Inside the Loud House
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Syracuse Strong: Press Coverage with Team President Khalid Bey

By Paul A. Esden Jr.

ATLANTA, GEORGIA - FEBRUARY 03: A general view during Super Bowl LIII between the Los Angeles Rams and the New England Patriots at Mercedes-Benz Stadium on February 03, 2019 in Atlanta, Georgia. (Photo by Al Bello/Getty Images)
ATLANTA, GEORGIA - FEBRUARY 03: A general view during Super Bowl LIII between the Los Angeles Rams and the New England Patriots at Mercedes-Benz Stadium on February 03, 2019 in Atlanta, Georgia. (Photo by Al Bello/Getty Images) /
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(Photo by Streeter Lecka/Getty Images)
(Photo by Streeter Lecka/Getty Images) /

The 3rd edition of an interview series between Voice of the Strong Paul ‘Boy Green’ Esden and members of the Syracuse Strong football team and front office.

After three weeks of play, the Syracuse Strong are undefeated at 3-0. Obviously, you need talent on the field to have that success, but talent off of it helps everything come together.

For the third installment of “Press Coverage,” we decided to speak to a key front office member who helps make this operation run so smooth, meet Syracuse Strong Team President Khalid Bey.

The Strong has been around for the last five years, Khalid Bey and the current board of trustees have been with the organization over the last four years. Khalid is the “Team President” for the Strong.

What does that fancy title entail?

"“More work than I thought (laughter), but especially if you’re trying to sustain this thing. Even though unfortunately players at the minor league level can’t be paid as a rule. There’s still a lot of costs that are associated with this: the fields aren’t free, the uniforms and other things aren’t free. So we have to do a lot of sponsorships and fundraising 24/7, 365. It’s a constant fundraising effort, but from my perspective, we’re always coming up with new ways to rebrand the team. Our goals are always to be on par with the likes of the Syracuse Crunch, obviously, the Syracuse Mets are in another stratosphere.”"

Without fundraising, none of this would be possible because as Khalid said, the players don’t get paid. This is a labor of passion, that isn’t free or easy.

"“It’s not difficult to get small amounts of money, it’s difficult to get larger amounts. The onus is on us to demonstrate value, where people can see that it’s worth the investment. Last year did a lot for us coming into this year and hopefully, we can continue to win and increase our value and get more sponsors on board.”"

In the second part of the interview there’s plenty of meat on the bone:

  • Who handles the recruiting?
  • Why was the Strong created?
  • More insight into Khalid’s personal life as an accomplished author and public servant.
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