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Rams Forum a Hit with Fans
Wednesday, April 22, 2009 Text A A A | RSS 
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Senior Writer Listen to the Audio On April 16 with the help of modern technology, the Rams hosted the biggest conference call in the organization’s history. By invitation from coach Steve Spagnuolo, season ticket holders joined Spagnuolo and voice of the team Steve Savard for a “Fan Forum” in which they could ask the team’s head coach questions directly. And without question, the call was a rousing success. Given an opportunity to interact directly with Spagnuolo, as many as 4,000 ticket holders were on the call at the peak time. “I am very excited about the success of the Fan Forum and the buzz it generated for our organization,” Spagnuolo said. “I think it speaks volumes about our season ticket holders and the level of enthusiasm they have for the Rams. I truly appreciate their involvement.” Earlier this offseason, Spagnuolo penned a letter to season ticket holders explaining his philosophy on what type of team he hopes to put on the field and inviting them to join him on a conference call. The idea for the conference call stemmed from the organization’s desire to give season-ticket holders greater access to the team. Rams Vice President of Ticket Sales Mike O’Keefe and his staff were instrumental in finding the host organization, Broadnet, and for the logistics behind the event. At about 5:30 p.m. last Thursday, all season ticket holders received a phone call that opened with a recorded message from Savard, asking fans to stay on the line. Savard then opened the call by asking a couple of questions of Spagnuolo about what life has been like as head coach for the past few months as well as the sense of renewed optimism around town on the Rams. Any doubt about that optimism was quickly put to rest as for the next hour or so; Spagnuolo fielded 32 questions from season ticket holders on topics ranging from the coach’s philosophy on offense, defense and special teams to how draft decisions are made to various fan preferences on drafting players from the University of Missouri. One caller even won over Spagnuolo by telling him she wanted to know how the Rams could improve defensively. Spagnuolo, who has coached defense for all of his time in the NFL before becoming a head coach, called her his “kind of fan.” The passionate outpouring of interest from the fans came as no surprise to Kevin Demoff, the Rams’ executive vice president of football operations/chief operating officer. “I can say I was surprised but I am never surprised by the passion of our fans,” Demoff said. “I think it is just a testament to what coach and (general manager) Billy (Devaney) and this building have done to generate excitement in the community.” Just in case a caller was unable to get through to Spagnuolo during the live question and answer session, they were given the opportunity afterward to stay on the line and leave a recorded voicemail for the coach and ask any additional questions that they want. In addition to giving the callers an opportunity to talk to Spagnuolo, fans were also given the opportunity to make changes to their accounts. Simply by pressing star 0, the fan would be transferred to a season ticket account representative and ask questions about their account, make payments, upgrade their locations, and add seats to their account. During the call, several season ticket holders bought new seats and some even renewed seats they had previously been undecided on. The call was the first call of its type in the history of the team but isn’t likely to be the last. Because of the success of the event, the team is exploring options to have another, similar call in the future. Demoff said the team is considering having more calls with the head coach and possibly Devaney in the future. “We got a lot of positive feedback both during and after the call, and I know our entire organization is looking forward to continually engaging our fan base,” Demoff said. “We have talked about giving our season-ticket holders a chance to talk to coach again, maybe we will sprinkle in a call with Billy after the draft to mix it up. We may a poll up online and ask people who they want to talk to.” The use of technology to interact with the fans isn’t likely to stop at the chats with season ticket holders. Demoff said the Rams are exploring other ways to get the Rams community involved whether through the use of online chats or even the possibility of a town hall style meeting with fans and key members of the organization. Considering the success of the first time out and the continuing advancement in technology, there’s little doubt the interest is there for as much interaction as possible. “This is a way for us to give our fans the opportunity to ask the direct questions and get direct answers on questions we see so often online or hear on talk radio,” Demoff said. “We are going to continue to look at any opportunity we can provide to satiate our fans and their appetite for the Rams.” ---
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