Post by TheShadow on Dec 26, 2003 9:53:56 GMT -5
www.azcentral.com
Jury still out as to impact on success
Kent Somers
The Arizona Republic
Imagine walking into work and having a hot breakfast waiting for you. Lunch is catered, too, and if you want something to do during your breaks, well, someone is usually up for a game of pool.
Need your laundry done? You can drop off your dry cleaning in the morning and pick it up, cleaned and pressed, at the end of the day.
Thinking of taking a trip with the family? Just see the travel agent in the building.
Massage? Racquetball? Haircut? Want to catch a ballgame from the company suite?
For NFL players - and even members of the Cardinals - many of those things and more are available at their workplace today. Of course, in exchange, they spend their days slamming into other large humans, risking injury and permanent disability.
In today's corporate climate, the only perk most employees receive is being allowed to keep their jobs. But it's different in the competitive world of the NFL. Teams offer services to make it easier for players and coaches to do their jobs, and to attract free agents.
How much of a difference the perks make is debatable.
"When it all comes down to it," Cardinals linebacker James Darling said, "you still have to be able to play."
For years, the Cardinals were notorious for being cheap. Owner Bill Bidwill supposedly reached for his back pocket only if he thought his handkerchief was there.
Former players complained about his frugality. Quarterback and punter Tom Tupa told ESPN that players were billed if they went through more than two pairs of cleats a season. Offensive lineman Lomas Brown couldn't believe it when he went to the New York Giants in free agency and wasn't charged for shorts and T-shirts, as he was with the Cardinals.
But times have changed in Arizona. Breakfast and lunch are catered. Players can have massages after every practice, something few other teams offer. No one is charged for shorts and shirts, and most players have their cleats supplied by shoe companies.
And while there is no pool table at the team's Tempe facility, players do have access to the team's suites at Bank One Ballpark and America West Arena.
"I think it's important," Cardinals Vice President Michael Bidwill said. "We've tried to create an environment where distractions were taken away, an environment where we give players every reason to succeed."
Center Frank Garcia, who came to Arizona last off-season after playing in Carolina and St. Louis, said the "organization has done a good job of tending to our needs and necessities. Obviously, there are luxuries that some teams have that other teams don't have. But they are more luxuries than they are necessities, in my opinion."
In Cleveland, for instance, players can drop off their dry cleaning at the practice facility. On game day, they take advantage of valet parking and baby-sitting services.
Several teams, including Kansas City and Oakland, have a pool table in the locker room or players' lounge.
In Atlanta, the players' lounge is complete with televisions, Internet access and a full-time chef and staff.
In Seattle, owner Paul Allen has provided a plane with all first-class seating, exit-row leg room and a television system that allows players to watch other NFL games on the way home from East Coast cities.
When the Cardinals' Darling hit the free-agent market last spring, he couldn't believe the perks some teams offered. On a visit to Cleveland, he was stunned to find out he could get his hair cut and his clothes cleaned without leaving the team's facility.
"Their philosophy is they try to make it so players don't have to worry about anything but playing football," Darling said.
But do the perks contribute to winning?
A few years ago, a handful of Cardinals players, led by quarterback Jake Plummer and receiver Rob Moore, asked Michael Bidwill for 11 items, including serving breakfast and the hiring of massage therapists, a chiropractor and a dietician.
The Cardinals approved those and more. This year, about 11,000 meals have been served to players and coaches. The team also upgraded its charter aircraft to a 757.
Still, it hasn't helped them win. The Cardinals have had one winning season since moving to Arizona in 1988.
Tampa Bay has one of the worst training facilities in the league. One Buccaneer Place is a regal-sounding address, but the place is a dump with holes in some of the walls. Half the weight-training equipment is outside.
The Buccaneers are the defending Super Bowl champions. The Browns, with all their extras, are 4-11.
Part of the intent of offering perks is to create, or reinforce, the idea that the organization cares about its players and winning. With a losing history, the Cardinals often have to convince visiting free agents that the organization is committed to improving.
The Browns instituted many of their perks when the expansion franchise started play in 1999.
"I guess if you didn't have any history, or a bad history, it would help," said Bruce Allen, a senior assistant with the Oakland Raiders. "We try to create a great environment that players want to be a part of."
Like almost all teams in the league, the Raiders offer players breakfast and lunch. It's a far cry from the old days in the NFL. Allen used to hang around the Washington Redskins when his father, George, coached there, and saw how desperate hungry men can be.
