ML$E: Profits > Winning

[DichioTFC]

ESPN ranked every single major team (MLS not included) from North America and ranked them based on Bang for the Buck, Fan Relations, Ownership, Affordability, Stadium Experience, Players, Coaching and Title Track.
http://espn.go.com/sportsnation/teamrankings

Take a wild guess how ML$E owned teams preformed (out of 122 teams)

113. Toronto Raptors
121. Toronto Maple Leafs (thats right, second to last)

Insight from ESPN how ML$E runs the Leafs:

Last Year's Rank: 120
Title Track: 112
Ownership: 95
Coaching: 86
Players: 109
Fan Relations: 109
Affordability: 122
Stadium Experience: 102
Bang for the Buck: 122
Good news for Leafs fans: It's still more expensive (on average) to attend a Patriots home game, $90.89 to $88.32. The bad news? The Pats are, um, good. With the costliest ticket in the NHL ($39.60 above the league average) and the steepest hot dogs ($4.76), soft drinks ($4.01) and parking ($20.04), it's no wonder fans feel abused. After his team fell out of playoff contention for the third consecutive season, GM/Public Enemy No. 1 John Ferguson Jr. was replaced by interim suit Cliff Fletcher in January, offering Toronto faithful some hope. Unfortunately for Fletcher and fans alike, several key (and high-priced) players, including captain Mats Sundin, refused to waive no-trade clauses at the Feb. 26 deadline, making rebuilding a winner an exercise in futility (and sending the Players ranking down 37 slots this year).
http://sports.espn.go.com/espnmag/story?name=franchise08rank121

And how they run the Raptors

Last Year's Rank: 105
Title Track: 121
Ownership: 100
Coaching: 115
Players: 117
Fan Relations: 108
Affordability: 112
Stadium Experience: 98
Bang for the Buck: 82

THIS IS THE FUTURE OF TORONTO FC. Dead last in championships, dead last in fan relations, dead last in affordability, dead last in fan relations, dead last in stadium experience.

It's not funny any more, its actually getting really scary. Toronto FC is the first ML$E team that I've ever cared for and seeing the ML$E track record really doesn't give me any confidence in ML$E as owners.

Its time for ML$E to have some fucking integrity and to stop treating TFC fans as an additional revenue stream. Be content with the hundreds of millions you're making off of the Leafs and the Raptors and let us be the low-profit winning franchise. Freeze ticket prices, drop concession prices, make parking cheaper. For fuck's sake, if we won something, we would gladly pay for an increase. But we haven't won anything. We've shat the bed year after miserable year. What are we paying more for?

If anyone is going to the Town Hall, please bring this up. This is our future. And if it comes down to deciding between mortgage payments and the team we love, we all know which one we're going to pick.

[Darlofletch]

this is our future? given that article seems to be talking about cliff fletcher and mats sundin, i'd suggest that's our present. though i doubt things have improved in the affordability stakes, for the team, they followed this period by going out and getting brian burke and letting him do his thing. hopefully we get something like that as well.

[DichioTFC]

The point is not really about the specifics relating to why the Toronto Maple Leafs, and while tempting to talk about it, my post really wasn't about TML at all.

The ESPN write up is about short term factors; but fan relations, stadium experience, affordability are all things that are controlled by the executives upstairs, not the GMs or coaches

[__wowza]

THIS IS THE FUTURE OF TORONTO FC. Dead last in championships, dead last in fan relations, dead last in affordability, dead last in fan relations, dead last in stadium experience.

at least they have the best sports bar!! ;)

[DichioTFC]

Apparently its the only place in town where you can get *real* sports.

Drinks there cost as much as they do in BMO!!

[Blowing Bubbles]

The worrying comparison imo is with the Raptors.

In 15 years MLSE has paid into the luxury tax ZERO TIMES.

Every year you have in the range of 8-15 teams who pay the luxury tax. All of the big franchises - Lakers, Boston, Knicks will pay the tax and so will ambitious owners of other teams - Dallas, Portland, Denver, Cleveland, etc.

The thing is the ROI on being a luxury tax team isn't great as a lot of those teams are still stuck as being treadmill 1st/2nd round playoff teams. Hell some don't make the playoffs.

But to win it all you need to enter that world.

MLSE won't do it. They'd rather just spend to the salary cap limit and max out a low variance yearly return.

I think you can make the same analogy with a $5 million DP. To get into that game (NY, LA) you have to be willing to lay down serious payroll with no lead pipe lock guarantee that it will lead to a better ROI.

[Brooker]

well it's not really our future. toronto fc can't get away with being awful for years upon years and still manage to sell tickets, merchandise, etc etc.

atleast thats the way it looks to me.

[DichioTFC]

You doubt ML$E. :p

[Beach_Red]

well it's not really our future. toronto fc can't get away with being awful for years upon years and still manage to sell tickets, merchandise, etc etc.

atleast thats the way it looks to me.


Sure, TFC could be an average MLS team, selling whatever the league average is, being in the middle of the table most years - once in a while rising into the top half and playing some playoff games and once in a while dropping to the bottom. They might even luck their way into the odd MLS Cup and they may even win one, Kansas City won one.

Of course, TFC could have become a dynasty, that's what's so frustrating.

[Chevy]

Let's assume TFC is now included in the list. My take:

Last Year's Rank: NA
Title Track: 115
Ownership: 97
Coaching: 121
Players: 114
Fan Relations: 122
Affordability: 40 (I'm gonna catch heat for this, but TFC is way cheaper than Leafs/Raps)
Stadium Experience: 15
Bang for the Buck: 70

[DichioTFC]

Dude, I would say you're off with players (give them a slight increase to maybe 100), fan relations (110), affordability (watching sports at other places is *ridiculously* cheap, like the cost of a movie ticket, i give TFC 80 at best), stadium experience (35), and bang for the buck (85)

[DichioTFC]

stadium experience includes amenities but also 80,000+ cheering together. its an *insane* feeling when something like that happens. like when University of Michigan scores a touchdown in 121,000 seat Michigan Stadium (not professional team, I know, but still) or Mexico scores a goal in 101,000 seat Azteca

[GuelphStorm2007]

We TFC fans are different then our Leaf Brotheren I think we will not accept inconsistancy that much longer. I hope that we tfc fans send a message out to the ML$E front office by not renewing seasons maybe not attending the last 2 games of the season etc. I think that will be the only way improvement will occur.`

WEAR GREEN