You Are Invited to a New Event: Argos Open Mic Night

[paulwoods13]

1. Vis-a-vis merchandising the Argos are kind of caught between a rock and a hard place right now. The industry is consolidating and a lot of the mom & pop jersey stores are getting put out of business and dealing with the larger corporate stores is more difficult. The gist I got was that until the Argos can rebuild their brand recognition in Toronto that it'll be difficult to get merchandise in these stores because the "buyers" for these stores will not go for something they feel will not sell. I think this makes Ania's point more pertinent actually as if we are going to have to go online for our Argos merchandise that the discount should reflect that.

What we heard was consistent with what I've assumed for years. Retailers are in the business of making money, not promoting external enterprises. All the complaints we've heard over the years about CFL merchandise not being in stores seemed to be based on the premise that the league was inept at marketing, and ignore the premise that the retailers didn't want that merchandise because they didn't expect to make money from it. The National Sports experience in 2006-07 demonstrated the point. They stocked a lot of CFL merch, including in this market name-plated jerseys for Ricky Williams, Michael Bishop, John Avery and Jason Maas. Within six to 12 months, they were blowing that stock out the door at huge discounts. I got Bishop and Avery jerseys for $20 and Ricky's (which was a nicer product very similar to what the team actually wore, with sewn-on name plate, correct font, etc.) for $50. National Sports would not have given that stuff away so cheaply if it had sold at the original prices.

[BATKINSON001]

Here is my summary of the mtg, .......)

great post, thanks for taking the time to do it.

[ArgoGabe22]

Also, the training camp location is TBD. Popp has been touring locations and prefers it to be in the city as it is a pain to fly in players and have them transported back and forth to somewhere like Guelph, especially when the doctors are all based in Toronto. But accommodating the Argos may be a challenge. U of T cannot accommodate and are out of the discussion.

[argolio]

Also, the training camp location is TBD. Popp has been touring locations and prefers it to be in the city as it is a pain to fly in players and have them transported back and forth to somewhere like Guelph, especially when the doctors are all based in Toronto. But accommodating the Argos may be a challenge. U of T cannot accommodate and are out of the discussion.

I really hope they can go back to York.

[PullTogether73]

It was awesome meeting everyone yesterday! Nice to put some faces to names. I thought it was a great event.
Good job on the Argos for reaching out to their core. Very informative.

Did I miss something here?

The last I knew, you were fed up with how the Argos were treating their loyal fans and STHs.
You had declared that you were jumping off the ship and joining the Tiger-cats as a fan and STH because they were much better with regard to the above.

Now, you are showing up at a function designed for the most loyal Argonauts fans and apparently find it a "great event".

???????

[Rich]

Copeland also acknowledged that it is going to take time. I think it's important for all to understand this, and if things don't go the way we all hope this year in terms of a huge turnaround attendance wise, the doom and gloom attitude we saw for much of the last 6 months doesn't just reappear on here.

Copeland said that while he didn't want to criticize previous ownership, the truth is that a lot of the negative sentiment towards the Argonauts is a direct result of the half-assed or non-existent marketing and promotion efforts of the previous regimes. It will take people a while to realize this franchise is only first class from here on out.

This senior management team faced an almost impossible situation last year with the late startup, very late entry to the brand new stadium, and the Grey Cup on top of all that. But I didn't realize how much league office experience both Copeland and Moore have, and on top of that they learned a ton from last year's trial by fire. I don't think we could find two more qualified people anywhere to turn this ship around. We should all be very excited about the future of the Argonauts.

By the way, it was good to meet you AngeloV. I'm sure many on this board would be surprised to learn you're a nice guy in real life. I better not tell anyone and spoil your mystique.

[ArgoGabe22]

Did I miss something here?

The last I knew, you were fed up with how the Argos were treating their loyal fans and STHs.
You had declared that you were jumping off the ship and joining the Tiger-cats as a fan and STH because they were much better with regard to the above.

Now, you are showing up at a function designed for the most loyal Argonauts fans and apparently find it a "great event".

???????

If you don't know Ania, then it's best to just let it be. She's still apart of the forum and is committed as anyone in providing important feedback back to the top. The organization needs to win a lot of fans back and this may be step 1 in doing so. It's good for them to know what they have done as org to turn a fan(s) away.

[Will]

If you don't know Ania, then it's best to just let it be. She's still apart of the forum and is committed as anyone in providing important feedback back to the top. The organization needs to win a lot of fans back and this may be step 1 in doing so. It's good for them to know what they have done as org to turn a fan(s) away.

Gabe couldn't say it any better. Best to let it be.

[argomANIA]

If you don't know Ania, then it's best to just let it be. She's still apart of the forum and is committed as anyone in providing important feedback back to the top. The organization needs to win a lot of fans back and this may be step 1 in doing so. It's good for them to know what they have done as org to turn a fan(s) away.

