The best team in the NHL got better this week as the Florida Panthers traded for future Hall of Famer, Claude Giroux. To celebrate the news, Chief Strategy Officer, Sam Doerr tweeted this:
To which I replied:
Sam was kind enough to share his email with me to hear more of my thoughts. Had he known that I was planning to spend my Sunday morning writing this newsletter, he may have thought otherwise. And since I got distracted writing this email instead of something for the newsletter, the email will now serve both purposes.
Hey Sam – thanks for responding to my tweet and congrats on the recent moves. What an exciting time to be a Cats fan. I think about this stuff a lot, especially when I see all the comments on social media from other fanbases about our attendance. I don’t expect random commenters to give any benefit of the doubt to nuance, like arena proximity to major metro areas, but I do think the organization can be doing a lot more to attract fans to the most exciting team in South Florida. Happy to share more, outside of food, but like most Americans, I think we should start with the food.
As I mentioned in my tweet, I’ve been going to Panthers games since I was probably 6 years old. My family was season ticket holders for some of those years. I live in NYC now, but usually get to 5-10 home games per year. In the last couple of years, the food at home games has gotten noticeably worse, to the point that I now pick up food before I head down from Boca and eat in the parking lot before the games. Of course, this saves me some money, but also saves me the unhealthy and bad meal I’d otherwise have to eat at the game.
I won’t pretend to understand the economics of the situation, as I’m sure some cost-saving is at play here, but I can share some anecdotes and ideas.
30 of us came to the Detroit game in a party bus and sat club level. This was my first time up there in a couple of years. The pepperoni pizza was bad enough to not even be finished by anyone in the group, all of whom were sufficiently drunk to eat bad pizza.
Idea: Partner with Pizza Time to make pies and sell pizza by the square – there are obvious Panthers synergies there and it will help both the community and the pizza quality, without having to do a corporate partnership (don’t need Domino’s / Papa Johns there).
Growing up, the chicken tenders at National Car Rental / Office Depot / Bank Atlantic Center were a dream. As an adult, I think it’s pretty hard to mess up chicken tenders, but it seems we have. Another long-time fan told me "Chicken tenders used to be 🔥🔥, now I even question if it’s chicken."
Idea: Getting better chicken tenders is obviously the easiest fix to this, but I’d love to see us expand the chicken menu in a big way. More people than ever care about their health and personally unless fried chicken is excellent, I’d opt for a grilled option. Let’s get some grilled tenders and more sauces. Sauce is boss when it comes to chicken.
The turkey sandwich should be the subject of an HBR Case Study. I know a significant portion of our ticket revenue comes in the holiday months. In other words, it comes around Thanksgiving. I was at the home l*ss to Seattle the Saturday after Thanksgiving and was blown away that we were serving turkey with cranberry sauce when it must be at its least popular culturally. Turkey, the driest poultry, does not make for a good mass-produced meal.
Idea 1: Expand the carving station to include more meats and toppings and bread types. Florida is one of the best deli states in the country, we should have carving stations that reflect that.
Idea 2: Ditch the hot meat carving station entirely and switch to a sub station. Bring the dining team to Laspadas to see a scalable operation that would actually work in the stadium. Drop a few of their customizations, channel some Henry Ford assembly line best practices, and start building some great sammies! I’d die for a real Laspadas sandwich during the game, but would settle for something half as good.
Another friend told me his girlfriend tried the “jerk chicken quesadilla and almost threw up.” I’ve been there, hungry between periods, lost on what to eat, and settled for this as well. I don’t think we need to be trying to reinvent the wheel. No one is coming to a Panthers game in search of a jerk chicken quesadilla.
Idea: Florida is a hub of Latin culture and we provide little to no Latin food options (can’t think of any). I would love to have a bowl station, a la Chipotle, with a rice or salad base and some chicken and beans and cheese and salsa. Why not some tacos and regular quesadillas as well? This is healthy, filling, and cheap to make. Certainly, we could add empanadas or arepas as well, though I’d fear the dryness issues our turkey suffers from.
I simply can’t understand why any adult would eat a hot dog on a weeknight, but my friend and longtime STH Grant told me he had one at a game the other night and is still burping it up. I told him he’s 30 years old and can’t be doing that anymore, but he’s an adult, so he can make his own decisions. Obviously, there is the Feltman’s partnership here, so I’ll leave that be.
It’s Sunday, the Florida Panthers are Cup contenders and a legitimate destination for NHL superstars, but we provide an in-game experience that’s closer to the teams of the past. I really appreciate you taking the time to read this email and look forward to sharing a Grandma slice from Pizza Time next season. ¡Vamos Gatos!
Best,
Andrew
Sidney Crosby The Rookie Year [Audiobook]
This audiobook comes recommended by JAT reader and junior hockey legend, Ben Silver.
Sticking with the theme, this very short (4hr) audiobook is similar to my previous recommendation for Maclolm Gladwell’s Bomber Mafia. Because it is audiobook only, it is incredibly produced – more akin to a podcast miniseries than an audiobook. “Sid the Kid,” also dubbed “The Next One,” has met the hype he had coming into the league and this tells the story firsthand of his rookie year.
—Andrew
John Clayton “This Is SportsCenter” Commercial
Legendary NFL reporter John Clayton passed away on Friday. In an age when most football TV personalities are known for either A) how loud they shout or B) how conflicted their interests may be, Clayton stood out for putting in the time and sticking to the fundamentals that all reporters should (but too often don’t). Clayton’s back-and-forths with Sean Salisbury remain some of the best ESPN programming, even though they did play to some nerd vs. jock clichés. But while I have all the respect in the world for Clayton’s work and reporting, he will also always be known for this amazing “This Is SportsCenter” ad. Rest in power.
—Justin
Grateful Dead 3/9/81 show at Madison Square Garden
For as much as I like the Grateful Dead, I am not one who can rattle off important dates and setlists. I’ve never had a mind for things like that. I’m the same way with sports stats. But when I saw this 1981 show referenced in a post on the band’s IG, I gave it a listen and it does indeed hit different. There’s a cleanness to the sound that is just amazing. And I always love the idea of the Dead playing in NYC at MSG.
—Justin
Fish School: Seafood Seminar: A Day at the Markets
I’ve really been enjoying Ruth Reichl’s Substack residency, La Briffe. So much so that I’ve actually compiled the gifts and recipes she’s recommended (will share later). Last month, she shared this article from the archives about a day spent with an absolute fish market psychopath. I would say the takeaways are less actionable than just finding a great fish market you can trust, but the rules and tips and tricks are, at a minimum, incredibly entertaining.
—Andrew