by Kyle Doyle
Photos by Ross Z. Bonar
It seems that my open letter to Joe Froome and the MLMT didn’t go unnoticed by fans and industry members over the course of the last week. I’ve received numerous emails and phone calls from casual fans right up to prominent owner/drivers since publishing my letter, and I want to thank everyone for reading, whether you agree with my points of view or not. I’ve been encouraging teams and fans to write in to share their thoughts with me and all of The Monster Blog’s readers regarding the MLMT issue. Understandably, most owners and drivers have opted to refrain from making public statements, opting instead to take more of a “wait and see” approach. I can’t blame them, but I feel fortunate to be in a position to raise some of the questions that everyone has been waiting to hear the answers to, but haven’t been able to ask out loud. I encourage all of you to write in to us here at TMB and share your thoughts on this issue, or any others that you’ve read about on this site, or on others. That being said, here’s what some of our readers had to say.
I think you summed up what a lot of us who are more than just casual fans, as well as people who are in the industry, have been wondering since the press conference at the final event last year in Nashville. After that press conference, it seemed like all of our prayers had finally been answered: a legitimate racing series with challenging tracks at super-speedways that focuses on the drivers. After the press conference, a lot of information was given out that included a very impressive schedule of events and led to a lot of hype and excitement, which has now become lots of speculation and questions. Personally, I feel that doing this set them up for disappointment.
As a fan that loves monster trucks in general and wants this series to succeed, I do hope that a few things are cleared up. While there are some things that might not be any of the public’s business, if I were a potential sponsor or a team considering running with the series, you bring up some very good questions that I would definitely like to have some clarification on. Mainly, is there truly enough funding for this series, or is it more of a “keeping our fingers crossed and hoping it works” type of deal? If you look at the MLMT as though it were a publicly traded company, and you were considering buying stock in it, one of the first things you would like to know is if the company is going to be around in a few years and what its financial situation is. I think that without going into too much detail, these points can be addressed and could definitely ease some concerns.
That being said, I feel that we need to cut Mr. Froome and the MLMT some slack. Last season was a big success in my opinion, and I only heard positive things from the people that went to their shows. And finally, the season hasn’t even started yet,, so I feel that while its perfectly valid to have some questions, at the same time we haven’t even seen how it is going to go yet. I think that it’s only fair to reserve some judgment until we have a better idea of how the series is going to go.
Jeremy
Sacramento, CA
Thank you for the well-written and well thought-out letter Jeremy. I agree with a lot of your points, especially the analogy between a publicly traded company and the MLMT. Although they are not a publicly traded company, I feel that teams committing themselves and their equipment to running the MLMT schedule are in a way investing in the MLMT. Many teams have been beating the MLMT drum very heavily to their sponsors, and I hope for their sake that the series pans out. But also, I do agree that some judgment does need to be reserved until the first truck hits the track this summer.
The structure of the MLMT series does seem shaky to say the least. The thought of paying out big prizes, and having huge numbers of trucks may look good on paper, but in reality how can the series continue to do this when they don’t sell their events out? Yes, the MLMT has the awesome race courses that are not found at other promoters’ shows, but will this draw the big crowds? Probably not! Bottom line is, that in my honest opinion the MLMT needs to slow down and build up to the level of the ever popular Monster Jam series. Yes, it may take time, but that is not to say that it is impossible. With a little work and some patience, it is a very achievable goal.
Michael
Forest, VA
I agree Michael that the MLMT’s foundation seems a bit shaky, but selling out events isn’t something that always happens overnight. The MLMT broke into some new venues last year that had not been visited by monster truck events before. Dome events held in places like Detroit, Houston, and St. Louis have been going on for many years now, and over time the promoter of those events has successfully marketed them and grown them into what they are now. Keep in mind also that selling out a 60,000 seat dome in an established market is very different than trying to sell out the 66,000 seats at Kentucky Speedway on their first try. I think that with proper marketing and teams confident that they will be getting paid well, the MLMT could do well in a lot of speedway markets. Starting small enough to make money but being flexible enough to grow is key, in my opinion. While I don’t want to see MLMT, MTC, or any other promoter go down the Monster Jam highway from an on-track perspective, there is definitely something to be learned from their marketing department.
I heard this (MLMT) might not happen. [If so, that’s] too bad. I always thought some of this was too good to be true.
Jerry
Illinois
It seems that in the monster truck industry, if something is too good to be true, then often times it isn’t. Let’s hope that is not the case with the MLMT, but only time will tell.
You hit on a lot of very big questions that I believe the MLMT needs to answer. For a series that is basically calling out Monster Jam with each tid-bit I read here and there, they sure have been leaving a lot of people in the dark on things. I’m curious to learn your opinion on the hiring of Debrah Miceli (Madusa) as the Executive Vice President of the MLMT. I believe hiring her was a huge mistake for thee MLMT.
Josh
Ramsey, IL
I’m not entirely sure how to read the appointment of Debrah Miceli to the EVP position. I don’t know her personally, and although she’s got a number of years behind the wheel, I question her actual hand-on knowledge and understanding of the sport and the way it really works. I guess my gut instinct always leads me to be wary of anyone who rises to a prominent position and didn’t get there with grease on their hands and a whole bunch of miles on the road under their belt. I’m not saying she has no business in monster trucks by any means, but I guess at this point I’m still a bit of a skeptic. I’m not sure what exactly led to the appointment of her to the EVP position, but I guess only time will tell if it was the right thing to do or if in fact it was a mistake. She may prove all the doubters wrong and actually do well. Who knows?
For me, the MLMT is EXACTLY what I want to see come out of the modern day monster truck industry (open qualifying, legitimate points racing, big courses, a large number of trucks at every event, etc.), and so I've been doggedly doing whatever I could to support it and get its name out to anyone who'd be remotely interested, regardless of how good or bad things seemed to be going for it. However, after reading this letter, I have to say I'm approaching the series with a little more grounded realism. I still want it to succeed, but I've had to take off the rose-tinted glasses and admit that the foundation it's been built on does seem rather shaky right now.The fanboy in me doesn't like having to take a seat and wait it out, but until we know exactly what the MLMT's made of and where it'll wind up, said fanboy's just gonna have to deal with it. Like The Monster Blog, I don't like parading around a grand cause only to have it fall apart and leave me looking like a fool for championing it.
Paul
Snellville, GA
I agree with you whole-heartedly Paul. I too, like most of the industry, want the MLMT or any other organization like it to succeed in the worst way. But nobody wants to go bragging and talking-up something only to find out that its not going to happen. Hopefully Mr. Froome and co. will be able to give us some additional insight in the coming weeks and put the fears of many to rest.
Thanks again to all of our readers who took the time to jot down their thoughts and write in. I think that the majority of fans feel positively about what the MLMT stands for and what they are trying to accomplish, but with the lack of core facts available, they are much like the rest of the industry: skeptical, but hopeful. More on this situation as it develops.
-KD
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