Columnist Jeff German: Goodman fumbles chance to woo NFL

Friday, Feb. 11, 2005 | 4:16 a.m.

Jeff German's column appears Tuesdays, Wednesdays, Fridays and Sundays in the Sun. Reach him at german@lasvegassun.com or (702) 259-4067.

WEEKEND EDITION

February 12 - 13, 2005

It's frustrating watching Mayor Oscar Goodman in action.

He's the most dynamic, hardest-working elected official to come along in years. He loves the city, and the city loves him.

There are times when Goodman shows great vision and leadership, as he did in November when he wrote to the National Football League to extend an olive branch. A month later he told reporters his days of calling the NFL names were over. He said he wanted peace for the greater good of the city, an NFL franchise down the line.

Then there are times when Goodman comes across like a short-sighted, loud-mouthed bully, as he did last week. At the end of his first meeting as chairman of the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority, he went into another name-calling tirade against the NFL.

It was the old one-step forward, 10 steps backward routine we've come to expect from the mayor.

And it put us at war again with the NFL.

"I don't see what we gain when we get into a fight with them," says Frank Fahrenkopf, the industry's top Washington lobbyist. "It makes sense to me having some sort of a relationship (rather) than being at odds."

What ticked Goodman off last week was the NFL's hypocritical policy of banning the network televising the Super Bowl from accepting Las Vegas or gambling-related advertising during the game. Beer commercials, however, are encouraged by the NFL.

This anti-gambling stance, which dates back to the 1960s, is antiquated.

Legalized gambling now is everywhere in America and has found a home in many more states than the NFL. But more than that, gambling and the NFL have become joined at the hip. Try talking about an NFL game without the point spread.

The NFL needs to wake up.

Goodman wasn't wrong in his criticism of pro football. He just took the wrong approach.

"I would have been more diplomatic," Fahrenkopf says.

The industry has tried to be more diplomatic in its dealings with the NFL in recent months. It's a pragmatic game plan that has potential to benefit Las Vegas in the long run.

Everyone thought Goodman was on board until he started ranting and raving and threatening lawsuits against the NFL last week.

The casinos this year toned down the Super Bowl partying out of respect to the NFL's broadcast rights. And though we haven't heard yet from the spies the NFL sent to monitor the festivities here, word on the Strip is that things went smoothly.

As Super Bowls go, this was a banner year for the casinos, with a record visitor volume and a record sports wagering win.

The only downside was Goodman's outburst, which set back the long-term effort to thaw the icy relationship with the NFL.

In fairness to Goodman, the LVCVA also deserves part of the blame here. It knew heading into the Super Bowl that the NFL, right or wrong, was going all-out to prevent any Las Vegas advertising during the game.

So what did the LVCVA do? It chose to antagonize the NFL.

For the second year in a row, it went around the host network and placed ads during the game with local affiliates in major markets.

The strategy was brilliant and a good way to gain exposure for Las Vegas on the biggest television advertising day of the year.

But the next day LVCVA executives rubbed it in the NFL's nose (for the second year in a row) when they publicly boasted about it.

What that suggests to me is that the LVCVA doesn't care about cultivating a relationship with the NFL.

The LVCVA comes across caring only about stirring up publicity for its marketing campaign. The more controversy, the more publicity it attracts -- and to heck with the bigger goal of landing an NFL franchise.

It's probably too much to expect LVCVA executives to change their myopic ways.

But we expect our mayor to have more vision.

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