Five Reasons Why Toronto Blue Jays Fans Are Staying Home..1 word TFC!!!

[tfcmanu]

3) Toronto FC:
Up until three seasons ago the Blue Jays benefited from the fact that they had little or no competition during the summer months in terms of another sports venue. That all changed when Major League Soccer came to town.
Toronto FC is becoming a big draw in Toronto. Hardcore soccer fans, who are also casual baseball fans are now spending their sports entertainment dollars at BMO field instead of at Rogers Centre.

http://bleacherreport.com/articles/224168-five-reasons-why-toronto-blue-jays-fans-are-staying-home

[joel]

Is there really stats to back that up? TFC plays max I home game a week, 15 home games total and the jays play 82...how much of a difference does it really make?

[tfcmanu]

Is there really stats to back that up? TFC plays max I home game a week, 15 home games total and the jays play 82...how much of a difference does it really make?

Good Point, Open for debate.

[flatpicker]

^ I agree... it shouldn't impact that much on baseball attendance

[billyfly]

I believe this b/c their is only so much money to go around. If I spend $$$ at BMO with their high priced beers etc where do I have the cash to also go to Blue Jays games?

I have started going to Inter-County baseball games at the Christie Pits for my baseball fix.

[Wagner]

it's true for me.
I skipped out on my flex pack this year.
I'm saving for Playoffs, Concacaf, 2010 tix, roadtrips...

[Steve]

^ I agree... it shouldn't impact that much on baseball attendance

The point being made is more based on sporting dollar than conflicts. If perspective jays fans are spending all of their sports budget (and energy) on TFC, then they are less likely to go to the jays game.

[jabbronies]

I think number 2 sums it up perfectly. They haven't been contenders for 15 years. After a while, it becomes numbing to have to go and watch a game, that you knows probably means nothing, year after year.
I still go to about 3 games a year. What's thier average attendance? 30k per game?

[Jay P]

last jays game i went to was May 2008, and to be honest, I'd rather use the $ I would of spent, elsewere.

I used to have the $100 Toronto Star season pass for the Jays, but cancelled figured the $100 is better used for TFC season tickets.

+ baseball @ home on HD > Rogers Centre live.

[TFC_Chris]

While I would argue that TFC has taken away some ticket sales from the Blue Jays, you can also say that about the Argos as well, and they were here long before TFC was.

I'd say attendance is down mainly because of reason #2. If you don't play any meaningful baseball in August and September for 15 straight years, people wonder if you really care about winning.

[Parkdale]

#4 and #5 on the list are both huge factors.

The 'no reentry' policy targets smokers and will keep them away.

maybe a soft point, but shit weather means the dome is closed,
and let's face it.... baseball is just better in the sun.

[Blazer]

The impact that TFC has had on the Blue Jays’ attendance is inconsequential. The number one reason the Jays’ struggle to draw is because year after year we play second (or fourth) fiddle in a division that is not welcoming of good teams, rather great teams only.

JP’s days are numbered and the fans have grown tired of him. In any other division he’s done well, but not in the AL east. If you want to see attendance at Jays games improve, you’ll have to wait for a playoff berth (or near miss) before you can implicate TFC in the equation.

[Carts]

Its true for me...

I'd usually go to a few ball games through the summer for some live sporting action - haven't and won't anymore...

I also used to have Argo season tickets for reason of they're cheap, have some beers, watch some live sports - those tickets were cancelled 3-seasons ago...

Carts...

[Roogsy]

Man, being in the AL east is killing the Jays. In another other division, Toronto would at least get a sniff of the playoffs, increasing interest.

But with the Bosox and the Yankees spending exponentially more money than anyone else in the league, the Jays simply can't compete.

[Carts]

Man, being in the AL east is killing the Jays. In another other division, Toronto would at least get a sniff of the playoffs, increasing interest.

But with the Bosox and the Yankees spending exponentially more money than anyone else in the league, the Jays simply can't compete.

And everyone should remember, a few years back, the Blue Jays were offered the chance to move into the American League Central - AND SAID NO...

They didn't want to lose the revenue and draw of the Yankess and Red Sox...

How's that for a team putting $$$$ before winning...

Carts...

[Jay P]

for all the people that say the jays cannot compete because they cannot content with the yanks or sox....
explain the Rays?

i think the success of the Rays has JPR's days numbered, as the Rays showed you can compete if you draft/manage/sign the right roll players.

