Fan Appreciation night?

[AngeloV]

Just back from the game. I hate to complain after a good win, and in no way is this complaint towards anyone other than David Braley. How in the world can you market a game as appreciation night for your fans, and then proceed to do absolutely nothing for those fans?

There were no giveaways (sorry, I don't count the mini footballs they threw into the crowd before the start of the 2nd half).
There were no discounts on souvenirs and team apparel.
I don't even think there was a Thank-You to our loyal fans.

I never could imagine that the Argos would become this fan unfriendly. If Braley doesn't sell this team soon, they will be playing in front of less than 10k on a regular basis.

I saw this night as a big F you from the owner.

[ArgoRavi]

Just back from the game. I hate to complain after a good win, and in no way is this complaint towards anyone other than David Braley. How in the world can you market a game as appreciation night for your fans, and then proceed to do absolutely nothing for those fans?

There were no giveaways (sorry, I don't count the mini footballs they threw into the crowd before the start of the 2nd half).
There were no discounts on souvenirs and team apparel.
I don't even think there was a Thank-You to our loyal fans.

I never could imagine that the Argos would become this fan unfriendly. If Braley doesn't sell this team soon, they will be playing in front of less than 10k on a regular basis.

I saw this night as a big F you from the owner.

That is sad, AV. Conversely, I attended the Ottawa Rough Riders' final home game ever in 1996 which was Fan Appreciation Day and they were giving away all kinds of prizes even though the Riders were broke and would fold a little over a week later. Braley has emotionally and financially disconnected from this Argonauts franchise.

[Argocister]

I guess if your expectations aren't high you don't get too disappointed.
I was at the Rouge et Noir fan nite last week .... I was in the seats second level up .... There weren't many give aways. They had the footballs and T's being tossed about( although not so much in the second level) Being Halloween , they did have prizes for the best costumes ..... Hockey players won ..... And they did finish off their north side south side competition.( this sounded as if it went on all season) . There was a 20% discount on all merchandise that they were advertising throughout the game.
The best was the on field experience for fans after the game ..... The RedBlacks players were giving out their home jerseys to selected fans ..... I assume some type of submit your name contest as the fans all knew where to line up with their numbers to facilitate the transfer.
That was the one thing I was looking forward to , was a meet the players after the game .... Brought my white Argos shirt and sharpie to get more signatures .... Well .... That's the one of the many disadvantages of the the skydome....
There were many around me that caught their T's and footballs .... They were happy with that , so I'm not complaining about that .... Don't know if there was any discount at the stores as there was nothing announced. .... Did miss the meet and greet after the game though .

Besides the meeting on the field, I'm not sure the Argos nite was too much different than the RedBlacks.

[Argo57]

Just back from the game. I hate to complain after a good win, and in no way is this complaint towards anyone other than David Braley. How in the world can you market a game as appreciation night for your fans, and then proceed to do absolutely nothing for those fans?

There were no giveaways (sorry, I don't count the mini footballs they threw into the crowd before the start of the 2nd half).
There were no discounts on souvenirs and team apparel.
I don't even think there was a Thank-You to our loyal fans.

I never could imagine that the Argos would become this fan unfriendly. If Braley doesn't sell this team soon, they will be playing in front of less than 10k on a regular basis.

I saw this night as a big F you from the owner.

They made mention of the fans on the scoreboard last night.
Until you mentioned it Angelo I had totally forgotten about it, truth is this organization as it sits either has no clue or feels no need to put in any extra effort to enhance the fans experience at it shows at the box office. I have 4 Bronze seasons and some of the flex pack promos I see make me wonder why I pay up front and commit to every game, my last 2 account reps (Burton-Mitch) used to call periodically just to shoot the shit and discuss all things Argo, at least you feel appreciated, since they have both left no engagement from the team at all. Argocister mentioned the Ottawa experience being similar except for the on field meeting, I had my nephew, 11 year old son and his buddy (at his first CFL game) who would have loved going on the field to meet some players after the game and guess what, they would be talking about it at school with all of their friends as well.

[paulwoods13]

The org hasn't even made a half-hearted, token effort in months.

For all the great things he has done, Mark Cohon will go down in history as a failure if we don't have a new owner by the time he leaves next spring.

Talk of the Argos folding is going to dominate Grey Cup week.

[D-Gap-Willie]

I'm sorry but I did not even notice that it was fan appreciation night. Thanking the fans on the scoreboard (and verbally) should be an every game experience - not once a year. I really don't think Braley has any influence on fan appreciation, unless it is a budgetary matter. It takes a little effort and a corporate culture that appreciates fans and goes out of their way to make them feel appreciated; I have not seen this in the Argo culture for a very long time, and it seems to get worse year by year.

