Today's News,Sunday,Oct.17

[denime]

Mornin'


Post Game Interviews-TFC TV (http://torontofc.neulion.com/tfc/console.jsp)


Toronto FC: The fans have had enough (http://www.cbc.ca/sports/soccer/story/2010/10/16/sp-tfc-fan-protest.html)


Fans falling out of love with TFC (http://www.thestar.com/sports/soccer/mls/torontofc/article/876558--fans-falling-out-of-love-with-tfc)


Frustrating draw for Toronto FC (http://www.thestar.com/sports/soccer/mls/torontofc/article/876554--frustrating-draw-for-toronto-fc)


Crew rub salt in TFC wounds (http://www.theglobeandmail.com/sports/soccer/crew-rub-salt-in-tfc-wounds/article1760522/)


Heartbreaker for TFC (http://www.torontosun.com/sports/soccer/2010/10/16/15717896.html)


Hesmer Equalizer Stuns TFC (http://www.torontofc.ca/news/2010/10/hesmer-equalizer-stuns-tfc)


Reds-Crew: In Their Words... (http://www.torontofc.ca/news/2010/10/reds-crew-their-words)


Hesmer's Harsh Blow (http://www.torontofc.ca/content/hesmers-harsh-blow)




SUNSHINE _:yum:_:hump:_:thumbsup:_:D (http://www.torontosun.com/sunshinegirl/)



_

[Waggy]

Morning Denime. At least the SSG gets 2 thumbs up. Heres the NY times article that has its own thread already

Toronto’s M.L.S. Team Is Testing Patience of Its Fans
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/10/17/sports/soccer/17mls.html?_r=1

(great pic)

[H Bomb]

Molinaro should make a correction to his article. U sec had nothing to do with the silence.

[denime]

Molinaro should make a correction to his article. U sec had nothing to do with the silence.

True,

BTW two stick display at halftime was great.

[Parkdale]

a very interesting day indeed.

I'm glad the word about support unrest is getting out, and that our point was made loud and clear. Hell, I'm also really proud of all the people in 112 who sat, wore green and stuck it out for the whole game. One real positive is that 112 showed just how united they can be.

[Darlofletch]

quite a bit of attention to the protests, good to see.

It wasn't completely silent or anything so a lot of casual fans at the game or watching on tv may not have noticed, but I think it was a very effective demonstration of what the future could be like if things don't change, it was just like being at the chivas game.

a very small amount of supporters trying to be loud and supportive through the game, then everyone else merely reacting to the game, cheering goals, booing the ref etc, and quiet enough at times for the crew fans guillermo chant to be heard. some people even tried starting the wave.

[Parkdale]

Fans falling out of love with TFC (http://www.thestar.com/sports/soccer/mls/torontofc/article/876558--fans-falling-out-of-love-with-tfc)
_




Saturday, as the Reds tied the Columbus Crew 2-2 in their final home game of the league season, a group of Red Patch Boys wore green shirts to symbolize the company’s greed while some signs hanging at the south end of the stadium included “Winning Before Profit,” and “All for Money,” which is a take off on the club’s motto All For One on players’ jerseys.

I knew we made those banners for a reason :)

[TFC Cityboy]

a very interesting day indeed.

I'm glad the word about support unrest is getting out, and that our point was made loud and clear. Hell, I'm also really proud of all the people in 112 who sat, wore green and stuck it out for the whole game. One real positive is that 112 showed just how united they can be.
and a photo of you in the Star to boot- ya media whore
:)

The media coverage we have achieved as a group is helpful and further shames the arrogance with which the bedrock of this club's support has been treated by MLSE.

Credit to those on the Exec for all the time and energy spent over the whole season but especially over the past couple of weeks. The group has represented itself as unified, passionate and committed...exactly what TFC is supposed to be with its All for One motto.

[Parkdale]

and a photo of you in the Star to boot- ya media whore
:)


must be the print edition - I didn't see it online.

might have to pick one up on my way to work today (yes, sunday work. sigh)

[TFC Cityboy]

must be the print edition - I didn't see it online.

might have to pick one up on my way to work today (yes, sunday work. sigh)
yes- print edition - S6 you have duct tape across your mouth!

[Auzzy]

Fans falling out of love with TFC (http://www.thestar.com/sports/soccer/mls/torontofc/article/876558--fans-falling-out-of-love-with-tfc)
is still on the front page of The Star website, and is the 2nd-most-read story this morning.

[Parkdale]

yes- print edition - S6 you have duct tape across your mouth!

hahaha..... that's funny

[Wagner]

yeah, the print edition is awesome.
Gobi and Koryo have a really big photo.
Parkdale and Snatchcar have good colour pics as well.

