(Note: This is part 2 of a 2-part series running today about ESPN/B.A.S.S.'s pending Busch-sponsored Angler of the Year(AOY) contingency program.)
Will Anglers Participate?
If forced to wear a Busch/B.A.S.S. patch, some anglers won't participate in the AOY program. In fact, even if they don't have to wear it they still might not participate. That doesn't mean that they can't be the B.A.S.S. AOY. It just means they won't get the money -- though that depends on what the final program looks like.
One reason some pros won't participate if they have to wear a patch with Busch on it is because they don't want to be associated with alcohol products. Though Crown Royal has sponsored a team of anglers for a few years and Busch sponsored Denny Brauer before getting involved with B.A.S.S., alcohol sponsorship in bass fishing is a late-blooming phenomenon, in part because of fishing's reluctance to associate itself with alcohol for "family value" and boating-safety reasons.
Top pros like Mark Davis, Alton Jones and Jay Yelas, among others, have said in the past that they would not endorse alcohol products. Yelas feels that "probably 15-20 percent of the guys don't want to promote alcohol products.
"I'm one of them. I don't have anything against drinking a Busch beer, but it's not the kind of thing I want to endorse and promote. Right now I'm involved at church teaching Sunday School class to high school seniors and I don't want to stand up in front of those kids like (he's endorsing) drinking beer.
"There also might be a fan of mine at home with a drinking problem, and he might pick up a magazine and say, 'Hey (drinking is) okay with Jay.' Also, being a fairly young pro I have a lot of young people that look up to me and I don't want to promote alcohol to them.
"I don't want anyone to say 'Jay Yelas had a negative impact on me' or 'led me down this path and I got in trouble,'" Yelas said. "I want my legacy to be one where everything I do helps to enrich other people's lives."
He added that he would like to donate any AOY money he wins to charity, but he still would not wear a patch with Busch on it.
Tim Horton, who was not aware of the possible new requirement, said that if he's required to wear a patch or have a decal on his boat, his initial reaction is that he "won't be in" the AOY program. "I don't have a problem with Busch sponsoring it, but they don't sponsor me directly. I would have to hear more about it, but my first opinion on that is no -- I won't be up for the money.
"If it's a Top (12 or 6) day, I will do it. But for me to run it all year, I won't do that. I don't want to sound critical because I welcome Busch into this sport. It's just a personal deal for me."
Aaron Martens, who also hadn't heard about it yet, said: "I'm not sure if Crown Royal (his main sponsor) will let me do that or not. If it's okay with Crown Royal I'll probably do it. My wife's father has big shares in Anheuser Busch so I guess wouldn't be too bad (laughs).
"But that (requirement) could take a lot of guys out of it. That has nothing to do with your fishing abilities. It would be terrible to be AOY and not get the money because you're not wearing a patch."
Presumably Kevin VanDam will wear the patch as B.A.S.S. sponsorship director Hunter Cole said that VanDam will be featured in a new Busch commercial.
B.A.S.S. Expects Some Abstainers
ESPN/B.A.S.S. expects that some pros won't participate, Cole said. "We knew that some anglers have very strong commitments and beliefs, whether it's children looking up to them or something else. We definitely do realize that. We respect their decisions on that and wholeheartedly support them there.
"Some ideas have been kicked around about maybe other ways the (AOY) money can be used, but we haven't gotten that far down the line," he added.
Cole noted that a similar situation can be seen in Winston cigarettes' involvement in NASCAR. NASCAR drivers and teams wear the Winston logo, he said, but "many of them don't smoke or aren't paid to wear it. They're not necessarily endorsing that product, but they're endorsing that concept."
PAA Being Shut Out
Though anglers have been voicing their concerns and questions about the Busch AOY program to the Professional Anglers Association (PAA), and even though PAA executive director Scot Laney met with ESPN and B.A.S.S. officials at the Classic, apparently the PAA still isn't recognized by ESPN/B.A.S.S.
Asked whether ESPN/B.A.S.S. contacted the PAA about the Busch program and, if not, whether the PAA still is a nonentity to ESPN/B.A.S.S., Cole deferred to B.A.S.S. spokesman Chris Murray. Murray said only that "we still work with the B.A.S.S. Athlete Advisory Council on matters and did discuss (the Busch program) with several of them."
Laney confirmed that "B.A.S.S. has not been in contact with the PAA about this. We were made aware of (the issues) on Friday. We're obviously concerned about items of this magnitude, but we don't know enough about it yet to formulate a response."
Some Perspectives
Following are a few points BassFans should keep in mind about this program, whatever its ultimate parameters.
It's Not New
A "contingency program," as its called (if you do something you are eligible for something) is relatively new to bass fishing, but it is not new in sports. The first contingency program in bass fishing was the Ranger Cup, where Ranger owners who wear and display a Ranger Cup logo are eligible for tournament bonuses paid by Ranger. In NASCAR, contingency programs have been around for years. Cole gave the example of the Bud Pole Award, where cars that display a Bud (Budweiser) decal are eligible for a bonus if they win the pole spot. If they don't participate, they still win the pole but don't get the money. Some teams don't participate, notably those owned by Petty Enterprises.
Anheuser Busch's Big Muscles
Cole cited Anheuser Busch's marketing muscle and reputation as big assets to B.A.S.S. and bass fishing. "We were just praying Busch would get involved with us to put the name on the masthead, let alone contribute to the (AOY) purse," he said. He noted that Busch said it plans to run the VanDam commercial during NASCAR races and NFL games. And when Denny Brauer picked up Busch as his main sponsor, he pointed out that Anheuser Busch is such a "huge supporter of other sports" that "many other companies pay attention to how they spend their sports marketing dollars."
Pumping Up the B.A.S.S. AOY
"If we ever want to make (ESPN's) SportsCenter on a regular basis, we need to follow some type of points race," Cole said, adding that he hopes Busch's "marketing muscle will elevate this category (to the point of) the NASCAR Winston Cup series points race."
More on Personal Sponsorships
> Yelas -- "It's different when an alcohol product sponsors a tour or league, like the NFL or B.A.S.S. I don't necessarily have a problem with that. But for an individual athlete it's different. Someone doesn't try to be just like the NFL. He tries to be just like his favorite NFL player. I'm not saying we shouldn't have any alcohol sponsors in the sport because if it helps to grow the sport it may be worthwhile. But I'll never do any personal promotion of those products."
> Brauer, again speaking a while ago about his decision to accept a personal alcoholic beverage sponsorship -- "That's a decision people have to make on their own. It's something I really thought over before I got involved. I enjoy drinking a beer and beer's perfectly legal to drink. Common sense has to play a major part in it, and by being associated with Anheuser Busch, maybe I can educate people about the product. It's an adult beverage to be enjoyed in moderation. But if you abuse it, if you abuse anything, you can get in trouble. Some people will never be convinced that a beer company should be involved in the sport, but I don't feel that way. I feel it's a great opportunity to expose a wonderful product."
- End of part 2 (of 2) -
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Here is the patch Tour pros will have to wear. The only difference between this and the original AOY graphic is the text across the top.
