Have you ever wanted to own your own sports team? And put your name on it?
If so, now is your chance. The UND cycling team (OK, so it's not quite the Vikings) is putting its team name up for auction on eBay Monday.
If you place the highest bid in the weeklong auction, you land naming rights. In addition to choosing the team name, you'll receive the best advertising spots on their racing uniforms -- the front, the back and the buttocks (highly visible when they're standing on the pedals).
I can see L&M Meats wanting the title rights, so they can plaster an ad on the latter that reads "Get your rump roast at L&M." Or a cigarette distributor's spot saying "Get your butts from us." Or maybe even a donkey rental service.
It's likely that a business will secure the naming rights. International cycling teams have been sponsored by the likes of Motorola, Cadillac, Radio Shack, U.S. Postal Service, Discovery Channel and 7/Eleven. Lance Armstrong recently raced for Estona, named after the capital of Kazakhstan, best-known for being the home of Borat.
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But that doesn't mean regular people can't go for it. In Grand Forks alone, that means everyone from Aafedt to Zygarlicke.
Maybe all the Johnsons could each chip in $1 to form Team Anderson. There's enough of them around to meet the UND's cycling team's goal of $2,500 for naming rights.
As club spokesman David Cardarelli acknowledges, the naming rights likely will go for less than the $2,500. "Frankly, our goal is to get anything," he said. "We're a capitalistic system, and we want to see what we're worth."
A cycling team in Grand Forks doesn't carry the same price tag as a hockey arena, where the going price is $104 million or being a local legend (Gambucci, Purpur). But Cardarelli says it has some value.
"Cycling is unique in that we're a moving billboard," Cardarelli said. "We put on at least 2,000 miles a year training locally. That's a lot of local advertising."
There are three other levels of giving -- gold, silver, bronze -- that will provide fewer perks and lesser jersey advertising positions. They also are up for bids on eBay.
"It started as a joke, but then we all started thinking it wouldn't be such a bad idea," Cardarelli said.
Team members could use some help. Their only school support is $700 from the Student Activity Committee. Racing bikes can cost as much as $6,000, more than a brand-new 1997 Mercury Mystique. And the road-racing season alone costs each member about $1,000 for travel expenses.
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To bid or follow the auction, search for "UND Cycling" on eBay or follow the links from the UND Cycling message board at http://undcycling.campusdakota.com . The title sponsorship auction starts at 6 p.m. Monday, with other level of sponsorships starting on successive days.
"No cycling team is picky about who sponsors them," Cardarelli said.
An Iowa college's team is sponsored by a taco joint, he said. Are you reading, Red Pepper?
Reach Bakken at (701) 780-1125; (800) 477-6572, ext. 125; or send e-mail to rbakken@gfherald.com .
