VIEWS FROM THE PENTHOUSE

It has been a very frustrating month for myself as a Tiger-cat fan.  Not only has reality set in that my beloved team has depleted and many of my favorite players have migrated down the QEW to our most hated enemy the Toronto Argo-Cats but the marketing of the football club has left me wondering what direction the owners want to go.

It all started one June weekend when I went back to my hometown of Dunnville to celebrate it’s annual Mudcat Festival.  Dunnville is only about 80 kms south of Hamilton making it an enjoyable 45-minute car ride.  It is a small town with a population of about 15 000 and is nestled nicely in the Niagara Region.  While getting ready for the Saturday morning parade I was leafing through the local newspaper to find an article stating the Hamilton Tiger-cat Cheerleaders and mascot TC would be part of the festivities.  An urge of excitement and pride raced through my body as I felt the team was doing some smart promoting.  I got my camera ready for some good photo opportunities and waited for the parade to begin.  About 5 minutes in to the parade I saw a black Bronco drive past with Tiger-cat flags hanging from each side of the truck.  Driving was a cheerleader and in the back was about two or three 8-year old girls waving pom – poms.  No candy, no TC, not even an Oskee wee and off they went.  Puzzled I looked around for more but there was nothing to be found but the next float and I just sat there watching the remainder of the parade in disbelief.  Was this some kind of a joke?  Did I miss something?  What happened?  I sat there pondering while the rest of the parade passed by when I heard my daughter yell “More Oskee wee wee’s!”  I looked up and down the road was the rest of the Tiger-cat cheerleading team surrounding a Chamber of Commerce car.  I peeked up for a few minutes as they passed by and then one more time was disappointed.  They had no sign indicating who they were, no TC, no cheers, no nothing.  Off they went and the parade came to a close.  Three weeks later I am still unsure what happened.  Could they not organize the whole team together as one?  Was it too hard to have a sign indicating who they were?  Where was TC (heck I would have even put on the costume)?  No one was handing out schedules, coupons, candy, nothing.  In the afternoon I wandered through the town where many other organizations had booths set up promoting their products.  Could the Tiger-cats not set up a booth that day?  Maybe sell discounted merchandise from last year, hand out coupons for game tickets or even just hand out schedules.  What an opportunity wasted.  There are many other small towns surrounding Hamilton that have these types of festivals and I wonder if they attend and if so is the part they play in them as little and awful as it was in this one.

BUT it gets worse.  Two days before the first exhibition game a father from my child’s soccer game mentioned he and his son were going to the game and received a good deal.  He stated they bought two tickets for $25.00 and with it received many coupons for local restaurants and ice cream as well as buys one game ticket and gets one free for the first four home games.  The next day someone at work mentioned they received the same deal from a guy selling door to door.  What’s wrong with this you might ask.  Well nothing really – great idea, gets fans in the building and builds fan interest.  BUT – why did I only hear about it two days before the game through word of mouth.  Where was the advertising?  I live in Hamilton, have season tickets, walk by the roar Store (team store) everyday and am an avid CFL supporter but knew nothing about this promotion.  I talked to several other people who follow the league and the team who also knew nothing.  Should they not be advertising this promotion everywhere they can to reach everyone in Hamilton and the surrounding areas?  Another good idea not seen to its fullest.

Then the exhibition game comes.  About 19 000 people there as many free tickets given out to the schools.  One problem – I go down to the souvenir booths and notice they are selling most t-shirts for $32.00 and hats for $38.00 (same hats and t-shirts were selling for $20.00 and $15.00 at the local store the next day).  Who would pay that price for a t-shirt and hat?  Would you not want to sell merchandise cheaper so the kids and families would buy them and wear them at the schools/outside to further promote your team?  At the Argo fan day most shirts and hats were $10.00 and were almost sold out by days end.  I would be surprised if the Tiger-cats sold one item that night.

So as I look back I am puzzled and frustrated.  The team has some good marketing ideas but did not follow them all the way to enable them to reach the largest amount of people.  For a team that struggles at the gate you would think they would want to ensure they are reaching everyone in the area.  Yet they are not.  Half assed efforts are not justifiable.  If the team does not want to improve their fan base they only need to look as far as themselves.  They need to continue with their marketing strategies of parades, discount tickets and getting children in the building.  But doing things a little smarter, seeing the whole thing through and ensuring you reach the largest amount of people possible is what is needed!!!

By Tydoggz

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CHATTING WITH THE ARGO-CATS

During the Argo Fan Day I had the pleasure to sit down and chat with a few old friends and new Toronto Argonauts.  These old friends I refer to are Joe Montford, Clifford Ivory, Mike Morreale and Mike O’Shea, all former Hamilton Tiger-cats who have moved to Toronto in the past year or two from free agency.  We discussed things like fitting in to their new surroundings, differences between the archrivals, Labour Day and attendance problems in Southern Ontario.  The following is a summary of my discussions with these players and their thoughts and opinions on the above subjects.