[Blazer]

For me, in no particular order:


Losing team (fans love a winner)
Lacking big name talent (days when Halladay pitches 35,000+ show up)
Cost of tickets/parking/concessions (uncertain economy has people spending safely or elsewhere)
No re-entry (most smokers can’t go 3-4 hours without a ciggy)
Lack of promos (people will buy tickets if they know it’s Joe Carter bobblehead day or if there’s a free baby blue Aaron Hill t-shirt to the first 20,000, or autograph signings before the game by Henke, Gruber, Sprague, etc.)
… and so on … but #1 is most critical (and must change soon!)

[Pookie]

There is a #6 and that comes from demographics. If you read any of Economist David Foot's Boom, Bust and Echo he uses population aging trends to predict behaviour.

Foot would likely highlight that there are fewer people in the 20-35 year old cohort than there were 20 years ago. This group is typically your "sport attending" group. It would reason that attendance would risk a decline as a result. Particularly when 50,000 tickets sold was the norm. It also helps to explain drops in the crime rate and other social variables.

It's not the full picture though.

I have a hard time thinking that your average Jays fan has left the Jays for the TFC simply because of money. If anything, a TFC ticket is more expensive as you have to buy it with a ST or partial pack. Singles game tickets are fairly rare.

I think a large contributing factor is that there is a perception that there is no hope of winning given the disparity in payrolls. ($210M for the Yankees vs $80M for the Jays) and the fact that only 4 teams make the post season.

[Pookie]

for all the people that say the jays cannot compete because they cannot content with the yanks or sox....
explain the Rays?

i think the success of the Rays has JPR's days numbered, as the Rays showed you can compete if you draft/manage/sign the right roll players.

In any data, there are outliers. The Rays are a bit of an exception to the rule.

Over the last 10 years:

- the Yankees have made the post season 9 times (90% success rate)
- the Red Sox have made the post season 6 times (60% success rate)

The Rays have made it once. (10% success rate)

It does highlight that an underdog (under spender) can make it but the odds are not in their favour.

[AL-MO]

I am a big footy fan along with being a huge baseball fan. I would say TFC has affected me, but only a bit.

I only went to 5-10 games a year before TFC, and that hasn't changed now. I always go to the opener plus a few other games during the year. Saying that, I haven't been to any other games other than the opener this year, but that is because of other circumstances.

I see Footy fans and baseball fans as much different though. There should be no reason why in Toronto we can't have a full Dome for the Jays and a full BMO for TFC.

[Bobo]

Is there really stats to back that up? TFC plays max I home game a week, 15 home games total and the jays play 82...how much of a difference does it really make?

Very true BUT I think I've gone to one Jay game since 2007 and I was bored as hell. Before then I'd enjoy going to at least a couple a season.

[KrazyKanadian]

Ball tickets are 9 bucks, compared to the $20-40 you'd typically spend at a TFC game.

The relationship between Toronto fans and the Jays has always been tied to their success on the field. Back in the glory days (late 80's to early 90's) they were winning tons of games, competing with the best, and occasionally winning titles. Since then, they have had some really bad years, and even some good years, but still play under the shadow of the Yankees and Red Sox. Consistently missing the playoffs has drained the interest of the fans, leaving just the really dedicated fans and families looking for a cheap afternoon.

I can't see TFC really having much of an effect on Jays attendance, because face it, there aren't that many of us, and of that group, there are even fewer ball fans, and of even that group, there are fewer that gave up on baseball to watch TFC instead.

And yes, I do still catch several Jays games a year in person, as well as many more on TV.

I did, however, give up my Argos seasons after the first TFC season. The schedules conflicted too much, so that I was missing too many CFL games. It's sad, but I had to choose soccer over pointyball.

[Pookie]

^ I think TFC wish they had TV numbers like the Jays (avg 300,000)

[colman1860]

For me, in no particular order:



Lacking big name talent (days when Halladay pitches 35,000+ show up)



Not true. It would make sense, but if you look at attendance figures there is no difference between Doc games and Cecil games.

[olegunnar]

It's a small and specific sample but on the Lakeshore East Go line...there are no similarities whatsoever between the Jay fans and the TFC people. None. Not even close.

You'd think if they were competing for fans there'd be a bit more obvious common ground

[Jay P]

In any data, there are outliers. The Rays are a bit of an exception to the rule.