[koryo]

yeah, the print edition is awesome.
Gobi and Koryo have a really big photo.
Parkdale and Snatchcar have good colour pics as well.

Media whores... just beating the rest of you to it :D

[ManUtd4ever]

I'm genuinely surprised that the renewal rate is hovering at around 30%! I am probably one of many supporters that is waiting until the last minute to renew but inevitably, the final tally will fall well short of MLSE's expectations.

In all seriousness, what the fuck is wrong with the front office? It doesn't take a genius to realize that a moderate discount across the board for all STH would cost them little in the way of profits (the status quo will cost them more) but would make a substantial difference regarding the general sentiment among supporters moving forward...

[wzhxvy]

I'm genuinely surprised that the renewal rate is hovering at around 30%! I am probably one of many supporters that is waiting until the last minute to renew but inevitably, the final tally will fall well short of MLSE's expectations.

In all seriousness, what the fuck is wrong with the front office? It doesn't take a genius to realize that a moderate discount across the board for all STH would cost them little in the way of profits but would make a substantial difference regarding the general sentiment among supporters moving forward...

30% ??? I must have missed that number...where did that come from ?

If that is true and even if they hit 60% by next Friday...wow that is pretty devestating. I didnt think it was that bad. That is 6400 season seats they need to sell + the north end seats...so 8000 seats. Good job Paul. You should be proud of yourself.

[sidvan]

seems to me if ML$E has acknowledged that they screwed the pooch here and that they are starting over, they should
a) roll back to season 1 prices and
b) renewal date to be after we can see who they hire to move forward with this club.

[Waggy]

Anyone watching the Reporters? Steve Simmons just gave a thumbs up to TFC fans, listed all the protests. Someone else chimed in "40 years of Leafs fans are going 'why didn't I think of this'?

[ManUtd4ever]

30% ??? I must have missed that number...where did that come from ?

If that is true and even if they hit 60% by next Friday...wow that is pretty devestating. I didnt think it was that bad. That is 6400 season seats they need to sell + the north end seats...so 8000 seats. Good job Paul. You should be proud of yourself.

To be fair, I don't know this to be a fact, I'm basing it on some posts I read on the CBC website that alluded to that number. In any case, I wouldn't be surprised if the final percentage was in the 60%-70% range as you suggested...

[DaBandit]

Steve Simmons mentioned the rift between supporters and ML$E this morning on TSN 'The Reporters', as part of the thumbs up, thumbs down segment. More mainstream media exposure for the cause, with highlights from yesterdays game showing RPB in green and also showed a lot of the banners. Great job boyz, the more negative media attention toward management the better.

Again well done guys.

Cheers,

[kaos197O]

I'm genuinely surprised that the renewal rate is hovering at around 30%! I am probably one of many supporters that is waiting until the last minute to renew but inevitably, the final tally will fall well short of MLSE's expectations.

In all seriousness, what the fuck is wrong with the front office? It doesn't take a genius to realize that a moderate discount across the board for all STH would cost them little in the way of profits (the status quo will cost them more) but would make a substantial difference regarding the general sentiment among supporters moving forward...
They increased Ticket prices by $1 per game, per seat regardless of where you sit. @ 16,000 season seats this means $320,000 in extra revenue. They want that cash. How else will they pay for their pay raises?:rolleyes:

Hell if they had have got away with the CCL matches they essentially would have forced 8000 season seat holders who don't buy those games to buy them(mostly in the $50-100 range) and would have raked in an additional (estimate based on a $75 seat average) $1.2 million that they currently do not get. Believe you me, the reps heard it loud and clear from the people sitting in the more expensive sections that are not even remotely interested in attending the CCL games. Combined they basically were looking at Increasing Profits by $1.5 million without spending a thing.

Let's not even talk about the $'s they are saving on not having to sell the MLS Cup tickets themselves.

It's ALL about GREED!

[Darlofletch]

My take on a very bizarre day at BMO. (http://www.cruelgeography.com/2010/10/how-bizarre-how-bizarre.html)

[nfitz]

They increased Ticket prices by $1 per game, per seat regardless of where you sit.No, they increased the cheapest tickets, - yellow and light-grey by $2 a game - 10.5% to 11.8%. The $1 increase was only for the more expensive seats, which ranges from a 1.5% increase in red to a 3% increase in medium-grey (ignoring the bizarre $11 increase in light-blue).

Other than the cheap seats, the increases were only inflationary; hard to get too upset about that.