 What is the difference between the Toronto Argonauts and Hamilton

 Tiger-cats organizations (good and bad)?  And what is your outlook

 for the 2002 season with your new team?

Mike Morreale:  Feels both organizations are quite similar.  The

atmosphere in the locker rooms is very similar.  This is important, as

 the locker room atmosphere is important to me.  However, the

 coaching philosophies of the two teams are very different but I am

 finding the move and new philosophies quite refreshing.   Sometimes

 you are looking for something different but you may not realize It

 until after the fact.  See pic.

I feel the team has a good nucleus of guys.  There are a lot of guys

here with lots of CFL experience.  The defence will be tough this year.  I am enjoying the change and new club though.

Clifford Ivory:  I am still in shock that I am an Argonaut, I was not

 expecting to be leaving Hamilton.  I am still getting adjusted but it is

 good thus far.  The locker room is good but it is a different kind of

 atmosphere.  No dressing room in the world of sports will beat the

 Cats. See pic.

Mike O’Shea:  We will be Grey Cup Champions for sure.  You need to

 have this attitude going into every year or you will not be

 successful.  The ex Tiger-cat players are fitting in well thus far.  This

 is the type of league where there is a lot of player turnover.  It is

 unfortunate for the fans but as a player it is nice as you get to play

 with guys who you have had fierce battles with and have a great deal of respect for.   Now I have a great opportunity to play with and learn from the likes

 of a Joe Montford.  See pic.

Joe Montford:  The Toronto organization has a little more city but

Hamilton and Toronto have equally good things.  I feel the Toronto

 locker room is a bit better now than it was in the past.  See pic.

I think the club will be right up there in the standings and then we

 will see come playoff time.  The defense is a different set-up than in

 Hamilton.  In Hamilton there were many veterans like Gerald

 Vaughn and Rob Hitchcock, which allowed the line just to do their

 thing, but Toronto will be equally good.

It is no secret that in Southern Ontario there is an attendance

 problem.  Do you have any ideas as to why there is a problem and what the league and teams can do to improve their attendance?

Mike Morreale:  In Hamilton I have no idea why they cannot draw.

  It is a city with 500 000 people and there is no reason why they

 should not get 25 000 a game. 

In Toronto it is a tough sell as there is many other things that you

 are up against, in Hamilton there is nothing up against it.

Mike O’Shea:  The league has done a great job with marketing and

promoting but from team to team it has fallen short.  Each individual

 team must market better to improve its own attendance.

In Toronto it is a tough sell as there is so many different areas for

 entertainment.  Many people feel it should be easy in a city of 5

 million to sell-out but there is so much going on and realistically

 you are trying to draw 30 000 from 300 000 people which makes it

 harder.

1.        What are your thoughts on Fan Day?

Mike Morreale:  I’m impressed with the crowd today and feel it is a

 good idea.  I have enjoyed today.

Clifford Ivory:  There was a good crowd here and it has been a good

 day.

Joe Montford:  It has been a great day.  Didn’t expect such a big

 crowd.  If we get this many here we should have good crowds for

 the season.   

2.        Are you looking forward to returning to Ivorr Wynne

        Stadium for Labour Day?

Mike O’Shea:  I am looking forward to it with Joe Montford this year.  Usually no one stands near me as people are usually booing, yelling and throwing

things at me.  But this year it will be directed to Joe.  So I will have

 friends on the sidelines and I will make sure not to stand next to Joe.

Joe Montford:  No, they will still boo Mike.

Well guys I do not know how the crowd will react but I will be

 cheering for you during player introductions but after that you guys

 are on your own.  Thanks for the interesting insights on the

 upcoming year and fansofcanadianfootball.com wish you the best

 of luck in your new surroundings and upcoming season.

_____________________________________________________

THE REDCOATS !!!!!

HOWDY football fans!  Wednesday June 12 is finally here and cowtown is ready to defend our cup!!  After a long, long, long winter the Calgary Stampeder’s are starting there home opener tonight against those pesky BC Lions.

Wally Ball is ounce again getting ready to roll!! Over the winter we lost some key players to where else but, the NFL (Nasty Football League) but Wally, in true fashion signed some great key players.  Marcus Crandall has signed to a 3-year deal, it looks like Travis Moore will finish out his career as a Stampeder and of course the Big Chill!  It looks like tonight is going to be a great night for football; the forecast is calling for a nice 22 degrees (with no rain in sight).  As we walk around the parking lot at McMahon Stadium we see Calgary fans in true fashion starting the year off right with what else- the notorious tailgate parties.

It looks like a good crowd this year (as always).  Only 165 days until the Stampeder’s claim (once again) what is rightfully ours! So fansofcanadianfootball.com if you happen to be heading west for the greatest outdoor show on earth (oh and the Calgary Stampede) be sure to drop by one of our tailgates and we’ll show you our western hospitality.  You can’t miss us WE ARE THE REDCOATS!!!!