The idea of ProjectFranchise was born out of our frustrations with crappy team management and enhanced by the ultimate dream of running our own team.
At one point or another in their life of emotional ups and downs, every sports fan has wondered out loud if they could do a better job than the guy running their favorite squad - and who wouldnt want to be the one calling the shots. We’ve done the homework, both crunching numbers and talking to almost every US minor or semi-pro league, and it’s actually pretty realistic for us to raise the necessary money and buy ourselves a controlling interest in a minor-league squad that our fans will run via easy online voting.
We imagine that right about now you are probably wondering “who are these guys and why should I believe they are any different than that Nigerian Prince that needed my social security number?”
The Project Franchise Team Captains are 4 sports fans, college buddies from The U & Penn St who recently realized that our dreams of playing pro sports are behind us and a future of striking out at softball games, growing beer guts, and criticizing the management of our favorite teams is all that likely lies ahead. As we've started to grow we've added on a few other Team Players in LA and NY who are helping us improve the site, manage the Front Office Fans blog and get the word out through PR and online viral marketing.
Below are brief bios on the Team Captains - and if you have any questions, comments or suggestions feel free to Email the Team.
Grant Cohen - Team Capt, Corp & Biz Dev
Born & raised in the SF Bay Area (and later college in Miami) as a Niner, Giants, Warriors fan, I enjoyed 20+ years of basically sports-fan heaven. The Giants never won a World Series, but played in a pair, and gave me Will The Thrill, Kevin Mitchell and Barry before the juice. The Warriors were never great, but were always fun and brought me the joy of Run TMC, Nellie, and Manute. My Niners gave me Joe, Jerry & 5 Super Bowl championships in my childhood, and, not to be outdone, the Canes gave me 5 more NCAA football championships – for those counting at home that’s 10 football championships in my first 20 years: strong, to quite strong. Unfortunately the early departure of Butch Davis at Miami, the abysmal job the Yorks have done with the Niners, BALCO, and Barry’s penchant for juice, has pretty much ruined the last 5+ years. And now, not even a re-pairing of Mully & Nellie have been able to keep the Warriors in the playoffs, sending us back to world of Lottery Picks. However, things are looking up at Candlestick and in Coral Gables, and I'm confident we'll be back on top of the pro and college football worlds very soon. In the real world I’ve spent the last few years helping to get a pair of successful digitial adveritsing start ups off the ground (one went public, one got acquired), doing marketing and business development. I’ve brokered deals with quite a few large web publishers, mobile carriers and interactive advertisers, so I’m very familiar with this type of business and hope I can use some of my experience to align PF with some big companies and sponsors that will help this become a reality for everyone involved.
Joe Scura - Team Capt, Mktng & Legal Affairs
I was born and raised in New Jersey but never felt an allegiance to the teams playing in NJ under the NY tag. I grew up loving the Dolphins, Yankees, Nets and Miami Hurricanes. I proudly sported the number 13 in little league to honor Dan Marino, who I'm certain was honored by the gesture. I won't boast about the joy of growing up a Yanks fan, but like Frank Costanza on Festivus, I will take this opportunity to talk about the ways my teams have disappointed me over the years. After decades of being the laughingstock of the NBA, the Nets finally achieved respectability when Jason Kidd took them to two consecutive finals. Nets ownership repaid the fans for years of loyalty by jacking up the prices and skipping town for Brooklyn (eventually). That's like breaking up with your girlfriend before dinner, then staying through desert, and then crashing on her futon while your new mansion gets built. The Dolphins on the other hand gave me many great September-Novembers before the lack of a gamebreaker RB caused the Phins to head home early. Although I never got to see them win the big one, I did get to watch Marino, Shula, the Marks brothers and a whole lotta records get broken. Dolphins' management in their infinite wisdom decided to nudge Marino towards the door in favor of Jay Fiedler and Dave Wannstedt's mustache. We all know how that turned out. I currently run my own law practice in New Jersey, specializing in criminal defense as well as media law and First Amendment issues.
Adam Lorber - Team Capt, Brand & Design
With a double major in advertising and graphic design, I've spent years designing for large companies and big businesses, but owning a sports team and branding one has always been a dream. By day, I'm a graphic designer living in LA and working for one of Hollywood's big award shows, but I still call the east coast home. I was born in NYC in the early 80's, and I had the greatest teams to leech on too. But being so young, none ever stuck. Don't get me wrong, I loved Doc and Darryl and LT, but I just didn't carry those teams with me when I moved to Miami in '86. The Mets had just won the pennant, the Giants had just won the Super Bowl, but I threw those teams out the door in favor of Marino, and a couple years later, the expansion Miami Heat. Later on, the Panthers were formed along with the Marlins, and we became a full-fledged sports town, minus the fans that never came to the games unless the teams were winning. But I did. Growing up, I went to countless loses against the Bills, a few beatings by the Knicks, an 0-for-4 Stanley Cup final, and 2 World Series, which felt nice at the time, that is, until our star players were shown the door. Sure, I still root for my home teams, but why just root when I can have a say? I'm ready to take ownership into my own hands, along with anyone else who've ever felt the same pain as I have. Get on board early folks, soon we'll all have a team we can call our own.
Anshey Bhatia - Team Captain, Website & Product Development
I was brought to the Project Franchise team in 2008 to head up the online space for Project Franchise. Armed with a a diverse background, including a B.S. in graphic design from Penn State, a minor in I.T., and 3 years experience as the founder and creative director of VPV Interactive agency, I was a natural fit to lead the way for the Project Franchise web presence.
Currently I reside in the heart of Manhattan, New York, and am involved with 3 business enterprises - VPV Interactive, Jerseys Finest Collegiate Apparel, and of course, Project Franchise. I've been out of the corporate world for 3 years and relish the idea of having a Project Franchise team. Having grown up in a household where college football Saturdays were considered religion (We Are Penn State!), and surrounded by several pro sports teams from the New York City region, I look forward to the day where we have a team that we can call our own. The idea, the marketing, and the fan involvement behind Project Franchise is truly unique, and I'm ecstatic to be an integral part of the team.
