VIEWS FROM THE PENTHOUSE

With all the talk and controversy circling the Hamilton Tigercats and their owners this month I have taken some time to sit back and reflect on the past and what I would do if I owned the team.  First of all, I must say I have defended these owners through tooth and nail in the past. Many people have made valid points about the owners and how they are ruining the Tigercat organization but I am not yet convinced they are to blame.  Sure they have lost major corporation sponsorship, have not given the money to resign free agents and have done very little in terms of marketing the team but can anyone really blame them.  The Hamilton sports market is non-existent right now as fans not only refuse to support the Tigercats but also came pretty close to losing their AHL franchise.  When the current ownership group (Grant and MacDonald) took over the team they were struggling not only off the field but on it as well.  People stated they were not coming to the stadium because they would not support a losing product and they would not waste money on a non-competetive team.  That being said the ownership spends the money and brings in Ron Lancaster, Danny McManus and Darren Flutie and the team quickly turns around and makes the playoffs.  The following year they lose in the Grey Cup and the next year they are Grey Cup Champions.  The team has not had a losing record since this ownership group took over yet attendance barely increased.  Fans then started complaining that the stadium was a poor place to visit. The inside needed improvements, line-ups for concessions and washrooms were too long making one miss half a game and there was no place to park and even if you did it is a bad neighbourhood and were worried about their vehicle.  Again poor excuses.  I have been going to Ivorr Wynne for well over 15 years now and have never had problems finding a parking spot on the street (you just need to get there an hour early and go enjoy the tailgate party).  On top of that I have never been threatened or had any problems with my car.  In fact the locals in that community have been quite friendly.  As for line-ups in washrooms and concessions you just need to be smart about things and realize it is a big stadium.  Now granted at times the concession workers are slow but everyone migrates to the middle concessions and washrooms of the stadium.  I always walk pass a line up at one concession stand or washroom and go to the ones at the end of the stadium where I am always the only one there.  Now is that the owners fault that no one else can figure this out???  Now fans blame them for not spending money on marketing or signing free agents.  Well this does look bad and will hurt the franchise but can you blame them.  Money has been put out in the past and things have been tried but still no one shows.  I would be giving up too.  But if that is the case maybe it is time to sell the team and let someone else take the shot.

Here’s what I’d do:

1. I would first give Lancaster and management free range on signing players as long as it stayed within the salary cap or in comparison to other teams.  You must not only let the fans know there is a commitment to continue to field a winner but players must also feel that commitment.  The team has lost some big names in the past and if anymore are lost it may be a long time in re-building which will not help attendance.

2. I would then go back after corporate sponsors.  Tim Hortons to begin with to re-build this important relation ship.  Other corporations in the community and surrounding areas need to be approached in order to build your sponsorships.  Corporate sponsors are very important in building revenue and a successful franchise.

3. Nest I would purchase office space in the downtown core for buisiness operations.  Right now it is ran out of Ivor Wynne Stadium in old offices which does not make a great atmosphere to discuss buisiness.  Also, offices closer to the downtown core would make the Cats more accessible.

4. The team then must work with the City to keep the lease they have right now or something close to it.  The less money you pay for rent the more you have for other things.

5. Then the marketing issue needs to be tackled.  Start in Hamilton and work your way out.  Paint all busses black and gold in April with ticket information on them and keep them like this until the end of the season.  Hit every billboard possible with Tigercat advertisement.  Approach all local businesses and have them keep out your team schedule and team information.  Get your players in all the schools and charity events to be seen and recognized.  Move a team store on the top of the mountain and add other local businesses where the ability to buy tickets is easily accessible.  From there you head to the Niagara Region and west to Kitchener and north to Guelph and local areas.  You hit every local festival and have floats in them.  You hand out discounted ticket packages and sell discounted merchandise.  You ensure that your team schedule in plastered all through local businesses there and maybe even advertise upcoming games in their local newspapers no matter how small they are.  Make your name known outside the Hamilton area and create some interest.

6. Finally, I would look at game day events.  I would try and organize tailgate parties at the Scott Park parking lot (this has started but if the team promotes it, it will get big and enjoyable) as well as keeping pre-game events at Brian Timmins Stadium.  These pre-game events must have some more pizzazz and getting some known name talent to perform would help.  Have more things to do for the kids and run contests for free merchandise and tickets.  Make an event inside the game as well.  Run many fan related contests (which they do well right now) and improve their halftime entertainment.  Take a page out of the Argo book as what is happening in Toronto appears to be working. 

These are only a few suggestions to help improve the product and attendance in Hamilton.  I realize all of this costs money but I am a firm believer you need to spend money to make money.  That being said I am not convinced if this would produce sell-outs at Ivorr Wynne.  I really think there is 15 000 hard core sports fans in Hamilton and the rest of the community believes if it does not have the NHL, NFL or NBA on it is useless and a waste of time.  However, there is a small part of me that believes that with the right amount of effort we will all be sitting in a full Ivorr Wynne Stadium.  But that is just the view fro The Penthouse and the view is good.