"Some of the single guys used to steal the lunches the married guys' wives had packed for them," he said.
Jury still out as to impact on success
Kent Somers
The Arizona Republic
Imagine walking into work and having a hot breakfast waiting for you. Lunch is catered, too, and if you want something to do during your breaks, well, someone is usually up for a game of pool.
Need your laundry done? You can drop off your dry cleaning in the morning and pick it up, cleaned and pressed, at the end of the day.
Thinking of taking a trip with the family? Just see the travel agent in the building.
Massage? Racquetball? Haircut? Want to catch a ballgame from the company suite?
For NFL players - and even members of the Cardinals - many of those things and more are available at their workplace today. Of course, in exchange, they spend their days slamming into other large humans, risking injury and permanent disability.
In today's corporate climate, the only perk most employees receive is being allowed to keep their jobs. But it's different in the competitive world of the NFL. Teams offer services to make it easier for players and coaches to do their jobs, and to attract free agents.
How much of a difference the perks make is debatable.
"When it all comes down to it," Cardinals linebacker James Darling said, "you still have to be able to play."
For years, the Cardinals were notorious for being cheap. Owner Bill Bidwill supposedly reached for his back pocket only if he thought his handkerchief was there.
Former players complained about his frugality. Quarterback and punter Tom Tupa told ESPN that players were billed if they went through more than two pairs of cleats a season. Offensive lineman Lomas Brown couldn't believe it when he went to the New York Giants in free agency and wasn't charged for shorts and T-shirts, as he was with the Cardinals.
But times have changed in Arizona. Breakfast and lunch are catered. Players can have massages after every practice, something few other teams offer. No one is charged for shorts and shirts, and most players have their cleats supplied by shoe companies.
And while there is no pool table at the team's Tempe facility, players do have access to the team's suites at Bank One Ballpark and America West Arena.
"I think it's important," Cardinals Vice President Michael Bidwill said. "We've tried to create an environment where distractions were taken away, an environment where we give players every reason to succeed."
Center Frank Garcia, who came to Arizona last off-season after playing in Carolina and St. Louis, said the "organization has done a good job of tending to our needs and necessities. Obviously, there are luxuries that some teams have that other teams don't have. But they are more luxuries than they are necessities, in my opinion."
In Cleveland, for instance, players can drop off their dry cleaning at the practice facility. On game day, they take advantage of valet parking and baby-sitting services.
Several teams, including Kansas City and Oakland, have a pool table in the locker room or players' lounge.
In Atlanta, the players' lounge is complete with televisions, Internet access and a full-time chef and staff.
In Seattle, owner Paul Allen has provided a plane with all first-class seating, exit-row leg room and a television system that allows players to watch other NFL games on the way home from East Coast cities.
When the Cardinals' Darling hit the free-agent market last spring, he couldn't believe the perks some teams offered. On a visit to Cleveland, he was stunned to find out he could get his hair cut and his clothes cleaned without leaving the team's facility.
"Their philosophy is they try to make it so players don't have to worry about anything but playing football," Darling said.
But do the perks contribute to winning?
A few years ago, a handful of Cardinals players, led by quarterback Jake Plummer and receiver Rob Moore, asked Michael Bidwill for 11 items, including serving breakfast and the hiring of massage therapists, a chiropractor and a dietician.
The Cardinals approved those and more. This year, about 11,000 meals have been served to players and coaches. The team also upgraded its charter aircraft to a 757.
Still, it hasn't helped them win. The Cardinals have had one winning season since moving to Arizona in 1988.
Tampa Bay has one of the worst training facilities in the league. One Buccaneer Place is a regal-sounding address, but the place is a dump with holes in some of the walls. Half the weight-training equipment is outside.
The Buccaneers are the defending Super Bowl champions. The Browns, with all their extras, are 4-11.
Part of the intent of offering perks is to create, or reinforce, the idea that the organization cares about its players and winning. With a losing history, the Cardinals often have to convince visiting free agents that the organization is committed to improving.
The Browns instituted many of their perks when the expansion franchise started play in 1999.
"I guess if you didn't have any history, or a bad history, it would help," said Bruce Allen, a senior assistant with the Oakland Raiders. "We try to create a great environment that players want to be a part of."
Like almost all teams in the league, the Raiders offer players breakfast and lunch. It's a far cry from the old days in the NFL. Allen used to hang around the Washington Redskins when his father, George, coached there, and saw how desperate hungry men can be.
"Some of the single guys used to steal the lunches the married guys' wives had packed for them," he said.