Five ways I'd change the...

Houston Aeros.

Yeah, if you read a lot of hockey blogs, particularly Puck Daddy, you might have thought I was going the NHL route there. But no. I think all the good ideas, and some really bad ones, have been voiced, though it is an interesting read.

But in the real world, the Aeros President recently stepped down and presumably, the position is mine for the taking. My zero years of sports management, people management, and marketing/sales experience leave me stupendously underqualified, but I bet I've sat through and listened to as many Aeros games as Garrity or Tom Lynn have, seeing as they're both based out of Minnesota and are in charge of a lot more than just the Aeros. And I can tell you what works for me as a fan and what really really REALLY doesn't.

1. Don't just advertise at the 4 or so hockey rinks around town. Houston is chock-a-block with sports fans. Get their attention (billboards, naked ladies, free beer, whatever it takes), get them to a hockey game, make it clear what's going on, and get 'em hooked. Also, hockey players are damn fine specimens... Ladies Night! $20 club seats, voucher for beer or soda, and a strip tease for charity after the game. Instant fans!
   
2. Move the radio broadcast of the games to a sports radio station. I think we have three in town now that have either all or considerable sports content. Get the games off the wacko KNTH ultraconservative station. I can feel the vomit coming up in my throat when I hear even a minute of that station before the game. *urp* AND if it's on a sports station and they want to promote their content, they're gonna actually talk about the team on a regular basis! Imagine!
   
3. Furthermore, there are several local channels that do their own "local sports" shows each week. Get the boys on those shows to "sell" the game. There are some great personalities on the team and they can sell the sport. Reporters would love to have the access to pro athletes that the team could really give them.
4. Lower ticket prices. Club seats shouldn't be more than $25 at the gate, $20 for the corners and $10-15 for the end zones. Obviously glass should be at a premium. Include those in the advertisers packages as an enticement to advertise with the team, on the radio, and on the TV broadcasts, when those happen.
5. Improve the gameday entertainment to be... wait for it... ENTERTAINING. Change the music up. Change the video up. And please PLEASE ditch the droning choirs. Put kids on the ice playing broomball or the squirts out playing hockey, or hell, even put the high school kids out and have a Battle of the Suburbs tournament that runs the whole season. Make it interactive for the fans. Stop putting us to sleep between periods! Make the lovely Aero Dynamics shake their money makers while the Zambonis run. Boom. 20 minutes of entertainment for everybody and nobody's annoyed or offended or drooling on their sleeves, everybody's ready and pumped for the next period, and the boys will return to the ice to an excited crowd rather than a yawning one.
6. BONUS: Give all three Aeros bloggers a press pass. I know of two others and they both have one. *tapping toe* I don't even want locker room access. Knowing how I utterly clam up around the players, it would be useless. Andrew and John can handle the "OMG! Bare ass!" end of things (but of course, if I have a press pass, I can sit with them and tell them what I want to know!)
   

Now look, I'm not all that smart and I can figure this out. Hopefully someone will come in with a fresh perspective and fix this problem. Give the excitement and beauty of hockey the support it deserves in a market that may need a little nudge to "get up" for it. Slip a little Hockey Viagra in the water... that's all I'm asking.