Over the last 10 years:

- the Yankees have made the post season 9 times (90% success rate)
- the Red Sox have made the post season 6 times (60% success rate)

The Rays have made it once. (10% success rate)

It does highlight that an underdog (under spender) can make it but the odds are not in their favour.


yes, the Rays have made it just once, but thats not my point.

look at how Tampa has built their team. They made the post season last year, and they were a pretty decent team the prior year.

considering the slow start they had, the Rays are 4 games back of the wild card at the moment.

The rays draft well and it is starting to show...

the jays? well after Gord Ash left... :picard:

[Blazer]

Valid point made on the Tampa Bays Rays contending in the AL East with BreadSox and Bankees.

The Rays have had two remarkable seasons no question. But lets have a look at how their luck is about to run out when the players putting together stellar past and present seasons become free agents and will start demanding serious money - money that is well beyond the Rays spending limits.

*Carl Crawford
*BJ Upton
*Matt Garza
*Ben Zobrist
*Chad Bradford
*Dioner Navarro
*Jason Bartlett
Akinori Awamura
Grant Balfour
Gabe Gross
Jeff Niemann

*Will be demanding All-Star calibre money at seasons’ end.

The Rays have been lucky in catching fire with a few guys still under contract, young talents developing on or before schedule, and some older guys that still had/have fuel in the tank to burn.

Not an excuse for JP but still some highly unlikely circumstances that the Rays are taking advantage of before they have to face the reality of free agency.

[Blazer]

Not true. It would make sense, but if you look at attendance figures there is no difference between Doc games and Cecil games.

Really? I thought I heard somewhere on the FAN590 that the Jays average 3-4 thousand more when Halladay pitches?! I will believe them until I am shown otherwise.

Anyway, you can bet your ass that I would be down there far more often if we had a J-Bay, Dustin Pedroia, Carl Crawford esk player. So respectfully, I disagree.

[rocker]

I dunno what effect TFC has had on the Jays... but I'm one of those people that has shifted from a baseball fan to a soccer fan over the past 5-8 years. I was already making that shift before TFC due to the Jays always having no hope and the growing prevalence of soccer on TV.

I grew up in a soccer family (dad played and coached, bro played) but I was not good at it. I was great at playing baseball and as a teen that became my interest. This was right at the time of the World Series championships, so it was awesome for me. Lots of respect at school for the baseball team ;)

But what TFC has done is push that growing interest in soccer to extreme levels in my life, and made me completely and totally disinterested in the Jays at all. even in the few years before TFC I would try to get out to a few Jays games. Now I don't at all. In the glory days I probably went to 20 Jays games per year. Now I can't even watch baseball on TV. I played the fricken game, but even I dont have the patience anymore to sit through 3-4 hours of it. I like the crispness of a soccer game -- just enough action and intrigue in 2 hours, and then it's done. Plus now me and my soccer father can connect every week at the TFC games (awwww!). He hated baseball.

So while I wouldn't say TFC was the reason, TFC is a part of some bigger shift in my sporting interests from baseball to soccer.

[Blazer]

^ Good post.

And you’re example is living proof. The attendance has less to do with TFC than it does will a failing product.

I’m sure you’d return to at least the TV screen or the dome if the Jays made a run for the playoffs or heavens, even a berth?! That’s all we need for them.

[Boudge]

I still go to Jay's games. I am still a fan. I am all about Toronto sports no matter what sport it is. I will take the pepsi challenge with anyone on my love for TFC also.

;)

[GBV]

Reason No. 1 for me is the dome.
Piece. Of. Shit.
I'm going to Pitt this weekend and am catching the Pirates v Nationals.
Two putrid teams, yes, but I hear PNC is a beauty place to see a game.
In baseball, that makes such a huge difference.
(Their beers are also affordable and Fridays are $1 hot dog nights.)

The "contender" part is huge of course, but I don't expect them to be contenders any time soon with Boston and New York -- and their bottomless purses -- in their division.

[GBV]

for all the people that say the jays cannot compete because they cannot content with the yanks or sox....
explain the Rays?

i think the success of the Rays has JPR's days numbered, as the Rays showed you can compete if you draft/manage/sign the right roll players.

exceptions happen. i don't have the #s in front of me, but i did a thing where i compared playoff appearances to payrolls in the last decade. it was something like 85 per cent of the teams who made the playoffs in the last decade had payrolls in the upper half of the league. and not much less had payrolls in the top 10.
anything can happen in a seven-game playoff series and all, but over the long term (a season), not likely.

here's hoping the rays can hang onto their youngsters, though.
look what happened to all those great expos team. a revolving door of superstars cuz the team couldn't afford to keep them.

i'm all for a salary cap, though can't see it happening unfortunately.

