Can you hear me now?

I get blasted all the time via email from folks that feel I am ‘picking’ on poor, poor Elliott Sadler and that I should leave him alone. But as time goes by, it is funny to see how some of their perceptions change.

I have never met this person, but she seems to be singing a similar song that I have been singing for years when it comes to how the Sadler Fan Club conducts business. She recently joined the Kyle Busch Fan Club and compares her experience from just a couple of years ago dealing with SFC. She does not pull any punches:

“Two years ago, I joined another driver's fan club and was so disappointed by what I received, I called and requested a refund. Since then, I have not thought fan clubs were a good idea..... All indications are that Kyle Busch is a very, very classy young man and a savvy business person. He understands and appreciates his fans and values their loyalty. He obviously realizes you get what you give and if you treat people the right way, they will support you and reciprocate understanding.”

And then she twisted the dagger

“For two years, I have wondered why a great guy, like Elliott Sadler, has such a pitiful fan club organization.”

Her frustration is clear and something that is becoming more commonplace with each passing season when it comes to what is now being called ‘Sadler Speak’. ‘Sadler Speak’, has been noted on this blog a handful of times, and with just a quick look at the Fan Club site, it can still be seen today. For example when purchasing a SFC membership, one can read this:

“Everyone who joins the Sadler Fan Club now will be joining for 2008. Each member will receive a fan package after the first of the 2008 calendar year. The contents of the 2008 Fan Package will be listed at a later date.”

The irony lies is that the initial shipping of the fan club packages went out almost 2 months ago. But for new, prospective members, one still has to hear the ‘later date’ promises.

But it doesn’t stop there.

Just this week, the Sadler PR machine was once again in full damage control mode when some details for the annual ‘Sadler Barn Party’ leaked out to ANOTHER FAN CLUB! For what ever reason, members of ‘Club Kahne’ were informed that Barn Party would also be a joint venture of the Kasey Kahne and Dale Jarrett Fan Clubs. So much for ‘exclusitivity’ that SFC members have been promised over and over.

Thus the need for an ‘update’ from the “Southern Gentleman” himself. While it is great to hear that Bel is doing well, and that Sadler’s back is doing better. (Don’t worry about that ‘Fandango’ appearance at TMS with an ‘80%’ back doing his best Eddie Van Halen imitation) Once again we hear the excuses and ‘details to come’ spin from Sadler (really I should be fair and say that it is most likely ‘Spotterman’ doing the writing)

“The Barn Party plans are coming along. Blake is nailed down, Kasey Kahne is nailed down and so is Dale Jarrett. It'll be a blast. I think Sean posted the dates a few weeks ago but just in case it's going to be Sept. 3. It was easy to lock my schedule down but dealing with other guys that have crazy schedules, too, made it take a little longer to get all of the details together. We'll have information coming out soon regarding tickets.”

Side note:
Blake huh? I guess that helps explain some of the very unflattering MySpace pictures taken in Sadler’s Motorcoach at TMS. Must have been ‘negotiating’ and getting things lined out, but someone was missing!

Remember just a week or so ago I blogged about this very thing and listed the order of questions many fans will have when it comes to an event like this? Just in case you forgot:

1) What is the date of the event so I can make some plans (take off work, make travel reservations, lodging etc)
2) When will tickets for the event go on sale?
3) How many tickets can a single member purchase?
4) Can I bring a non fan club member guest?
5) What are the specific details of the event (how long, who will be appearing etc)

Again, we are still stuck on STEP TWO!!!!!!

More promises of ‘details coming soon’, and ‘bigger and better’. But I would question is ‘bigger’ really ‘better’? The exclusive part of being a SFC member and access seems to be fading in the wind. Much like the not very well thought out VLP SFC poker tourneys. Where supposedly ‘private’ passwords were made public and many SFC members were left out in the cold.

Can you hear me now? Probably not. Some will continue to drink the kool aid no matter what, but as time goes by, others will move on. The Gal that wrote that Sporting News Blog, obviously has.