GOD WILLING - GO JAYS!!
(Thank you for giving me one of the best sporting related nights of my life!)
GOD WILLING - GO JAYS!!
(Thank you for giving me one of the best sporting related nights of my life!)
NOTICE: Wager with STB: OVER 2 shots on goal in the First half wins a Pint at HT.
^ yes... the good old days.
And then Rogers buys an NFL team to move into the Rogers CentreOriginally Posted by Whoopee
Agree.
There is broad interest in MLB in this town, and a deep reservoir of goodwill for the Jays, who are part of the fabric here.
MLS/TFC are a tiny speck compared to this. There is deep interest, concentrated in a very small group of fans, but no broad interest, and zero interest in the league. Everyone who cares about TFC (a declining number) is at the games.
“What the world needs is more geniuses with humility; there are so few of us left.”
Perfectly put, ensco.
and you forgot to add that they will tear down the skydome and build a condo complex as the city will donate them a different chunk of land LOL
I see more BJ gear than Leaf gear around the City.
Surprised we've gone this long without someone saying, "I love BJs"
Anyways, TFC could learn a lot from the Jays of the 80's and 90's. They invested in a deep and talented scouting staff and really established themselves in hotbeds like the Domincan. They hired Epy Guerrero before they even played a game in 1977. Epy was a respected scout who signed players such as; George Bell, Alfredo Griffin, Tony Fernandez and Damaso Garcia and a whole host of others.
They drafted pitchers like Halladay, Hentgen, Carpenter, Timlin, Wells, Key, Stieb and developed them in a well coached and talented farm system.
They sent scouts to opposition games in order to get a handle on their strengths, weaknesses and ultimately build a strategy to play against them.
We've got what... First Wave (supplying both players and an Assistant GM), some game tape probably acquired illegally off the web and not to mention hopes and prayers.
Rather than asking will TFC become the Jays of the future, we should be demanding that they become the Jays of the past.
I agree. We need to be asking for some things (but not the needless cutting of players - we need continuity). If we're going to be forced to watch crap, they better be willing to develop a system so that it's not crap in the near future.
This club has dragged it's feet on development of a proper scouting set up, and a proper academy.
We're bringing in players at the U-16 level, which is probably too late to do any good. We need expansion of our academy to U-14 and U-12. Don't give me the lame excuse they can't find a place for them to play. Give them a professional set up in one of the amateur leagues in Toronto, and let them dominate until the other clubs are forced to play up to TFC Academy's standard.
We need to have 3 or 4 full time scouts, with people operating as associates (casual scouts who get paid when they pick a player who actually catches on with the club) to assist the full timers. We need to be scouting the PDL and Super Y for young talent coming up. Hell Everton does it, why can't we?
TFC also needs to spend money on a Designated Player striker if they have the cap room. We need goals. Chad Barrett is not a legitimate starter in this league. We need somebody who can put the ball in the back of the net on a regular basis. CB can come off the bench but should not be starting up top.
Those 3 things can help this club go a long way to righting some of the wrongs.
Our defense is finally looking less shaky. Let's address some other issues.
Really?
Still see way more Leafs stuff than anything else.
Well, Anthopoulos seems to be laying down the groundwork for developing that much needed scouting network again. Perhaps the 2010s will see the Jays develop a talent pipeline once again. Let's face it - given the status quo, its the only hope the Jays have of ever competing.
Hey, can anyone who's said in this thread that baseball is dying in Canada actually back up their claim with anything other than Jays' attendance?
I think it was only one person.
Even with the Expos gone, baseball is still pretty popular in Quebec.
Also MLB is probably the best league in terms of using internet broadcasting. They were the pioneers and are still the best.
I've got both TFCRegina and Redcoe saying it on the first page.
dumb thread, just really dumb.
Personal experience.
My dad scouts for the Brewers. Numbers at the youth level are declining in Canada.
The reason why you have more Canadian major leaguers than ever before is because this is the generation which grew up watching the Jays win two World Series...
I am surprised at how many young kids are wearing Caps. I mentioned this last year as well on the boards. Lots of the Caps are "stylely" ones though and not necessarily traditional BJ colours.
There are differences, but let's not forget that the Jays were setting attendance records 15-20 years ago. They built the Dome and thought nothing could ever change. Guess what - the lockout happened and baseball has never recovered. Don't ever think that this can't happen to TFC. People believed it would never happen to the Jays - never mind other US teams - and it did. If baseball can be damaged in the US, you better believe that TFC sits on a still-fragile perch. The certainty and positivity that surrounds MLS right now is great but they are expanding too rapidly to be able to maintain what quality there is. The salary cap will have to be raised and this will change the entire economics of the game. Things are going to change, and soon. Let's hope that MLS' long-term vision is well thought out. MLB has over a hundred years of history it can rely on, and the Jays have over 20. TFC, if this continues, could see interest wane quickly, as evidenced by the demand for tickets even this year, the 4th season. Things can change quickly, especially when there is a lot out there for a Toronto fan's sports $. All that's left for the Jays is the core of dedicated fans. The fair weather TFC fan is already spending their money elsewhere - and who can blame them?