Gabe couldn't say it any better. Best to let it be.

Thank you both

[Jon Gonzo]

From someone who is out of town and could not attend; just wanted to say that this type of summery is much appreciated. Its just this kind of stuff that makes this site worth a daily visit. Thank you gang. Paul Wood's summery was especially thoughtful and well put together.

[Will]

Copeland said that while he didn't want to criticize previous ownership, the truth is that a lot of the negative sentiment towards the Argonauts is a direct result of the half-assed or non-existent marketing and promotion efforts of the previous regimes. It will take people a while to realize this franchise is only first class from here on out.

I think he also made a point of mentioning that some of the previous ownership groups simply did not have the resources needed to put together a proper marketing & promotional campaign.

[AngeloV]

By the way, it was good to meet you AngeloV. I'm sure many on this board would be surprised to learn you're a nice guy in real life. I better not tell anyone and spoil your mystique.

Thanks Rich. Same from my end. I was pleasantly surprised.

[Will]

Thanks Rich. Same from my end. I was pleasantly surprised.

I think you'll find that 99% of the people that you'll actually meet in person from a CFL message board are friendly people.

[Argo57]

Thank you both

Hang in there Ania, I personally never took your viewpoint as being disloyal at all.
Sometimes loyalty takes the form of letting your voice be heard and simply demanding better from your team, good on you.

[PullTogether73]

If you don't know Ania, then it's best to just let it be. She's still apart of the forum and is committed as anyone in providing important feedback back to the top. The organization needs to win a lot of fans back and this may be step 1 in doing so. It's good for them to know what they have done as org to turn a fan(s) away.

Gabe couldn't say it any better. Best to let it be.

Why "let it be"?
Because I haven't met someone personally? What has that got to do with anything in this?

When she declared in a new thread that she was fed up with the Argos new management AFTER ONE YEAR, I pointed out that the new management group had been in position FOR ONE YEAR and should be given more time to learn how to run the team before making making full judgement and switching allegiance to the Argos hated rival.

After making that judgement and move, returning at the first opportunity seems remarkably fickle.

I don't understand why a pass should be given. Are you an Argonauts fan or not?

[ArgoGabe22]

Why "let it be"?
Because I haven't met someone personally? What has that got to do with anything in this?

When she declared in a new thread that she was fed up with the Argos new management AFTER ONE YEAR, I pointed out that the new management group had been in position FOR ONE YEAR and should be given more time to learn how to run the team before making making full judgement and switching allegiance to the Argos hated rival.

After making that judgement and move, returning at the first opportunity seems remarkably fickle.

I don't understand why a pass should be given. Are you an Argonauts fan or not?

Well, anyone who has either met or known Ania doesn't seem to have a problem and understands her decision. And if not, they at least had the opportunity to meet with her and possibly discuss this her. I don't think she's trying to hide, I have meet her numerious times. At the end of the day, who cares? Why does it bother you so much? She is free to do whatever she wants as did Chad Owens, and other fans/players who join the dark side.

[AngeloV]

Why "let it be"?
Because I haven't met someone personally? What has that got to do with anything in this?

When she declared in a new thread that she was fed up with the Argos new management AFTER ONE YEAR, I pointed out that the new management group had been in position FOR ONE YEAR and should be given more time to learn how to run the team before making making full judgement and switching allegiance to the Argos hated rival.

After making that judgement and move, returning at the first opportunity seems remarkably fickle.

I don't understand why a pass should be given. Are you an Argonauts fan or not?

I'm not going to lie, I was disappointed when I found out Ania was going to be there. No secret that I was the most vocal of anyone concerning that thread. I said it and then and will reiterate that if she wanted to start that type of thread, do it on a Ti-Cats forum. It would have made their members happy. Posting it here only brought up negativity towards the team we are suppose to be behind, win or lose.

Having said all that, I like Ania as a person. I just didn't like what she did that one time.

[paulwoods13]

Non-Argo fans are allowed to belong to this forum. Everyone who belongs to this forum was invited to the event. She belongs to this forum. She accepted the invitation. End of story.

[Neely2005]

Non-Argo fans are allowed to belong to this forum. Everyone who belongs to this forum was invited to the event. She belongs to this forum. She accepted the invitation. End of story.

Exactly, and after a season in Hamilton I think that she'll be back.
:-)

[Wobbler]

When she declared in a new thread that she was fed up with the Argos new management AFTER ONE YEAR, I pointed out that the new management group had been in position FOR ONE YEAR and should be given more time to learn how to run the team before making making full judgement and switching allegiance to the Argos hated rival.

No one owes you any explanations, GreyDragon, and I really don't think it matters what you "pointed out" in an old thread.