MXFFU: The Unions Xtreme New Position
Repositioning the game of flag

As current players and teams begin to age and the game of flag football evolves, the need for MCFFU to re-evaluate its position in flag becomes more important.  The need to attract more individual interest to flag football on all levels is essential for the future growth of the Union as well as the sport of flag football itself.

Not only does repositioning have to be done, but representing the sport to appeal to the set target market is also needed.  Today there are more youth leagues and intramural programs than ever before and less and less are making the transition to the adult organizations to compete. 

There are various reasons as to why more players are not continuing on into the adult leagues; however the issue is mainly due to the lack of an attractive position within the sporting industry and weak marketing efforts by the existing organizations to maintain interest. 

Most teams do things that they have been conditioned to do because they’ve doing it for so long.  However, new teams are not wired the same way; they think completely different and loyalty to something they are not familiar with or grabs their attention does not exist.

As adults we understand that flag football has to compete with other activities including and not limited to: other recreational sports such as softball, youth sports for players’ kids who are now more interested in sports and most importantly busy lifestyles. 

The sport is simply not attractive enough for most to spend their extra time, money and energy competing, especially if the sport is not properly organized or nationally recognized – which flag is not.

Studies done by national sports associations (such as American Sports Data, Inc.) show that the interest level in flag football is not where it should be when compared to other recreational sports.  The fact is that individual numbers are not growing fast enough to keep up with the recent surge of tournaments being offered.  Hundreds of available tournaments plus hundreds of participating teams equals nothing. 

One of flag’s biggest myths is that there is enough for everyone (meaning those who run leagues and hosts tournaments), when actually there is not and its proven with every passing tournament.

Every weekend there is a tournament and every weekend the same teams are expected to participate, which means that tournament directors and league owners are competing to attract the same 5% (or less) of teams available to participate. 

How many tournaments can one team be expected to play in a year, especially when travel expenses come into play?  The teams may satisfy their competitive itch temporarily, but what’s really being done to “improve” the sport or increase competition?  How can it grow by rotating the same teams?  It can’t.

So what about the other 95% of the market that would participate if given a reason to?  To most, it’s simply easier to go after those who already posses an high interest level and desire to compete more, rather than appealing to those who’s interest level is minimal.  This is the most common approach and the main reason flag is where it is today – submerged in status quo. 

When most (organizations and groups) are given the choice to explain why they cannot go after new teams or explaining how they should go after new teams, most get busy explaining why they cannot.

The new position or the repositioning of the MCFFU/USSSA is designed to go after that 95% of the individuals and teams that participate sparingly or not all.  The potential upside of attracting flag football’s potential numbers as compared to those that are playing is huge! 

We (MCFFU/USSSA) are focusing our efforts to going after the new generation of players who are into technology and entertailing, and whose purposes for playing are vastly different than those competing today; but while also offering the current teams more than ever before.  There has to be a balance.

Extreme Sports have grown so fast over the years that it’s literally reducing participation in team sports!  This is because each style has literally millions of participates on all levels that follow those sports religiously, making the products used to participate in high demand. 

Corporations benefit immensely by producing gear, equipment and merchandise and its worth others time to pump sponsorship dollars into these sports.  In short, each Extreme Sport did an excellent job of positioning themselves and expanding their markets and building a product that offers multiple opportunities to all that get involved.

The MCFFU is taking a “MXFFU” approach for the future, with the proper use of the Internet, video and other sports technology now readily available.  The Union looks to redefine the sport with new terms, a new structure, more creative thinking and new, younger participants from Generation Y.  A combination of these changes along with a few others, will fuel the sports movement into the new era where other recreational sports have already ventured.