Winning with the Crowd - The Seattle Sounders

Last August, I wrote about the possibility of using fans to run a professional sports franchise.

With the Internet, blogs, cable television, NBA TV and more, die-hard NBA fans are more educated than ever. They watch games and discuss every angle on blogs and message forums. Sites exist to track prospects for the next NBA Draft and to suggest potential trades. A quick google search provides contract information for any player in the league.

Now, Major League Soccer's Seattle Sounders, with minority owner Drew Carey, are using their fans' input to build their franchise. Consequently, Seattle has sold out all 25,000+ seats for all 15 home games this season.

"I like the idea of this being a movement," Carey says. "There's no reason a team like the Clippers can't do this, or a team like the Detroit Lions. What do teams like that have to lose?"

Control, someone suggests.

"That was the argument against democracy in the United States," Carey replies, launching into a soliloquy in which he dismisses monarchies and applauds the masses.

"Let the fans vote for the GM? Don't you vote for judges you've never heard of? I believe fans know way more about sports teams than they know about judges, and judge is a pretty important job. Look, the only way fans can ever have a say in the way a team is run right now, with most teams, is to stop coming. And that's no way to run a business. We're going to have lean years. When that happens, I want them to keep coming, and we do that by having them really involved."

He's right. Can the fans in Detroit do any worse than the Lions' management over the last decade? Could Clippers' fans do any worse than Clipper management?

As I wrote in another article on mistakes of certainty(about analysts vs bloggers, but the same lie of thinking works for fans vs traditional management):

The problem, I believe, is the curse of knowledge, or more specifically, partisan thinking. When a former NBA player or coach analyzes a game on television, he believes that he is an expert because he played the game. As an expert, he starts to believe that his opinions and beliefs are facts. When he analyzes games, he colors his commentary to reinforce his beliefs.

The "amateurs," however, start blogs because of their passion for the game. They approach the game not from a belief in their own expertise, but as a desire to learn more. Rather than preach about their own beliefs, they ask questions. They offer theories and then do the research to see if they are right. They do not offer opinions as an expert; they conduct research. While an NBA analyst attempts to prove himself right with his commentary, the "amateur" attempts to find answers.

Of course, an owner would be nuts to try this in basketball, right?

Team owners aren't known for welcoming change. To think a trend will develop, says David Carter, executive director of the USC Sports Business Institute, "is simply wishful thinking."

But, why not? Real Madrid and FC Barcelona, two of the richest franchises in the world, use elections to decide the president of the board (the general manager). Last week Barcelona completed the treble, winning the domestic league, domestic cup and European cup championships in the same year.

The criticism, of course, is that fans are notoriously fickle. However, with over 10,000 people, the vote evens out.

Imagine the sense of ownership that fans would feel if they really had a say in the management of the franchise.

In Sacramento, would the local citizens have voted for a new arena if they had some say in the management of the team? How many residents would pay to join a Kings' Booster Club for the rights to vote on management? How many fans would have a favorable impression of the Kings and the Maloofs, as opposed to the current ill-will toward the billionaire owners who famously appeared in a Carl's Jr. commercial saying that they drink thousand dollar wine with their $6 hamburger while asking local citizens to raise taxes to pay for their new arena?

In a community like Sacramento - where there is nothing but the Kings and Triple A baseball - giving control to the fans would be genius. Kings fans live and die with the Kings - why shouldn't they have some control over the board and the management?

I've been on the negative side of a board. I was fired by a board that had no contact with me the day after the board member who I met with on a weekly basis talked to me about a 2-3 year plan. But, that's life, right? Don't win enough games or curry favor with the right people and you lose a job. Why protect millionaires because they don't want to lose their million-dollar jobs?

If the NBA wants to be an entertainment league - and by all accounts the league is based on entertainment first - why not engage the fans? As franchises look for ways to cut costs and raise revenue, the idea of using the crowds seems to help the bottom line, too, while also engaging fans in a way that amkes them more likely to renew season tickets and buy more gear.

Eveentually, an owner will look to use the fans in some capacity in the decision-making process. And, when it happens, I will become a fan and buy some gear. I'll have a new favorite team.