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View Full Version : Open Letter to Richard Peddie



alexintoronto
08-15-2008, 06:39 PM
http://www.thenorthendelite.com/

Richard Peddie
President and CEO
Maple Leaf Sports and Entertainment
40 Bay Street
Toronto, ON M5J 2N8

Dear Richard Peddie,

This letter is from the members of the North End Elite supporters group of Toronto FC. Our membership implores your organization to oppose any retrofit that would change the soccer-specific status of BMO Field.

Toronto FC has obviously been one of the great expansion success stories in recent sports history. This is not news to you. It's a safe bet that the team has handsomely exceeded all the financial targets that your managers set for it.

We feel it's crucial that you and your fellow executives understand why Toronto FC has been such a success. If you heard John Carver's recent public outburst against just about every player in TFC red you'll know it's not breathtaking soccer that brings 20,000 through the gate every game. From the calamity that was Adam Braz through the comical efforts of Jeff Cunningham this has been a bad team to watch and support.

The main ingredients in the Toronto FC miracle have been the supporters and the stadium.

BMO Field is the national soccer stadium, or at least it's supposed to be. It's a big reason why the city's sophisticated soccer fans bought into Toronto FC. It's a real soccer stadium. It's rectangular. It's intimate, with stands close to the pitch. European-style soccer nets are just one of the many accessories that add to the feel.

It's a shame there isn't a real grass pitch. Players are starting to reject the opportunity to join us because of the pitch. Our own national team doesn't want to play in the supposed national stadium because of the pitch. As we travel throughout the league we discover gorgeous superior soccer-specific stadiums superior to our own with lush grass pitches.

But generally we're happy with what we have.

Allow a retrofit for Canadian football and the value proposition for a fan changes dramatically. A CFL-sized field won't come close to fitting the current BMO Field footprint. Stands would have to be moved. And scrub all you want but you can't completely remove yard-lines and sponsors' logos from a gridiron field. Others have tried with laughable results.

The soccer feel will be gone. And so will we.

Some of us may stay to give it a try. But the spirit will be gone. Noise levels are not all that distinguish Toronto FC supporters from their drab Toronto cousins. The spirit and creativity of the supporters have fused to form a remarkable mass collaborative effect. From the news value of the supporters' boards to the chants and the colourful visual displays, the Toronto FC fans have created on their own a marketing effect that would have cost you millions. What's the team worth, by the way? If the 2011 expansion teams will fetch $40-million what is your team worth?

Whatever it is, it seems to us a lot of money to gamble by encouraging an Argos retrofit. If you're playing with the stadium's soccer specificity then you're playing with the supporters and thus you're gambling with the two things that have made this special. It's why you have 9,000 fans on your waiting list. They're not there because they're desperate to see Marco Velez. They're there because BMO Field is the place to be in Toronto. But it won't be the place to be when the atmosphere is gone and trust us, the atmosphere will be gone if you do this.

Maybe you can make it work. Maybe you'll give us a removable grass pitch as part of an Argo deal. Maybe modern science will mean we'll never notice that stands have been moved.

As a group we doubt it.

As a group we want you to know with all certainty that we do not support this and never will. We want you to know that the very viability of your franchise is at stake.

Yours respectfully,

The Members of The North End Elite

boban
08-15-2008, 06:49 PM
"If you heard John Carver's recent public outburst against just about every player in TFC red you'll know it's not breathtaking soccer that brings 20,000 through the gate every game. From the calamity that was Adam Braz through the comical efforts of Jeff Cunningham this has been a bad team to watch and support."

No point in singling out crappy players. Makes one look weak.
This is fine ...

"If you heard John Carver's recent public outburst against just about every player in TFC red you'll know it's not breathtaking soccer that brings 20,000 through the gate every game."


And leave it at that.

Hustle
08-15-2008, 06:55 PM
Well done!...grabs his attention right away if it makes it past his secretary (I bet she's hot).

"Bambi...make sure those darn "fan" letters don;t crowd my inbox....I am busy counting my money!"

Shakes McQueen
08-15-2008, 07:00 PM
How many open letters is this forum up to now? I'm counting at least three in the past few weeks, haha.

- Scott

mclaren
08-15-2008, 07:05 PM
I'm disappointed, when I read the thread title I thought you were railing against the utter and complete lack of any quality signings.

Corcai
08-15-2008, 07:09 PM
Peddie says to himself "Slow day today, 350 letters from irate Leaf fans and another 1 from someone who apparently watches soccer on one of our investment properties we set aside to host Argo home games.

Cashcleaner
08-15-2008, 07:11 PM
Good letter, but once again the issue of gridlines should be the least of our worries. Other than that, it hits the nail on the head.

BigLou
08-15-2008, 07:21 PM
Well crafted letter boys. Hope he reads it

rocktml
08-15-2008, 07:22 PM
Sadly its a waste of time.....great idea but....

TFCREDNWHITE
08-15-2008, 07:35 PM
Great letter, Send it to him!

loconet
08-15-2008, 07:54 PM
Well written, I really like the overall feel of it. Send it!

Kickit09
08-15-2008, 08:41 PM
I'm disappointed, when I read the thread title I thought you were railing against the utter and complete lack of any quality signings.

:iagree:

egoodwin
08-15-2008, 08:43 PM
Sadly its a waste of time.....great idea but....
it's a waste of time to fight for a cause that you believe in?

FluSH
08-15-2008, 09:54 PM
Moving this to the TFC/MLS section where all the other blogs/letters are posted... otherwise it would be unfair to the Ultras who contribute some good pieces but are froced to post there...

professor
08-15-2008, 10:04 PM
Peddie should have been fired long ago,
i.e. the ongoing sorry state of the Leafs & Raptors

Peddie is a Mgmt version of HIV
he won't kill your team but his involvement will just suck the life right out of them

Derko
08-16-2008, 12:06 AM
These threads really are getting to be boring!!

GhostPK
08-16-2008, 01:13 AM
These threads really are getting to be boring!!

I'm almost insulted, lol.