I think of the effort that Jeff Hunt and Bob Young make to connect with their fans, and their efforts to make sure that the organization's culture follows that theme. Apparently the Redblacks' fan appreciation night wasn't much, but every game ( and between games) they constantly make their fans feel important and wanted.

As an Argo fan I, at best, feel that I am tolerated as a necessary evil. As a former Argo season ticket holder, I years ago felt wanted. In fact, I have a certificate of appreciation in my files for 20 years, and a personal letter thanking me after 30 years. However, since then things have become less and less. Account reps ? - haven't heard from one since about 2002, but I am sometimes hard to track down. When I cancelled our 4 season tickets last winter, I wrote them a very nice letter thanking them for 42 years of enjoyment, saying I was sorry to cancel but my health necessitated it. NO RESPONSE. I merely stopped receiving Argo mail and emails. I thought that was disgraceful, but then, I am old and grumpy.

[ArgoZ]

There were some autographed jerseys handed out and some players stayed on field to interact with fans post game. I agree though, they could have done more, or at least promoted it. If they showed every jersey give away on the jumbotron, it would have given a great impression that it was fan night. Down the street the Raptors were handing out retro t-shirts to every fan, so you can't help but feel the Argos should have gave something. Then again, when your in the red, a $100 000 giveaway puts you in more debt, rather than simply taking that revenue off the price of tickets, like the Raps can.

[Argocister]

Showing the jerseys would have been good ..... And perhaps telling us where we could get access to the players.
I did see some interaction at the team entrance but it looked more like some players trying to visit with family and friends.

D-Gap ..... Old and grumpy argo fans deserve love too .... That is a mistake on the Argos marketing dept ..... Maybe with some of the changes it can be rectified. Those type of contacts won't cost much in today's social media environment. A return thank you note to you should have been sent as well ..... Even if just by email .

[Argo57]

I'm sorry but I did not even notice that it was fan appreciation night. Thanking the fans on the scoreboard (and verbally) should be an every game experience - not once a year. I really don't think Braley has any influence on fan appreciation, unless it is a budgetary matter. It takes a little effort and a corporate culture that appreciates fans and goes out of their way to make them feel appreciated; I have not seen this in the Argo culture for a very long time, and it seems to get worse year by year.

I think of the effort that Jeff Hunt and Bob Young make to connect with their fans, and their efforts to make sure that the organization's culture follows that theme. Apparently the Redblacks' fan appreciation night wasn't much, but every game ( and between games) they constantly make their fans feel important and wanted.

As an Argo fan I, at best, feel that I am tolerated as a necessary evil. As a former Argo season ticket holder, I years ago felt wanted. In fact, I have a certificate of appreciation in my files for 20 years, and a personal letter thanking me after 30 years. However, since then things have become less and less. Account reps ? - haven't heard from one since about 2002, but I am sometimes hard to track down. When I cancelled our 4 season tickets last winter, I wrote them a very nice letter thanking them for 42 years of enjoyment, saying I was sorry to cancel but my health necessitated it. NO RESPONSE. I merely stopped receiving Argo mail and emails. I thought that was disgraceful, but then, I am old and grumpy.

Sorry to hear Willie, you deserved better treatment after so many years of loyalty.
You mentioned Bob Young, amazing guy with very personal and emotional ties to the Ticats and the City of Hamilton, and it shows.
I also frequent many Ticat games with my son and there is no comparison regarding the game day experience, real sense of community from both the fans and organization, not sure that feeling will ever return in regards to the Argonauts, too much time has elapsed and many other options for the sporting $.

[Neely2005]

They had a whole video thanking the fans. They threw T Shirts and Mini Footballs into the stands.

[Argo57]

They had a whole video thanking the fans. They threw T Shirts and Mini Footballs into the stands.

Thats great!!
When you print "Fan Appreciation" on your tickets you should come up with something more than that????

[1argoholic]

Wat Ups, Angelo didn't you just love Sauerkraut with his 416 Argo shirt at halftime. That was dope mofo! Actually I joke but a guy behind me heard kids in the ticket line coming to see whoever this rap guy was. He was no Maestro Fresh Wes that's truthin.

Braley is a lame assed owner who cares very little for Toronto and his Argonauts. The crowd seemed to be waiting for a slow death because it was dead in there last night. Why drive a team over a cliff and then attempted to sell? I just don't get it!