[Shakes McQueen]

They tried to institute a salary cap before. The only teams opposed, shockingly, were the Yankees and Red Sox.

I can't help but wonder how good the Jays would have been some years, if they were in a different division.

- Scott

[Cuchulain]

I used to go to 30 games a year when you could get $1. bleacher seats at Dominion. I was about 14. In my 20s and early 30s I probably went to an average of 2-3 games a year. I havn't been at all in ten years. I just couldn't care less; I can't explain why.

[greatwhitenorf]

Travel around Scarboro and good luck finding anyone who remotely chats about the Jays. It's all soccer, these days. Which is wonderful in one sense, but when a lot of soccer snobs poo-poo TFC and MLS, that gets me ticked off.

The Jays won back when because they went out and outspent every other team to acquire talent. The Sox and Yankees won't ever let that happen again. The Rays caught lightning in a bottle and will have a good couple of seasons before returning to mediocrity. Every year is Groundhog Day for the Jays now.

forget about the Blue Jays. They have no chance. None. Not now, not nxxt year, not ever. Not worth wasting time, money or emotion on. Ever wonder why the Fan radio just feeds us endless garbage about them? Because they own them and the stadium and the Sportsnet channel that shows them.

Billyfly is bang on when he says go watch Intercounty baseball at Christie Pits. The Maple Leafs are a good team. The leage has a decent website you can get stats from - theibl.ca - and go to a game with some knowledge about who can do what.

And it's free, right on the subway line. Slip a beer or six into your back pack, with a bag of chips or nuts, stretch out on the hillside and enjoy some fun baseball. Be careful, eh. It's easy to get hooked.

Ther playoffs start this week and if Toronto gets Brantford or Barrie in the next round, it will get intense. They really do hate each other.

[gtaguy]

the strike back in the 90's did it for me... I would never look back at another baseball game .. seeing that we were supposed to win that championship again for 3 years running did me in.. that strike fucked all of us up... cito gaston in my eyes is the best coach this club has ever had.. those were insane times for baseball.. can still remember the 4 plus million that went and set a major league level of attendance.. Toronto sports fans are seriously rabid about thier clubs but if you piss them off everything goes back to zero....

[greatwhitenorf]

The Maple Leafs baseball team have won 7 titles since 1967, when the Leafs hockey club last won.

Their last title was in 2007. These are still insane times for baseball. You just have to look a little harder for it.

[TFC07]

Travel around Scarboro and good luck finding anyone who remotely chats about the Jays. It's all soccer, these days. Which is wonderful in one sense, but when a lot of soccer snobs poo-poo TFC and MLS, that gets me ticked off.

You can say the same pretty much rest of GTA (or at least York and Peel region) as well. Baseball is dead. Only old people and people living outside of Toronto watch Blue Jays/baseball.

[billyfly]

The Maple Leafs baseball team have won 7 titles since 1967, when the Leafs hockey club last won.

Their last title was in 2007. These are still insane times for baseball. You just have to look a little harder for it.


And they got really nice ball caps for only 15$!

[edmundo]

i was a semi casual jays fan b4 tfc, but since 2007 ive been to 0 jays games and havent even watched a game on tv, or even turned on the fan once to listen in to even find out how theyre doing, i actually forgot we even had them in town anymore

[Whoop]

Reason No. 1 for me is the dome.
Piece. Of. Shit.
I'm going to Pitt this weekend and am catching the Pirates v Nationals.
Two putrid teams, yes, but I hear PNC is a beauty place to see a game.
In baseball, that makes such a huge difference.
(Their beers are also affordable and Fridays are $1 hot dog nights.)

The "contender" part is huge of course, but I don't expect them to be contenders any time soon with Boston and New York -- and their bottomless purses -- in their division.

I used to go to a number of Jays game up until '94, not because of the strike, but I went on a school trip to DC and while we were there we took a baseball game at Camden Yards.

Baseball in the GTA was never the same for me again.

[Brooker]

i would be going to more games this year but i'm really not up for going to the skydome to watch Vernon and Rios. flopping hard.

[Shakes McQueen]

Baseball is certainly not "dead" in the GTA, but when it comes to Toronto clubs outside the Leafs, the fanbase is only huge when you're winning.

Jays games still average around 200K a game in the TV ratings, and that's despite being a pretty awful team for the past few months.

