Driving to the airport to hitch a ride on the donor plane to Las Vegas, Phil Collins’ “In The Air Tonight” came on the radio. It’s one of those songs you have to turn up and sing along to or you’re simply missing the moment, “I can feel it coming in the air tonight.”
As I entered the parking lot, I was overwhelmed to see droves of Arizona loyalists. A couple in a blue Audi pulled into the parking spot next to me. I let the moody tune play loudly with my windows down. They nodded, I nodded, and then out of nowhere, we hit the famous drum solo. Six arms flailing in perfect unison. A mix of orchestra maestro, Rush’s Neil Peart and Animal from “The Muppets.” We grinned ear-to-ear with what can only be described as released anticipation for Wildcat football.
What a difference a year makes.
The people that I spoke to on the plane, bus and in the team hotel were uniquely thirsty for the Jedd Fisch era to kickoff. The undercurrent of support was intangible for a coach who was hired in December to a collective moan of, “Who the heck is Jedd Fisch?”
No longer a stranger in a strange land, Coach Fisch and his feisty and authentic wife, Amber, are refreshingly engaged with the community, alumni, donors, families, faculty, kids and more. Coach Fisch is engaged from the field to social media, and it can’t be ignored. His “it’s personal” mantra feels less like a hashtag and more like heartstring-pulling way to get fans out of the three-year abyss and back to the soul of Arizona football.
Vegas, baby
The Arizona-BYU game in Las Vegas coincided with the Wildcat Club’s annual football donor trip. Walking across the tarmac at Atlantic Aviation, Kevin Bedient, an Arizona donor and co-owner of Advantage Air Mechanical told me, “Yes, it would be great to win, but we want to see the team play with grit, discipline and be competitive again.” That grit was on full display Saturday night, as Coach Fisch channeled his inner Crash Davis and Nuke Lashooh from the 1988 cult classic “Bull Durham.” As a refresher, at the start of the Bulls’ ballgame, Nuke wants to bring the heat and “announce my presence with authority.”
That is exactly what Coach Fisch did on Arizona’s opening drive. Facing fourth-and-inches of the Cats’ own 24-yard-line, Fisch’s confidence in his team out gritted us all. His decision to go for it told us one thing: I believe in this team. I believe now, and I will keep believing in the future.
A big thank you to the UA’s Erika Barnes, Suzanne Affeldt and the entire Wildcat Club staff who worked their bottoms off to provide a seamless two-day event for Wildcat fans. Big hugs to Paul Volpe, Beau Ralphs, Humberto Lopez, Kevin Bedient and Tim Abeyta for your friendship, hospitality and letting me and my big brother, Jeff Gerlach, cheer along with you.
SEC Expansion vs. the big alliance
While I was standing at Big Ten Media Days in Lucas Oil Stadium with my various head coach and commissioner clients, news leaked that Texas and Oklahoma were departing the Big 12 for the SEC. The move would push the SEC from 14 to 16 teams, creating the first true “superconference” in college athletics. SEC Commissioner Greg Sankey had already inked a $300 million deal with ESPN for their network rights to all SEC football games starting in 2024, and with Texas and Oklahoma on board, those dollars will increase exponentially. The rumor left many bigwigs and reporters wondering what the Big Ten, Pac 12, ACC and Big 12 would do, if anything.
Don’t count the Big 12 out just yet. Tough Group of Five football programs are eager to stake their claim in a Power Five conference. And new additions such as Houston, BYU, Central Florida, and Cincinnati could add deep value to the growth of the Big 12 while helping the scrappy football programs compete on a bigger stage.
Then there was “The Alliance,” a strategic partnership between the Pac-12 Commissioner George Kliavkoff, Big Ten Commissioner Kevin Warren and ACC Commissioner Jim Phillips. While the partnership business details are still unfolding, the trio announced it had formed to help “stabilize a volatile environment,” in college athletics. Both Kliavkoff and Warren bring extensive business expertise from their tenures in professional sports and entertainment to their respective conferences. Kliavkoff was the president of entertainment and sports for MGM Resorts and Warren was the president of the Minnesota Vikings — a franchise he took from last to fifth in revenue before becoming the Big Ten’s head honcho. While the press strategy for the announcement was subdued, I would anticipate more to come from the well-intended Alliance in the coming months.
US Open time
Tennis players Vasek Pospisil, left and Novak Djokovic are co-founders of the Professional Tennis Players Association.
As I pen this article I am heading to New York for the U.S. Open, where I am working alongside the co-founders of the Professional Tennis Players Association (PTPA), Novak Djokovic and Vasek Pospisil. This past summer, the co-founders enlisted our team at ANACHEL to assist with integrated marketing and communications in order to launch their players’ associations. Created by the players for the players, the PTPA movement has united and mobilized tennis players from around the globe in order to create transparency and fairness throughout decision-making in professional tennis.
Our first presser was from London at Wimbledon. As I prepped Novak and Vasek for the presser, we asked a simple question: Why is the PTPA needed? Vasek explained, “the Association of Tennis Players (ATP) is no longer a players association, in name or legally. It does not represent the players’ interest any longer.” In his classic accent, Novak explained to me: “The business of professional tennis needs innovation and we have to advocate for reform to ensure that the interests of women and men players are represented fairly on and off the court.” The Serbian and Canadian are two of the nicest clients that I have had the pleasure to work with and their movement to help protect the livelihoods, health and wellness of lower-ranked players is quite noble.
I’m supposed to be impartial, but for me personally — not professionally — it would be extraordinary to witness Novak win all four grand-slam events this year.
From Flushing, I’ll make a quick trip to Indianapolis to work for the NCAA and then back on red eye in time to be in Arizona Stadium for our first home game on Saturday.
It’s really
personal
Having my better half (as he is the nicer one), back on the field is quite personal to us both. When we came home to Tucson, all Chuck genuinely wanted to do was to give back to the university that had given him so much. Coaches such as Larry Smith and Dick Tomey had changed the trajectory of his life and for him, being able to share his gifts, passions, and time with the football student-athletes are quite personal on many levels.
As I lay on the hotel room bed and watched him straighten his blue and red tie getting ready for the game, I simply felt thankful and remembered what my Gram Deedee used to say: “All in God’s time.” She was right, and it was certainly worth the wait.
I hope that you all find the time and space to make it to Arizona Stadium on Saturday to support the team or tune in to game. Until then, Bear Down.