Why can't football just be football without all the crap on the jumbo tron. I don't give a crap about hearing some crap music tweeted by Joe Shmo in the stands.I'm pretty sure many dance clubbers don't want to hear rockabilly or punk and I'm ok with that. I don't need my ears bleeding at games.
Ram the kiss cam already.

Grey Cup will be a blast having to listen about the Argo issues from drunk asses for five nights.

We got down early and hit St. Lawrence Market and to my surprise at least six people talked about my jersey and about CFL football. It's a very busy city and the Argos get lost somewhat but the fans are around.

We are just about off the cliff and need saving fast.

[Argo57]

Wat Ups, Angelo didn't you just love Sauerkraut with his 416 Argo shirt at halftime. That was dope mofo! Actually I joke but a guy behind me heard kids in the ticket line coming to see whoever this rap guy was. He was no Maestro Fresh Wes that's truthin.

Braley is a lame assed owner who cares very little for Toronto and his Argonauts. The crowd seemed to be waiting for a slow death because it was dead in there last night. Why drive a team over a cliff and then attempted to sell? I just don't get it!

Why can't football just be football without all the crap on the jumbo tron. I don't give a crap about hearing some crap music tweeted by Joe Shmo in the stands.I'm pretty sure many dance clubbers don't want to hear rockabilly or punk and I'm ok with that. I don't need my ears bleeding at games.
Ram the kiss cam already.

Grey Cup will be a blast having to listen about the Argo issues from drunk asses for five nights.

We got down early and hit St. Lawrence Market and to my surprise at least six people talked about my jersey and about CFL football. It's a very busy city and the Argos get lost somewhat but the fans are around.

We are just about off the cliff and need saving fast.

Guys like us are showing our age Argoholic, just want to experience the game for what it is, my 11 year old complains all the time as well about the endless Strizzy babble and background noise, makes it impossible to even talk at times. My son and his pal said the half time "entertainment" sucked as well, for all we know Braley might have ordered one of the practice roster guys to sing at halftime (all about saving the cash)!!

[ArgoRavi]

I really don't think Braley has any influence on fan appreciation, unless it is a budgetary matter. It takes a little effort and a corporate culture that appreciates fans and goes out of their way to make them feel appreciated; I have not seen this in the Argo culture for a very long time, and it seems to get worse year by year.

Braley has everything to do with this. He is the one who sets the corporate culture of the organization. It is great that he pays the bills but that should be the minimum expectation of an owner and does not make him a "hero" as he has been called by at least one person on this forum. Whatever good he did from 2010 to 2013 has been more than undone over the last year.

[Neely2005]

Thats great!!
When you print "Fan Appreciation" on your tickets you should come up with something more than that????

Such as? What were you expecting?

[ArgoGabe22]

Why can't football just be football without all the crap on the jumbo tron. I don't give a crap about hearing some crap music tweeted by Joe Shmo in the stands.I'm pretty sure many dance clubbers don't want to hear rockabilly or punk and I'm ok with that. I don't need my ears bleeding at games.
Ram the kiss cam already.

+1. Couldn't agree more. I'm in the "younger" demographic and I couldn't care less either. Sell the game, not all that sideshow crap.

[D-Gap-Willie]

Braley has everything to do with this. He is the one who sets the corporate culture of the organization. It is great that he pays the bills but that should be the minimum expectation of an owner and does not make him a "hero" as he has been called by at least one person on this forum. Whatever good he did from 2010 to 2013 has been more than undone over the last year.

We are talking about two sides of the same coin Ravi. "the one who sets the corporate culture of the organization" is what an owner like Braley should be doing. Unfortunately he is merely the dispassionate, uninvolved 'banker' for the Argos, as he has been since the first days of C&S 'ownership'. I was talking about the reality of Braley's involvement with Argos' culture which is Zero.

[gilthethrill]

+1. Couldn't agree more. I'm in the "younger" demographic and I couldn't care less either. Sell the game, not all that sideshow crap.

Argo games have a circus style atmosphere...I agree, sell the darn game....

[Argo57]

Such as? What were you expecting?

Sweet f**k all, personally don't expect any giveaways, my point is don't bill the game as a fan appreciation game if are not going to put any effort into it, it makes the team look cheap once again.

[Ballstothewall]

What do we expect. Here is the CEO (Rudge ) telling the Globe and Mail that hosting a playoff game for the Argos is a double edge sword, and would not be great for the team, due to all the expenses that team would have to pay. This the head guy for the Argos, more or less hoping the Argos don't win enough so they don't host a playoff game, unfreken believe able. As a guy who has gotten into fist fights supporting this team, it pains me to say the Argos are done. We have 1 hail marry pass to move to BMO, without that, well, the last person out, please turn off the lights!!!