Yet another reason to hate the Iowa Chops
Brett Favre in action.
Weren’t disgusted enough with the hideous logo, awful color scheme or terrible name? Here’s another reason Anaheim’s new minor league franchise, the Iowa Chops, sucks: it is not above cheap gimmicks.
Hoping to capitalize on all that ESPN furor over whether or not Brett Favre will return to the NFL, the geniuses in Des Moines decided it would be hysterical to offer him a contract! Haw haw haw, get it?
Boy I can just picture the conversations going on in Iowa right now.
“Hey dad, did you see that new hockey team offered Brett Favre a contract?”
“I sure did son! Do you think we should get season tickets?”
“Will Brett Favre actually play for the team?”
“No.”
“Then why would we?”
Yeah, it might get your team’s name on the news, or even Pardon the Interruption, but it’s stupid, cheap publicity stunts like this that make people dislike minor league sports. People will go to hockey games because they like hockey, not because the team offered Brett Favre, Manute Bol, or Jesus Christ a contract.
Favre and the Iowa Chops do have something in common. They both have received a large amount of publicity the past couple weeks, but for completely different reasons.
Here’s another thing they have in common: Of all that publicity they got, none of it has been good.
“We can offer him plenty of bone-crushing hits, read-and-react plays, and thousands of fans cheering for him, so what’s not to like about that?” said Nitzel.
I legitimately don’t like this Steve Nitzel guy. He seems like a wiener (LOL MEAT PRODUCTS GET IT).
How about this: Brett Favre doesn’t like getting hit and the “thousands” of fans cheering for him would be, at best, 10 percent of what he’s used to.
The Iowa Chops announced their new team name over two weeks ago and have still been receiving a wide amount of publicity regarding the announcement. Fans, media and the hockey community still are a buzz about the new name, and the team has struggled to keep up with demands for the new Iowa Chops merchandise.
I find that last part nearly impossible to believe, except for people who love camp value. The reason people are “a buzz” (sic) about the name is because it’s dreadful.
Please, Iowa Chops, for the sake of the sport, stop being a hockey franchise.
July 26th, 2008 at 11:09 am
Why so serious?
February 22nd, 2009 at 7:13 pm
First off learn to take a joke. Second, have you ever been to Iowa or know anything about it? Obviously not otherwise you’d probably know the meaning to the name. We have these animals we call pigs all over and we host the national pork expo. If you’re going to cry about a name try the L.A. Kings cause last i checked there weren’t any of those there.
July 20th, 2009 at 7:29 pm
Steve Nitzel knows as much about hockey as Dr. Jack Kevorkian knows about medicine. I had the “pleasure” of working with him for a minor league hockey team in Kansas City. His knowledge and shady business tactics were the main reason that the team folded after one season. Then he moves on to Des Moines and tries the same stupid gimmicks and what happens, runs another team into the ground in the first year of his tenure. Congratulations Mr. Nitzel, you are quite a business man and this could not have happened to a nicer person you douche wad..
August 14th, 2009 at 1:17 pm
I also worked with Steve at the Outlaws. He wasn’t the reason the team folded. He had to follow the bad marketing initiatives laid out by the team president and it’s owner. He lead the staff to the best of his ability and sold major sponsorships in a short period of time. He pulled strings to get former colleagues to come work for the team, only for the team not to pay the relocation bills. I know for a fact that he had to go back to sponsors on numerous occassions and re-negotiate and communicate changes because the president of the team couldn’t understand or adhere to the terms of a contract. I don’t think Steve had any part of a misguided “Steve the Puck” campaign and he certainly wouldn’t have spent $250,000 on media to support it. That’s why the team folded, it misfired and didn’t connect with the consumers. The Outlaws never sold $1 worth of tickets with the campaign. I know, I answered the phones.
In Des Moines, he connected with fans and consumers and part of the rage of the team leaving is because of the emotional bond he created. The team was losing more than a $1 million a year prior to his arrival and he slashed the losses significantly.
I feel bad he had to endure two bad ownership groups and wouldn’t be surprised if he never went back to hockey again. Which is a shame, because he was bright, creative and energetic about Des Moines and the sport. He will be missed.
September 6th, 2009 at 1:31 pm
Niether Dickie nor kemper arena know what they’re talking about, although I suspect kemper arena is actually Nitzel.
There were several assclowns in the Kansas City organization. Nitzel was among them, but he wasn’t the only one.
There were exactly two management people in that organization that had a clue. Nitzel and the president, Adler, weren’t among them.
About the only thing Adler and Nitzel got right in KC was that they both thought the other was an idiot.
Nitzel’s never been successful. Anywhere. Not in KC, not in Des Moines, not in Shreveport. Never.
It’s amazing people keep hiring that jackass.