Zac Owen's petition drive to re-rename Comerica Park has pretty much flamed out. He's part of a second push that involves tacos, though, and that one is hotter than a ghost pepper.
It's all the rage at DeWitt High School football games, and Fifth Third Bank might even learn something from it, if it were inclined to take lessons.
Tacos for Turnovers gives ticket holders two tacos from the local Taco Bell after every game, win or lose, which is a fine thing all by itself. But with inspired marketing attaching the promotion to ferocious defense, the players are frenzied, the fans are delirious, and Panthers rooters have devoured a thousand tacos and counting.
"Endorphins are rushing," said Owen, 31, who's both a marketing and branding pro in Lansing
and a volunteer defensive line coach in DeWitt, nine miles north. A Panther picks off a pass or forces a fumble, "and everyone knows who's right there with you: Taco Bell!"
Meantime, Fifth Third named a stadium after itself − a moment baked in boredom and greeted with indifference, disappointment or hostility.
Leaning into the past
The bank bought Comerica in February, and decreed at a Sept. 21 news conference that Comerica Park would henceforth be known as Fifth Third Park.
There's nothing offensive about it, but also nothing noteworthy, and there's nothing to suggest that Fifth Third read the room.
Detroit runs on nostalgia. Fans once linked hands and gave Tiger Stadium a hug. The closing five years ago of Dutch Girl donuts, which has blessedly reopened and expanded, brought uncontrolled weeping. The Woodward Dream Cruise officially lasts a day and realistically goes on for two months.
Fifth Third has been in Michigan since 2001, long enough to maybe invite a few ex-Tigers to the announcement, play some of Comerica Park's greatest hits on the scoreboard, or piggyback on widespread affection and incorporate Tiger Stadium in the new name.
Owen, who grew up and played college football in Colorado, has lived in Michigan for only three years.
“From a branding background,” however, even a short-timer could detect the missed opportunity to “integrate yourself into the city and with the fans.”
Fifth Third could still listen and compromise, he thought, and sprinkle itself with goodwill − how 'bout Fifth Third Field at Tiger Stadium? − so he launched his petition at change.org a few days after the plodding news conference.
The signature count quickly topped 400 … and as of Wednesday, Oct. 7, had reached only 454.
It could be that grumbling on social media and sports talk radio doesn’t equate to passion. It could also be that Detroit fans recognize a lost cause when they see one.
But who doesn’t like tacos?
Stained by success
The first thing to know about Tacos for Turnovers is that it's harder than you think to connect with a national brand. Owen's key contact turned out to be in Florida.
The second thing is that it wasn't Owen's idea.
A fire-breathing panther atop the scoreboard, built by former industrial arts teacher Ray Unger in 1989, spouts off when DeWitt's offense scores a touchdown. Defensive coordinator Kyle Haskell had long wanted something similarly celebratory for his side of the ball.
"Zac," Haskell said last off-season, "you're the guy who's gonna get it done."
Among the things Owen discovered along the way is that the Michigan High School Athletic Association frowns mightily on anything that might be considered a reward for winning, or even for pulverizing an opponent's running back.
Ergo, despite the name, Tacos for Turnovers is tied to simply showing up. Every Panthers fan in attendance qualifies for two free tacos within 48 hours of the game.
But on the sideline, there’s a 4-by-4-foot cutout of Taco Bell’s signature musical instrument. Any Panther who snags an interception or dislodges a fumble gets to sign it with a Sharpie, on the spot.
Cheerleaders toss squishy rubber tacos into the stands, the crowd erupts, and somewhere, an angel gets a Crunchwrap Supreme.
“The kids were so hyped the first game, they broke the Sharpie in half,” Owen said. “There was ink all over me for a week.”
A throwback to MSU
A few decades ago, Michigan State had a somewhat similar promotion at men’s basketball games. If the Spartans scored at least 75 points, everyone in attendance could claim a free Taco Bell taco.
Like Pavlov’s rooting section, students would start chanting “Taco, taco,” as the team closed in on the magic number.
Owen mentioned that when he called Landers & Partners, a national marketing firm based in Tampa.
“That’s funny,” said President Michelle Darr, “because I’m the one who came up with that.”
Sports bring demographic groups together, Darr told the Free Press, and beyond that, Tacos for Turnovers sounded like fun.
“The magic piece is the local franchisee approval,” she said, so she dialed Team Lyders of Brighton, which owns the DeWitt Taco Bell and about 200 others.
Team Lyders sorted out costs and benefits, factored in goodwill and the fact that its vice president has grandkids at league rival Grand Ledge, and said sure, why not.
In a quirk of scheduling, DeWitt's matchup against Holt High on Friday will be only its second of the year in its home stadium. With five wins in six games, the Panthers figure to draw a sizable crowd, with a commensurate postgame rush on a certain fast-food restaurant.
A bonus for the Taco Bell, Owen pointed out, is that people tend to order more than just their free tacos, and everyone needs a drink.
In case any customers are short on cash, it's just a 400-foot walk to the local Fifth Third Bank.
Reach Neal Rubin at NARubin@freepress.com.
This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: As an anti-Fifth Third Park petition fizzles, a free tacos idea soars
