are you reading it now?
Again, I'm not gonna elaborate, but my attitude towards SM and ARTV did not form in a vacuum.
Accept that you don't know the full backstory and enjoy the fact that there remains at least one person with an opinion who isn't afraid to share it without posting anonymously :-)
I am amazed that everyone doesn't think an AR football style league isn't the most ridiculous idea ever?!?! Because it is...
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