Thursday, December 20, 2007

Canada Shows Us How It's Done

There's a lot of stuff written about Toronto and how they have real fans, not ones who complain about buying tickets for superstars who then don't show up to play. Well, there may be substantial truth in that if a recent snippet or two of information is anything to go by. For a start, all season tickets have been sold for 2008. And, the club had to limit such tickets to 16,000, up from 14,000 in the inaugural season this year. Just goes to show you don't necessarily need a team to be playing well to create demand. You just need fans who will support the team through thick and thin. As I never tire of saying, well maybe after having to explain to Americans where it is, I am a fan of Gillingham FC and I will be till the day I die. And we never win anything. You also need, of course, a club who recognizes the importance of such fans.
The other brilliant piece of information about Toronto is that the club recently organized a major pub crawl in the city for fans to mingle with players. Fantastic. Talk about team and fan bonding. This is surely a lesson for all clubs. Hats off to Toronto. I hope they have a better season next year on the pitch because their fans, the players and the club certainly deserve it. I, for one, would love to make it to Toronto next year for an away game. Any Rapids fans agree?

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

Absolutely -

Toronto FC can credit its success to two things: good fan first policy and grateful fans. It's not so much about whether the club loses but how much one's allowed to enjoy the game. DSG Park pales in comparison to the enthusiasm and energy at BMO Field; it goes to show that it's not necessarily the on-field product but the in-house policies that draw fans, generate loyalty, and sell tickets.