I saw this article from Vic Fangio, a long time NFL coach and now the head coach in Denver. He was asked about training camp and I think he's 100% spot on
“I think it’s good to have the fans out there,” Fangio said. “The history of the NFL, you had to go to college campuses back in the day because [team] facilities didn’t look like this. When I first went to the Saints in the mid-80s, we had an 80-yard grass field. We had no cafeteria. Guys would go to a greasy deli for lunch right across the street.
“So you were forced to go to small college campuses to have your two-a-days because they had a cafeteria, because they had classrooms and because they had dorms to sleep in. A byproduct of that was fans would come and watch.
“I think one of the things - small thing - that has driven the NFL to it being the most popular sport in the country is that you let people come and watch practice, people that maybe can’t afford to go to the games and maybe get an autograph from a player, maybe a player shakes their hand or throws them a sweatband or a glove.
“You do that with a young person, you got a fan for life and football has a fan for life. There’s more to be gained out of that than any advertising slogan or any commercial that you put on TV.
“So I think it’s a good thing and I’ll embrace it, the players will embrace it. I wish there could be more [fans] here. But I think about half or less of the NFL teams now don’t go to college campuses and don’t have the wherewithal to have people at their facilities to watch practices, and I think it’s a little bit of a negative.” |
As a fan who grew up in the 1980s and used to visit the Giants at Pace, FDU and then up in Albany there was some cool about being able to go to the camp and see the practices, see the players. I remember going to the camp in 1990 as a teenager and I had a little notebook that I got a bunch of players to sign (Hostetler, Walls, William Roberts). I remember walking over to the parking lot and seeing Dave Meggett almost hit a kid and stopped short and went out to check on him (this was well before we all realized was a scumbag Meggett was). Just spending a day at the camp and finding a spot on a hill to watch practice and then mingling with the players was great.
Now, like everything else, the NFL has taken away so much of the fan experience for this sterile system. The Giants, to their credit, are trying to be more accommodating, by making the tickets free with a sign up (there is limited room at Quest, so they can't just open it up, I get it). They still let the kids get autographs, though it's now a controlled atmosphere and you get a select group of players.
I suppose when your business grows into a multibillion dollar, international industry, this is what happens. But Fangio is 100% correct, camp isn't as fun anymore for the fans to watch and for those that can't afford tickets with kids, even less so.
https://sports.yahoo.com/broncos-vic-fangio-understands-the-value-in-keeping-training-camp-practices-open-to-public-213143664.html - (
New Window )
The memories I have of going to Albany in late summers to see the Giants practice are some of the best memories (not just football memories) I have in my life.
I guess I understood why they left, but I was still sad about it and I have not once tried to go to the Timex Center version of training camp even though it is obviously much closer. I haven't heard good things and honestly it wouldn't be the same anyway.
Back then, you literally sat on the hill right above the players on the field. No ropes, no security, nothing. You brought a sandwich and some 'pop' and hung out for the day with your friends. After practice, you could walk right up to the field and get autographs and talk to the players. They'd be lighting up smokes, cracking beers, etc.
Once we went to the local pizza hut at lunch time before heading to the field and sitting at a table eating pizza were Joe Greene, LC Greenwood, and a couple other guys...before pratice, lol...right next to everyone else. Different days.
Access to the players were great....
Unless something drastically change with Quest....I have zero interest.
Another time, came across an old man wearing a floppy old bucket hat. It was Wellington and he was crossing from the locker rooms to where the indoor facility was (kind of where they used to set up the merchandise tents). Anyway, he thanked me for being a fan and signed my book. My Dad told me not to mention he is a Jets fan. Running into Wellington was cool for me but much cooler for a guy of my Dad's generation.
Tons of memories from seeing the different players. Ike Hilliard is still the most accommodating athlete I've ever seen when it came to signing and interacting with fans.
I remember in 05 seeing Jacobs for the first time and wondering how it was possible he was bigger than any of our d-lineman.
The highlight was getting to personally thank Accorsi for Eli the last time I was up there.
I think it was actually Pace. If for nothing else, the 1986 Giants were at Pace and it was after Super Bowl XXI that they all wrote books. They didn't move over to FDU until I think 1989.
Fangio is spot on. Really great experience for fans.
Training camp was amazing. Now not so much.
But what I loved most, was the Draft Day Parties, at the old stadium. Going on the field, into the lockerooms and see the gold plates of where LT and Simms sat, the player cafeteria and fan bar, meeting players for an autograph, a visit to the press box, our kids playing in the practice bubble, while Papa is interviewing Coughlin, vets, and past Giant players. Lastly, being able to touch the Lombardi Trophy and have Landetta let us wear his SB rings was a treat.
Those were the days..
I've traveled all over the world, but if given a choice, I'd pick two solid weeks at Albany training camp over my trip to Europe in September. (A hell of a lot cheaper, too!)
Also don't get me started on how intense the practices were compared to now.
The fan experience is certainly waning today, IMO.
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which was the campus with all of the geese and the goose crap all over the paths? (Pace or FDU...I think it was FDU). I remember one of the players even talking about it in one of their post-Super Bowl books.
I think it was actually Pace. If for nothing else, the 1986 Giants were at Pace and it was after Super Bowl XXI that they all wrote books. They didn't move over to FDU until I think 1989.
If I recall correctly, it was Harry Carson (in his book Point of Attack) who commented about the "bird poop" all over the field at Pace.
Also, went to Siena for college and there were a few time a certain Tight End used to make his way on to campus! Not for the football
Now I see him all over town and think nothing of it.