The Tribune

By RICARDO WELLS

rwells@tribunemedia.net

THE Bahamas Bowl was the first major sporting event I covered as a journalist.

This past week organisers announced plans for the fourth instalment of what has become a must-see event - the game will be held on December 22 at the Thomas A Robinson National Stadium and I, for one, can no longer accept the bland build-up to and the poor attendance for this event.

I know it is a little bit early. And I also know we are still waiting for things to come together with the newly-elected Free National Movement administration.

However, work must be done to make this event as good off the field of play as it is on. Important tasks must be identified now, arranged in an attainable manner and worked on from now.

Before it became an international trend to tune in to this game and berate the poor attendance on social media, I made it a point to call out both event organisers and local affiliates for the lack of push here on the ground to ensure that the 15,000-seat venue is filled.

Back then, in 2015, I was doing so in my capacity as contributor for a local blog. This continued even after being asked to contribute this weekly column.

My issue is not with anyone in particular. It lies with the fact that avenues are available to make this event better for fans in attendance, all the while as we spread the fundamentals and joys of football to the youth of the Bahamas.

Attendance

One of the biggest criticisms you hear from persons on the ground at this event is their lack of familiarity with the two teams.

While many Bahamians consume a lot of college football over the course of the year, much of their viewing is spread across programmes from the top tier conferences and not the Mid-American Conference and American Athletic Conference - the contributors to the Bahamas Bowl.

I have long been a proponent of the government fostering a television arrangement between these two conferences and local television stations for broadcasting rights of their seasons.

Hence, by the time the participants in the annual bowl game are determined, local consumers will have a level of familiarity with whichever combination of teams are selected.

Equally as important, such an arrangement would boost the offering of sports programming offered by JCN, ZNS and Our Tv.

This level of familiarity will, in my opinion, propel Bahamians across the country to make a day of the Bahamas Bowl event if only to see the conclusion of weeks of programming they have seen played out on their television sets.

Secondly, organisers must get on the ground and build a working relationship with local youth leagues of all sporting disciplines; after all, quite often, these are the only societal groupings free in the middle of the week with the ability to attend this event.

The first two editions of this game were hosted on Christmas Eve. Bahamians are notorious last-minute people that reserve this day primarily for all of their eleventh hour gift and grocery shopping.

If a base was built among local youth leagues, and I dare say a youth football league was established, organisers of the Bahamas Bowl could guarantee themselves a filled to capacity eastern grandstand by offering each of these leagues and its teams free tickets and meal vouchers courtesy of the event title sponsor.

This arrangement would allow parents needing time free to complete last-minute shopping with that time, all while allowing thousands of Bahamian kids already on school break a couple of hours and good, clean fun.

Additionally, if organisers were to reach out to the Ranfurly Home for Children and the other youth hostels throughout the capital, they would guarantee hundreds more in attendance.

I know this sounds like an expensive feat but I am sure the corporate sections of Aetos Holdings, the parent company of Popeye’s Bahamas, would be interested in underwriting a portion of this “community imitative” and so would many other companies.

Pick up the phone and get corporate Bahamas on the line.

My last idea to boost attendance comes with respect to holiday festivities.

Bahamians love a good party. If you don’t believe me ask Machel Montano and the scores of Bahamians that braved the rain well into the morning to see him hit the stage. I am not saying we need Bahamas Junkanoo Carnival part two to coincide with the Bahamas Bowl. However, we need to break away from the “clash of junkanoo group” narrative.

We need a dedicated team working to make pre-game events more than a bland tailgate experience; halftime more than 15 minutes of the Saxons and Valley Boys marching from opposite ends of the field to face off and post-game more than a trophy presentation.

Let’s get our Junkamania stage set up at the carnival grounds which sits adjacent to the national stadium. Let’s pack that stage with local musical acts for the two and-a-half hour period before the game, allowing ESPN to set up their Game Day broadcast amidst the wide array of true Bahamian culture.

Let’s carry that flair over to the stadium during the halftime performance with another top tier Bahamian talent putting on a top tier performance at the 50-yard line.

Also, let’s replace that uninteresting trophy presentation with one on the field that runs into a legitimate cultural after-party built around, you guessed it, Junkanoo.

During this time, local junkanoo organisers can lay out parade details in a fun-filled atmosphere. This way, you make the ground of the national sports centre a hub of entertainment and fun for anywhere between six and eight hours.

In conclusion, my goal is not only to put butts in seats during the Bahamas Bowl live broadcast to the world but to use this opportunity to take Bahamian culture to the world.

After all, over the last 10 years, we in the Bahamas have proven that we are a little more than just ‘sun, sand and sea’.

• Ricardo Wells writes Fourth Quarter Press every Monday. Comments to rwells@tribunemedia.net