For those in the more expensive seats, the addition of games, and the mandatory nature of the MLS cup seems to be more of an issue. Had they simply had the 17 league games and 2 Voyageurs Cup games in the package, the increase would have been trivial; $19 on a $1,273 ticket in red; $19 on a $931 ticket in dark grey; I doubt there would have been a peep.

[kaos197O]

No, they increased the cheapest tickets, - yellow and light-grey by $2 a game - 10.5% to 11.8%. The $1 increase was only for the more expensive seats, which ranges from a 1.5% increase in red to a 3% increase in medium-grey (ignoring the bizarre $11 increase in light-blue).

Other than the cheap seats, the increases were only inflationary; hard to get too upset about that.

For those in the more expensive seats, the addition of games, and the mandatory nature of the MLS cup seems to be more of an issue. Had they simply had the 17 league games and 2 Voyageurs Cup games in the package, the increase would have been trivial; $19 on a $1,273 ticket in red; $19 on a $931 ticket in dark grey; I doubt there would have been a peep.

Didn't know it was $2 for Supporter Sections. Just assumed it was All For $1 as I had seen banners that stated such!

On your second point, you might be right but I still think there would have been a minor backlash. Even with inflation(not every club is implementing inflationary increases I might add), many are starting to see that the value just isn't there.

MLSE could have bit the bullet this year and really should have. But they decided to be SUPER GREEDY instead and will end up paying much more for it than had they taken a more timid approach. Someone grossly miscalculated what TFC fans would endure and for that and that alone, someone should be fired.

[Toronto Ruffrider]

Other than the cheap seats, the increases were only inflationary; hard to get too upset about that.


MLSE can't even get away with that IMO - the inflation rate has been low, and the change from the entertainment tax to the HST would counter inflation anyway.

[Toronto Ruffrider]

I'm genuinely surprised that the renewal rate is hovering at around 30%! I am probably one of many supporters that is waiting until the last minute to renew but inevitably, the final tally will fall well short of MLSE's expectations.

In all seriousness, what the fuck is wrong with the front office? It doesn't take a genius to realize that a moderate discount across the board for all STH would cost them little in the way of profits (the status quo will cost them more) but would make a substantial difference regarding the general sentiment among supporters moving forward...

For a while now I've been saying that the SSH base is a house of cards. The club has used ticket scarcity and the waiting list as tools with which to extort greater amounts of money from subscribers. If it wasn't for the fact that cheap tickets were hard to come by, more SSHs would've dropped their ducats by now.

It was a huge mistake by MLSE to assume that TFC ticket sales mirrored those for the Leafs. All it took was the right catalyst to drive away fans in droves. The combination of another losing season and a very untimely ticket price increase were enough to blow down that house.

[denime]

I'm genuinely surprised that the renewal rate is hovering at around 30%! I am probably one of many supporters that is waiting until the last minute to renew but inevitably, the final tally will fall well short of MLSE's expectations.

In all seriousness, what the fuck is wrong with the front office? It doesn't take a genius to realize that a moderate discount across the board for all STH would cost them little in the way of profits (the status quo will cost them more) but would make a substantial difference regarding the general sentiment among supporters moving forward...


30% ??? I must have missed that number...where did that come from ?

If that is true and even if they hit 60% by next Friday...wow that is pretty devestating. I didnt think it was that bad. That is 6400 season seats they need to sell + the north end seats...so 8000 seats. Good job Paul. You should be proud of yourself.


To be fair, I don't know this to be a fact, I'm basing it on some posts I read on the CBC website that alluded to that number. In any case, I wouldn't be surprised if the final percentage was in the 60%-70% range as you suggested...


Just to clear that 30% number that is being shopped around.

It is from G&M article and it is not 30% renewal rate it is 30% price hike.


TFC, Leafs, Raptors: Properties in Transition (http://www.theglobeandmail.com/sports/soccer/tfc-leafs-raptors-properties-in-transition/article1759875/)




Stranger, yet, to see Tom Anselmi, MLSE chief operating officer, take to the airwaves and print with an apology for TFC season-ticket renewal increases of something close to 30 per cent.



_

[ochos]

BBC Football - Monday's Gossip Column

AND FINALLY

Columbus Crew goalkeeper Will Hesmer scored a late equaliser to earn his side a 2-2 draw away at Toronto in their MLS game at the weekend.


http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/football/gossip_and_transfers/9100474.stm

[TFCRegina]

Red Nation Online Article on Lindsey

http://www.rednationonline.ca/Lindsay_Primed_For_MLS_Success_october_17_10_news. shtml

[Oldtimer]

From the ML$E ministry of propoganda:


It was a controversial afternoon at BMO Field as Supporters Groups showed their displeasure at the club's handling of the 2010 season with noticeable silence.

no mention of ticket prices...