Page 17 of Love From Left Field (Knights of Passion)

“Miranda?”

“Sorry, I have a lot on my mind. Listen, I’ve been hearing about your change in strategy for the past couple of years and I had some questions.”

He laughed. “Are you asking me to share team secrets? We’re competitors, Miranda.”

She smiled. “Considering you’ve been interviewed about your strategy and talked to several team owners about it, I highly doubt it’s a state secret.”

“Why don’t you ask your new consultant, Wainright? He’s the one who advised us.”

“You used Lucas Wainright for your changes?”

“Some of them. Look, we’re a small market team. Houston doesn’t seem small market but Texas is football country. We have fans and the media but we still can’t compete. Even so, we were falling behind financially and in the win column because we couldn’t sign the big players. We had to figure out a new way, a combination of the right players, changes on the field, and streamlining our operations.”

“But you need the players to bring in the fans.” Seamus’s voice echoed in her mind, only it was her voice speaking the words.

“No, you need wins. Big players can bring in fans initially but if you don’t win, the attention is gone quickly. Your goal is to win more. You need to find a way to do that. If you do, the fans will follow, along with sponsors and media deals.”

She sagged in her chair. “We got to the playoffs last year and our season ticket sales are even lower this year. It didn’t carry over.”

He sighed. “That’s where the big player comes in. It brings the fans to the gate but the wins keep them there. You’re going to need to build some trust with your fans that you can win without the big name. It won’t happen overnight. In fact, we had to accept a few losing seasons to build up to a winning one. The strategy is not for the faint of heart, but it’s working all over the league. Seamus never wanted to hear it.”

She nodded, more to herself than Tom. “It’s not the big splash. Thanks for your time, Tom.”

“Any time. Oh, and Miranda? One last thing. Wainright knows what he’s doing. Listen to him. And we’re thinking of your father.” Tom hung up, leaving a dial tone in her ear.

She placed the phone back in the cradle, thoughts racing through her mind. Maybe Lucas had ideas that might work. If she could persuade him to actually partner with her, to not just be an observer in the process, would he go for it or be like her father and ignore her?

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