By Tydoggz

CITY REPS STILL NEEDED

Would you like to be a rep for fansofcanadianfootball.com?

What is a rep???

A rep is someone who will help us spread the word about the website and help increase the popularity of Canadian football.  As a rep we would ask you to submit monthly articles for the newsletter, hand out cards and pamphlets for our website at the games, take pictures and interview fans and attend training camps and practices to interview team officials and players.  We know your time is valuable to you and you go to the games to enjoy yourselves so as a rep you can choose which aspects of the website you wish to participate in and when.  Fact is we need a few contacts in each city to help us out.

What is in it for me???

We realize the work, time and effort a rep may put in and we would not let it go unrecognized.  We will provide you with personalized business cards to hand out to friends and fans in your city, we are currently designing t-shirts and golf shirts for our reps to wear and we are also working on obtaining media passes which would allow our reps access to the field and dressing rooms on game day for interviews of players and management.

If interested in helping us out and becoming at rep of fansofcanadianfootball.com e-mail us at cflfans@hotmail.com

Back To The Future

Well, a lot has happened in the wacky world that is Argoland in the month of Sept., let’s have a look shall we?

First off we got some welcome returnees in Robert Drummond and Demetrious Maxie, and their presence has been felt quickly.  We had a not bad running game going during the Labour Day game, and at one point we were leading, when disaster struck. WHY did they go for it on 3rd and a long 1 when we were deep in our own zone? Of course we didn’t make it and the game momentum shifted big time.

QB Bishop was largely ineffective, Reggie not being ready yet to play. Many felt at that point coach Etch should have been fired for allowing such a boring, predictable offence, but no, Pinball stuck by his man.

On to Ottawa we did the same running vanilla offence and managed to make the Rens look good, which took effort on our part to be sure. Bishop was allowed to throw a bit in the 4th and guess what??

 We Won! Unfortunately that saved Etch’s job for another week. Even Argofans on CFL chat boards who had been tolerant of Etch were seeing that we would not have beat a good team with that continued reliance on the run that ultraconservative Etch was counting on. In other words we got lucky.

On to Riderland and one of the ugliest games I’ve ever seem the Argos play. I almost thought the players were giving up on Etch, the play was so bad I was reminded of the BC game were the team tanked a game to get Huard fired. Well, it worked again, since Etch got canned. Even the former Etch supporters I know had given up on the man by then so did Pinball apparently. 12 1st downs, 44 yards rushing, 4 fumbles, and 90 yards in penalties won’t win games, the Riders kicked our butts, plain and simple.

Pinball kicks the Kitties

On to today! New Argo Bendross proved he was a smart acquisition, getting a 51-yard TD and 81 yards overall today. QB Jim Ballard, who was cut in preseason despite respectable stats (thank you ETCH!) was brought back and given the start. Ballard threw for 329 yards and two touchdowns in his first CFL start, leading Toronto to an important 28-21 victory over archrivals the Ticats, moving to within 2 points of a tie for 2nd.

But the most important changes Clemons made were to Toronto's offence.

 The unit did most of its damage in the second quarter, scoring three touchdowns -- two Robert Drummond rushing TDs and one through the air to Derrell Mitchell. The key to the unit's success was its ability to pass. Etcheverry stubbornly stuck to his philosophy of establishing the run, which created a boring, predictable offence that was last in the CFL in scoring and passing.

 Clemons let Ballard call his own plays and throw short passes in the flat to give his receivers room to run after making the catch. Both of Drummond's touchdowns were set up by long runs on short completions and Mitchell's 35-yard TD catch came when the slotback broke two tackles after hauling in a short toss. It felt good to see Mookie in his element jinkin’ and twisting towards the goaline!!

Ballard completed 23 of 31 passes. Ballard opened the game by completing his first nine attempts and fully utilized his receiving corps, using seven different pass catchers. Man, it was nice to see a QB who threw confidently and mostly accurately. Unlike Bishop, who seemed to have trouble reading defenses and would throw panicked tosses into double coverage, like he did twice in Edmonton, giving them the 14 points the Eskies beat us with.

Will Ballard be the Saviour of the Argos season? Will resigning ‘Jimmy the Jet’ Cunningham help a lot? I don’t know, but I do know I feel a cautious optimism that I didn’t have a month ago, and that ain’t half bad for an Argofan.

I have a sore throat from heckling the Ticats, and “That’s a Good Thing”. (Said like Martha Stewart.) ;)

Now all I have to worry about is a west crossover, but I’ll save that for next month’s Report.