Photo credit: EA Pixelz Photography
The City of Frederick takes great pride in being a full-service community that offers a comprehensive array of amenities and activities intended to enrich the lives of its citizens. This year, Frederick became the first Maryland city in over 20 years to include professional basketball in the mix of local entertainment opportunities for residents and visitors to enjoy.
“The Flying Cows” opened their inaugural season on March 2, 2024 at The Hood College Athletic Center against the Reading Rebels with a thrilling 113-112 come from behind victory. The team’s regular season will run twenty-four (24) games long from March – May, with 12 home games, all at Hood. League playoffs will take place in June — and the Flying Cows expect to be in the mix.
Below we caught up with the Flying Cows team to learn more about their recent MOooOO-ve into Frederick!
Can You Give us a quick Overview of The Flying Cows & TBL?
The Flying Cows are one of 37 teams in the TBL (The Basketball League www.thebasketballleague.com). The league is just a notch below the NBA G league and offers an alternative opportunity for players who want to play professionally and be seen in the United States, rather than going to Europe or Asia.
The Flying Cows are building a three-legged stool – a great basketball team/product, a family-oriented fun and surprising entertainment product, and a community product that seeks to become part of the fabric of Frederick.
What the motivation for starting the team?
Owners Michael and Tony are both lifelong basketball junkies and were exploring different ideas of things to do together after each had sold their businesses. They learned about the TBL through an ESPN story about a player saving a referee’s life and began to explore options to start a franchise somewhere in the DC area.
How did you choose Frederick as the home of the Flying Cows?
We did an exhaustive search of markets within an hour and a half of DC. Frederick has the best combination of attributes:
A) Good size – city of approx.. 85,000 and County of 285,000
B) Good proximity to larger populations areas – Montgomery and Howard Counties
C) Great growth – fastest growing County in Maryland
D) Special character – Frederick’s downtown stands out among regional towns
E) History of supporting Minor league pro-sports – The Keys
F) Last but not least, it struck us that people who live in Frederick identify as being from Frederick and have great pride of place. This makes for a community that can identify with and embrace a minor league pro sports team and entertainment product.
EA Pixelz Photography
What can fans expect from their game day experience?
Great Play. Fun Games. Community Involvement. Terrific food, snack, and beverage options. Entertainment for kids and adults – with a little bit of a whacky twist, at times. All in all – a Mooooving experience.
What’s the story behind the team name/mascot?
The community helped picked the name. We worked with a marketing firm that had helped name and design mascots for other minor league pro sports teams and came up with 5 name options for the community to weigh in on.
We got lots of amazing feedback. The Flying Cows name generated the most interest – both positive and negative – people either thought it was fun and whimsical or too goofy, not serious enough. That tension helped lead to the design of a fierce flying cow logo. Then, when we were designing the mascot we wanted to tone down its fierceness and make it more playful and approachable for kids. Part of the goal with all things Flying Cows is just when you think the Cows are going to fly straight we veer right or left – the Flying Cows aim to continue to surprise their fans and evolve the team and brand in new and exciting ways.
Now that they have officially begun play, what’s next for both the near- and long-term future of the team?
Our goal is to compete for a TBL championship in year one. And then to continue to get better. We have some wonderful players who have already begun to create relationships and roots in the community. Long term we would like to be a perennial contender, help develop young men who can build their basketball careers and/or find other work opportunities in Frederick, and extend the Flying Cows brand beyond basketball into clothing, food & drink – create a lifestyle brand that stands for community, strength, opportunity, and not taking oneself too seriously.
How have or how can local businesses get involved?
A myriad ways. We are looking for sponsors. We need to build our revenue base and we have the ability to expose sponsors to an amazing fan base.
EA Pixelz Photography
Also, we are looking for partners – local businesses with whom we can trade services. And, we are looking for brand partnerships – we are already working with local quality brands like Brewer’s Alley, Piece o’ Cake, and Rocky Point Creamery to create Flying Cows branded beer, cookies and Ice Cream.
Lastly, we want to work with local non-profits to help support them and build their profiles so that they can serve their populations of need. We have already received support and built relationships – Frederick has been SO welcoming, but we have only just begun and are looking to connect with lots of additional companies and organizations in the community. We want to sell out our games so that our home court is a big advantage. One fan has already coined the hashtag “Defend The Barn”. By working with local businesses and other organizations we can build a healthy revenue base and an extended network that will stretch throughout the community.
Have exciting business news to Share?
Contact The City of Frederick’s Department of Economic Development to learn more about local resources at business@cityoffrederickmd.gov.