Baseball is a dying sport.
That isn't a conclusive point to explain declining "interest." Interest as a percent of the population may be the same as it always was. The population just may be changing.
Our population demographics show that there are fewer "kids" then there were in previous generations.
David Foot's "Boom, Bust and Echo" explains trends in behaviour from sports, to business to crime, using demographics. Simply put, there were a lot of people born during the baby boom (after the war). Then the birth numbers numbers dropped off and this was called the bust period.
When baby boomers had kids, the number of kids of sport playing age would swell because there were a lot of them. Their parents were born during the baby boom so there was a huge number of available parents. This explains sport popularity during the 80's and 90's.
When the busters had kids, there were fewer kids because there were fewer parents to have them. These kids are working their way through the system now and numbers are dropping in schools and sports. Sports that appear to be growing are largely doing that by attracting girls to play.
Of course, this is just a general predictor. Your own city might be different due to immigration and population movement. The claim is that demographics explains 2/3 of everything.
I think youth numbers are declining in US too. It's quite a serious problem for baseball. But they are still light years ahead of soccer, in terms of revenue/relevance, even in their worst markets.
I heard a radio guy say something interesting recently: if Darryl Strawberry were 18 years old today, he'd be a wide receiver at USC.
“What the world needs is more geniuses with humility; there are so few of us left.”
There was an article in the paper last week about the low number of black players in the majors and it pointed out that even of the black guys in the league, very few are American.
Strawberry might even be playing basketball today.
And that's the tipping pont soccer needs in the US. When guys like that, as kids, start choosing soccer as their first sport everything will change.
here's a cool article on the Jays cap. it's the cool thing to wear now..which is excellent for brand awareness.
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/life/...rticle1540804/
Jays fans are staying away this year as management said this could be a really ugly year for them. they are rebuilding and have no expectations. That being said, the jays will be competing as early as next year with their young group of core players. they also have the most depth in their Farm system.
more reasons for low attendance in the last 2 years.
1. the change in attendance announcements. they used announce total attendance and now MLB is only allowed to announce paid attendance.
2. the skydome is crumbling
3. management said we're gonna be garbage this year
4. traded away Doc...the best pitcher in all of baseball
5. ticket prices have increased...god knows why
6. 3 of the Top 5 teams in all of baseball are in the Jays division which makes things extra tough.
also, Jays are one of the only teams in baseball that post a profit due to solid ownership and their stable of assets.
http://blogs.forbes.com/sportsmoney/...e-staying-put/
also, if the commish goes with floating re-alignment, jays can easily make the playoffs...he's all ears.
http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/201...ent/index.html
can't compare the beast that is baseball to TFC right now. both have vastly different problems aside from both being losers.
Imagine BMO field seated almost 50,000 people. Now imagine they, like the Jays, had 82 home games to sell.
What do you think the crowds would look like?
They'd be lucky to pull the numbers that the Jays do. 82 home games is a HUGE amount to sell.
Such an intellectual statement. So elegantly phrased, so brilliant. What next for the owner of this remarkable statement? I reckon a Noble Peace Prize is in order.
The decline of viewership started back when the MLB went on strike in 94. I personally stopped watching it and attending.. I don't think they ever recovered from it.. As for Soccer I said it from tfc first year that soccer was going to start replacing north americas summer pasttime atleast here in T.O . Soccer is still fresh in the city but if a few more years of futiliy go on you can watch that boat sail away aswell.. I hope not becuase being the sport i have loved all my life i will fight tooth an nail to keep it alive here . There is only so much patience to any fan in any sport.
Winning would help the Jays, but to be honest I don't know any young people who follow baseball. The immigrant nature of our city will make sure that soccer and basketball are successfull, and new Canadians want to do the 'Canadian thing' and take an interest in hockey but I think baseball might be on the outside looking in. Being stuck in the same division as the Red Sox and the Yankees doesn't help. It sucks knowing that no matter how good of a season that you have, your odds of making the post season are pretty close to nil.
[quote=Cowboy905;994630]here's a cool article on the Jays cap. it's the cool thing to wear now..which is excellent for brand awareness.
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/life/...rticle1540804/
Take that Whoopee! Thanks Cowboy.
You said in Toronto... not New York! LOL
i agree with Billyfly though. i do see more Jays gear than any other Toronto team gear.
this helps as well. http://vektorrrr.files.wordpress.com...ine-cover1.jpg
but out of all team merchandise, the jays have a real extensive collection and a nice solid line of apparel.... hopefully one day TFC will have a collection as extensive.
no matter how much the crowds are dwindling...Toronto wouldn't be the same without the jays. they need a smaller stadium. i went down to pittsburgh to watch the jays play them two years ago because ESPN rates PNC park the best park in America, the stadium holds about 35,000 and it looked half full which looks way better than toronto's 1/5 full empty cavern yet the attendance is the same.
http://rootzoo.com/uploads/1193451127.jpg
Adidas needs to loosen their grip on MLS merchandise and let some other guys come in and make some good gear as well. then we'll see more variety t-shirts, hats, etc.
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