----->Before I can finish the question—”Why are the Gladiators overloo—” Sam Jankovich, president and general manager of our 7-year-old Arena Football League team, butts in: “I don’t know if we’re overlooked. We’re a professional team with professional athletes. I don’t know why people don’t see that.”
So why the lack of respect?
I’m not sure. These are professional athletes who get paid good money, and you’ve got 19 owners who are paying big money to keep these teams running. It’s professional in every sense.
Is exposure a big problem?
I certainly don’t think we’ve gotten the exposure we should have in the print media. On the other hand, we had a horrible season this year [2-14], didn’t win a game at home and compete very well at all.
Win or lose, some folks might never embrace the AFL.
We have a solid base of people who enjoy our games; we drew well in our first game. But it’s about winning. Look at UNLV basketball—at the beginning of the season, it was hard for them to draw, but at the end, when they were winning, they drew well.
Would you say it’s make-or-break time?
We’re at a critical state. ... If we make a mistake, it could be extremely detrimental. We’re trying hard to work at turning it around.