Passion in Baseball, Business and Flooring

Who doesn't admire Passion? It engages us and fires our imaginations. It leads to intense conversation; it draws others in. It's fun! It's contagious!

Cindy Wilson, our Wear-Dated Representative for Orange County, CA, exudes passion on a multitude of fronts. In this case, it's about 'her' Angels.

Here is her story, and - yes - there is a connection to flooring!

There are some smells that just send me to my “Happy Place”: books in a book store, new crayons, fabric stores, plumeria and gardenia flowers in Hawaii, grass that has just been mowed... The ultimate is the smell of grilled hot dogs and just popped kettle corn which tells me that ahhhhh, it’s must be baseball season! And baseball season means that MY Anaheim Angels (notice that I am a little old school, no Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim for me!) are getting ready to play.

I circle the date the pitchers and catchers report for spring training; I circle the date the rest of the players report; I circle the date official play starts! I vote for the All-Star players (All Angels, of course).

I dust off my Rally Monkey, Angels jerseys -- one white with red and blue trim and one red with blue and white trim and both bedazzled with rhinestones! (I like baseball, but I am still pretty girly!) . I have a red watch and red deck shoes. My husband has his jersey and several Angels T-Shirts. I made fleece blankets for us and our (adult) children out of MLB Anaheim Angels fleece. Now, mind you, we live in Southern California. It is really hot most of baseball season. You may ask, who needs a fleece blanket in August? We absolutely do!

The minute I walk inside the stadium, it's a marketing frenzy to engage, meet the immediate needs, stoke the future needs and generally extend the Angels magic for an average 40,000 people in attendance every night for the Angels. The days of baseball simply having ads along the outfield fence are long gone. They are still there, but not as prominent.

Anyone entering Angel stadium at the Home Plate entrance sees two huge Angel baseball caps framing the entrance. The Angels Home Plate entrance also showcases the World Series Trophy immediately in front of the Angels Store. There you can buy everything Angels that you can think of: Jerseys and T-Shirts with your favorite player's name; caps, baseballs, baseball cards, bats, pictures, stickers for your car, even Rally Monkeys!

Many games now have “give away promotions”. Fridays are Big Bang Fireworks from Wells Fargo Bank. Recently, we went to a game where everyone got a TY Beenie Baby Rally Monkey. In the next couple of weeks a clock shaped like an Angels Jersey will be the Wild Rivers Waterpark and KFROG-FM promotion. Memorial Day will have more Fireworks and a duffle bag giveaway by Frazee Paint and 102.7 KISS-FM.

Walk inside Anaheim Stadium and the bright “ribbon” around the park flashes with bright colors. The names of former Anaheim Angel players appear and dance around the stadium. Fans cheer for their favorites of days gone by. Anaheim has 2 Jumbo trons in the outfield. The outfield also boasts a giant “A” made to look like a huge rock formation with a fountain. Anytime a player hits a home run on the Angels, fireworks shoot out from the fountain.

During the game, ads run on the ribbon. In between innings, at times, commercials will run on the jumbo tron. Arrowhead Water, Wells Fargo Bank, Hawaiian Airlines, Linder’s Furniture are some of the names that appear on the ribbon and move around the stadium. Mike Scioscia, the much beloved manager of the Angels and the former catcher for the LA Dodgers is the pitchman for Howard’s Appliances. The big screens are his favorite according to the ads, but you can get a fridge and a stove there if you really want them. Two of the Jumbo tron ads feature former Angel players. One is Bobby Grich; he is in the commercial for Roger Dunn Worldwide Golf Shops. I don’t golf, but I know who Bobby Grich is and I remember the ad! The other is Bob Boone, former Angel catcher, 7 time Gold Glove winner who played 2225 games including 4 All Star Games. He's also owner of B & B Mill Sales [note: website BBMillSales.com is still under construction], a flooring store on 1700 N. Main St. in Orange, CA [Tel: 714.685.0060, 714.685.0070].

Bob opened this store with his dear friends, Bill and Jodi Case. They have a magnificent showroom with choices in every type of flooring that you could ever want: carpet, tile, stone, marble……. Would you like granite counter tops? They can help you! Need carpet tomorrow? They have stock. In the showroom, they have set up a beautiful living room -- nice leather couches, faux fireplace. Also, a working kitchen and eating area. Big screen TV. What would be playing on that TV? How about a game?

As a fan of the Angels and the Wear-Dated Rep for B & B Mill Sales, I can truly see the value of a great player from my favorite team talking about my product. In fact, I patronize many of the places that advertise at the stadium.

I have personally witnessed countless potential flooring buyers in the store, asking if Bob is in, if Bob could sign their baseball cards, jersey or pictures. But, the best part of B & B Mill Sales is not only that Bob Boone might be able to sign your baseball card. It's also that the whole staff will make you feel that you are important to them. They will treat you like family…….Angels fan or not!

Thanks, Cindy, for bringing the Angels magic to life for us all.

What strikes me [no pun intended] is the local aspect of Cindy's and other Anaheim Angels fans' enthusiasm. As large a community as 40,000 people per game, each shares a strong passion for all things Angels related. Any organization choosing to associate itself with the Angels must share that passion. It must exude it at individual store locations. In other words, it must 'walk the talk' [or rather 'play ball'?]. B & B Mill Sales certainly does, and we admire that!

What do you feel passionate about in your business? How do you showcase that passion to your customers and engage them? Are you contagious?

Technorati Tags: Anaheim Angels, Bob Boone, Wear-Dated, carpet/flooring, passion, marketing, BB Mill Sales