Post by Kasey on Sept 5, 2013 19:07:06 GMT -8
R.I.P. TO THE CHALUPA
Sports teams from all over use anything at their disposal (and some things which are not) in an attempt to attract old fans and new to their events. It's doubtful I have to compile a list of them here, but I think you know what I mean.
One of the crazes for the Trail Blazers is the Taco Bell Chalupa giveaway when the team scores over 100 points in a home game. This was when each in-arena fan would receive a coupon for a free chalupa on their way out of the arena.
The radio broadcast team of Brian Wheeler and Antonio Harvey would even honor the fan who selected the Blazer to make the shot with a Taco Bell prize pack.
Well friends, the chalupa coupon may be a thing of the past.
Rumors from several sources near the team tweeted today that it looked like this particular promotion was coming to an end. For what exact reasoning, we may have to wait for some formal announcement.
I always thought the chalupa promotion was fun, and fans could keep track of which player was the sharpshooting chalupa man. One of the most memorable was when seldom-used Luke Babbitt nailed one. Unfortunately, Luke became a bit of a punchline for that, but hey, if my family's dog hit that shot then as a fan (of both the Blazers and my family's dog), I would still think it was pretty cool.
Other teams have similar promotions, such as deals with McDonald's and such. It's a fun fan thing.
The thing which always struck me were the people who were somehow opposed to the whole chalupa thing. I'd see comments from some fans chiding other fans; "We need to win; we don't need chalupas."
That's truly looking at the small picture.
See, the statistics are overwhelming that a team wins much more often when it scores 100 points or more than when it does not. See, what the chalupa naysayers seem to be incapable of understanding is this: Rooting for a free chalupa is the same is rooting for 100 points ... which is the same is rooting for your team to have a better chance at winning the game.
That's the big picture. Think about it; does anyone really care about a inauthentic glorified soft taco more than they want their team to win? Really, I don't need to give you the answer to that.
This just in: The Trail Blazers have released an official statement, citing a corporate decision from Taco Bell as the demise of the chalupa at the arena:
Never fear, however. Remember a couple paragraphs later when I mentioned a team having a better chance of winning when it scores 100 points? Well, the same is true -- likely by a similar percentage -- when they hold an opponent to under 100 points.
I've also seen comments from one or two people on twitter reporting that the chalupa giveaway may change it's form -- to when they Blazers hold their opponent to under 100. While those rumors don't seem to be true, given the team's formal statement, it appears there will be something to replace the chalupa, which truly appears to be a thing of the past.
I suppose we'll have to stay tuned.
~ MKM
In Kassandra's Words began on the Blazers Blogger Network and will continue here on this site. Relocating this blog will allow me to include Blazers blogs, but to also expand it to other sports and teams as well.
Sports teams from all over use anything at their disposal (and some things which are not) in an attempt to attract old fans and new to their events. It's doubtful I have to compile a list of them here, but I think you know what I mean.
One of the crazes for the Trail Blazers is the Taco Bell Chalupa giveaway when the team scores over 100 points in a home game. This was when each in-arena fan would receive a coupon for a free chalupa on their way out of the arena.
The radio broadcast team of Brian Wheeler and Antonio Harvey would even honor the fan who selected the Blazer to make the shot with a Taco Bell prize pack.
Well friends, the chalupa coupon may be a thing of the past.
Rumors from several sources near the team tweeted today that it looked like this particular promotion was coming to an end. For what exact reasoning, we may have to wait for some formal announcement.
I always thought the chalupa promotion was fun, and fans could keep track of which player was the sharpshooting chalupa man. One of the most memorable was when seldom-used Luke Babbitt nailed one. Unfortunately, Luke became a bit of a punchline for that, but hey, if my family's dog hit that shot then as a fan (of both the Blazers and my family's dog), I would still think it was pretty cool.
Other teams have similar promotions, such as deals with McDonald's and such. It's a fun fan thing.
The thing which always struck me were the people who were somehow opposed to the whole chalupa thing. I'd see comments from some fans chiding other fans; "We need to win; we don't need chalupas."
That's truly looking at the small picture.
See, the statistics are overwhelming that a team wins much more often when it scores 100 points or more than when it does not. See, what the chalupa naysayers seem to be incapable of understanding is this: Rooting for a free chalupa is the same is rooting for 100 points ... which is the same is rooting for your team to have a better chance at winning the game.
That's the big picture. Think about it; does anyone really care about a inauthentic glorified soft taco more than they want their team to win? Really, I don't need to give you the answer to that.
This just in: The Trail Blazers have released an official statement, citing a corporate decision from Taco Bell as the demise of the chalupa at the arena:
A corporate marketing decision impacting local Taco Bell franchisees has eliminated product promotions like our Chalupa giveaway when the Trail Blazers score 100 points. It’s been a wonderful tradition for 14 years that our fans truly love. But rest assured the Trail Blazers will find a suitable replacement item for our fans to celebrate and enjoy when we score 100 points.
Never fear, however. Remember a couple paragraphs later when I mentioned a team having a better chance of winning when it scores 100 points? Well, the same is true -- likely by a similar percentage -- when they hold an opponent to under 100 points.
I've also seen comments from one or two people on twitter reporting that the chalupa giveaway may change it's form -- to when they Blazers hold their opponent to under 100. While those rumors don't seem to be true, given the team's formal statement, it appears there will be something to replace the chalupa, which truly appears to be a thing of the past.
I suppose we'll have to stay tuned.
~ MKM
In Kassandra's Words began on the Blazers Blogger Network and will continue here on this site. Relocating this blog will allow me to include Blazers blogs, but to also expand it to other sports and teams as well.
lol