They could be a good team. They have a really wealthy owner. Its up to Rogers to front more money for player salaries for at least a few years, so the team can seriously try to make a run.

We may not win the division for a long time, but a wild card spot isn't out of the question.

- Scott

[Cowboy905]

is there proof that the jays were offered to move to the Central division? I don't think that would happen as that would open a can of worms and exceptions would start happening all over the place.

If i were the jays organization, i wouldn't even take up the offer, you're admitting defeat in doing so.

I'm a Baseball fan first, then a footie fan, and if anything, my TFC season tickets has prompted me to go to EVEN MORE live sports events. I've bought a Jays Toronto Star pass 3 years in a row now and this year i've been to 28 games.

The reason why official attendance numbers are down is because the Jays in all years passed was announcing turnstyle attendance numbers, while this year MLB told them they have to announce only PAID attendance numbers. That explains the drop. All Toronto media outlets know this but all the US outlets that talk attendance just show the drop with no explanation. The jays were the only team announcing turnstyle and not paid which explains why they have a larger drop than anyone else.

Regarding Halladay, attendance is up 3k - 5k when he pitches.

With all that being said, I hope the Jays get rid of loud mouthed JP Retardi and start winning, and i hope TFC makes a run for the playoffs.


One last thing, Toronto isn't the worst for attendance.

Washington has lower attendance - 2 year old ballpark!

Cleveland has lower attendance - made a playoff run a couple years back

Oakland has lower attendance - stadium is in the ghetto? who knows

Pittsburgh has lower attendance - worst management in history. 15seasons of sub .500 baseball.....best ballpark in America

Marlins have lower attendance - Florida is fickle with their sports sans Dolphins

[redangeldragnet]

Re: the cheap upper deck (500 level) tickets at SkyDome...it's an incredibly depressing experience. A place that's seen better days. Half the concession stands are closed and you can't get any decent food or beer up there. Yeah, it's cheap, but I think there ought to be a mid-priced ticket, somewhere in between $9 and the $30+ it takes to get to the 100 level. They've done a bit of work on the concourse level, and for the most part it looks pretty good. I guess you get what you pay for.

[Pookie]

I don't think that the Jays need to move to a different division.

Most problems could be solved with a balanced schedule.

Since the premise on the wildcard is that it is for the best team not to win a divsion, it would make sense that they all play the same teams the same number of times.

But MLB is set on Divisional rivalries and cherry picking Interleague match ups.

For example, Texas plays in the AL West. They play 3 series against the Yankees, 9 games total. The Jays play 6 series against the Yankees, 16 games in total.

Same picture with other divisional opponents the Red Sox, Rays and Orioles.

This is something that the MLS will have to contend with now that the playoff format is Top 2 in each conference plus the next best 4. They are pretty good about it with most teams having 2 games against each other in each conference. Each plays 2 other teams more than twice. In our case, it's 3 against both NY and Columbus. Seattle gets Houston and Chivas.

It's not perferct but much better than baseball's set up... even the NHL for that matter.

[OneLoveOneEric]

Baseball is clearly not dead in this city. Even though attendance is often low, you're talking about 81 HOME GAMES. Even at low numbers, that is miles beyond the crowd that TFC draws over the course of a season. Baseball is still supported very well in Toronto, IMO. I love it.

BTW, why do people feel the need to constantly try to stack up "TFC vs....." or "MLS vs......"?

Seems so insecure to me.

[FriskyG]

Hey Guys!
I was kind of surprised to see the article being discussed on a TFC site and nowhere on any Jays sites!

I'm not gonna answer all the points that each of you made, but I'll try and cover a couple!

The original article entitled "Five Reasons Why Toronto Blue Jays Fans Are Staying Home" was written as an attempt to answer the question of why, despite a hot start and the Jays being on top of the league for the first month and a half of the season, did we not see a spike in attendance along with that winning streak?

I was in no way comparing the two franchises, simply pointing out that soccer fans that may have been inclined to head out to the ballpark four years ago to support a winning Jays team before TFC came to town, are instead spending their sports entertainment budget at BMO field.

It's more of a dollars and cents thing, and not so much a "which do you prefer" thing.

I must also point out, that it's a combination of all five factors that have led Torontonians to avoid the ballpark. There are likely more factors that I missed, but I'm not writing a thesis!

Those five factors are the ones that jumped out at me as a longtime Blue Jays fan.

Clearly, and it's a point I made in the article, it is the on-field performance that has been the greatest factor. 15 years of futility is going to be hard for this team to overcome... and a couple of stellar months just isn't gonna get it done.

As a die hard Jays fan, the last two points are the ones that bother me the most. Bad policies at the stadium are actually driving fans like myself away from the ballpark. Nevermind, bringing new ones in...

Going to the Rogers Centre isn't as fun as it used to be... and this is because the team has decided to create more of a family/corporate type atmosphere at Rogers Centre through these policies.

This is where the TFC point comes into play the most. There aren't many other options in Toronto... The Argos play at Rogers Centre too, so they aren't much of an option for people like myself who are become disillusioned over the experience at the stadium itself.

The only real other option during the summer months for fans of competitive sports is TFC... I think to a certain extent, The Jays are actually feeding some of their fans to TFC... From what I understand a game at BMO is a crazy good time! I haven't had the chance to get out there for a game as most of my Sports watching dollars have gone to the Jays over the last few years...

That might change given how much the Jays have pissed me off this season.... I have only been to 3 games this season, and I don't think I want to go back for another...
After each of those three times I left Rogers Centre utterly disgusted and pissed off by the way the staff treated fans... Whether it be throwing a fan out for throwing an opponent's game-tying home run ball back on the field in support of their team, or telling louder fans to keep it down, and even once cutting me off after one beer for making the mistake of joking around a bit with the vendor!

Either way I am getting sick of it; and clearly I am not the only one since somehow, even an entertaining, winning team at the start of the season couldn't get butts in the seats...

TFC is by no means the main reason for this lack of interest, but it's hard to believe that 20,500 fans at each sold out TFC game isn't in some way shape or form effecting the Jays Gate numbers...

Most people, especially in these hard economic times, simply don't have the resources to support both, especially when one of those teams (The Jays) are making decesions that are chasing real fans like myself away!

So I guess I'm saying it's a real possibility that even I'll be changing my tune from "Go Jays Go"... to Go TFC Go" if Jays management doesn't shape up, and fast!

Cheers,
Graeme

[greatwhitenorf]

Toronto sports fan? Apart from those that support TFC and soccer, where you actually have to work at obtaining information, most Toronto sports fans are lazy, spoon-fed-on-highlights, slugs.

Is baseball all about the Blue Jays? Is hockey all about the incomptent Leafs or the bloated world of the NHL? No, on both counts.

We have seriously decent options to enjoy either sport at other levels. The Maple Leafs of Intercounty play are a very entertaining option. If you like baseball, the sport, you will have no problem enjoying this level of the game, especially now that the playoffs are here. And prices don't go up. It's free, all the time.

If you enjoy hockey, well-played, passionate and skillful hockey, take the time to watch a junior game at Oshawa, Mississauga or Brampton. Tickets will run you about $15, you can get affordable beer and food plus free parking and you can't go wrong most nights with the on-ice product.

They're 19 and immortal.

It just takes a little effort to inform yourself about who's playing and what they're capable of. It's all available on the net. A few games of watching it, and you'll never ignore it again. You can call yourself a real hockey fan as well.

[FriskyG]

@greatwhitenorf:

I'm not trying to start anything here, but I take a little exception to that. I am a real Toronto Sports fan, have been forever... Whether it be hockey, baseball or basketball, even Lacross. I love sports in general, and I am a homer of sorts when it comes who I cheers for. Toronto all the way!

Your generalization about all fans not following TFC being lazy and spoon-fed is a little insulting.

I am all for supporting junior sports. I have been to many OHL games and a lot of local junior venues over the years.

I'm all for that... but there is no substitute for watching the pros.

There is something to be said about going to see the best players on the biggest stage. That experience is, well at least should be, a unique and exciting one that you can't get from junior levels.

There is nothing like walking into a stadium with 40,000 screaming fans, hanging on every second of the game while cheering for their heroes. You just don't get that at the lower levels. They are unable to provide that.

As a kid, the interleague games and junior circuits don't even come close to comparing to the experience of seeing your heroes play and being a part of the "mob"!

It's a unique experience and one that pro teams are suppose to be experts at dilevering!

For me it's not about the money. I don't mind paying more for the big league experience, as long as get that experience after shelling out the dough.

Hell, I don't even mind supporting a losing team. Real Toronto sports fans have had little choice over the last 15-20 years!

What irks me is the seemingly complete ignorance of the folks running the show at Rogers Centre as to what that experience is really about.