Bonus – Jonah's CFL thoughts

The Argos took a bullet from the crowd size, more like lack of it this past week at BMO. I know we generally tackle just the media side here but allow me to rant a bit. Look, if you are a die hard CFL fan I am not talking to you. I have respect for you and your dedication you are not the problem; you also are not the rule but the exception. So please don't add comments on how great the games are and how much you love them. The issue is the greater audience at large simply isn't there in the GTA right now.

So, I want to know who the !@#@!# thought that moving to BMO alone would draw the fans out. Years and years of damage has been done to the CFL brand in Toronto. Moving to a shiny new stadium isn't enough. This is akin to turning the Titanic. As a father of two kids, the competition for our entertainment dollar is significant. I need a compelling reason to go anywhere with my free time and disposable income. Neither of my kids, both of whom love sports and going to games have any interest in the Argos or the CFL for that matter. That's not me knocking or bashing the game or the league. That's a fact of what years of mismanagement on the marketing side have done in this city. The younger generation don't know and don't care.

I know given the rich tradition this will offend many, but remember my caveat above about this not being directed to die hard fans- the CFL/Argos need to adopt a minor league mentality in the GTA. Don't worry about the on field product at all right now. You need dirt cheap FUN games where the on field part is secondary. 4 tickets, 4 hot dogs, 4 drinks and 2 popcorns for $40. With great entertainment in and around the game. That's how you build the fanbase in this market. It's the Hanson brothers at the Marlies game mentality you need. I know, you risk pissing off the die hards but, if you can't survive with the current # of die hards and the odd person showing up out of curiosity then you need to change the model.

The "if you build it they will come" mentality is so misapplied here. It presumes thousands of people were staying away simply because of the venue. Sorry folks, I don't buy it. The Argos don't register on most people's lists of possible things to spend their time or money on in the GTA. The only way to do that is to make it an event you want to be at all the time. They need to get on as to remember predictable schedule and then offer over the top bang for the entertainment dollar. The argument against is that there is more to success than young families. I hear you and agree. All I am telling you is that the Argos have lost generations of potential fans that they likely wont be able to re-attract. It's a far better investment in going after young families and kids then the 18 + market who have already moved on.

I assumed the media especially would be taking a crawl, walk run approach to the Argos and BMO however the piling on this week has suggested otherwise. If done properly and patiently it can happen.
What does everybody think of this article? The author of this site has never been CFL friendly in the slightest, but I can't argue with mcuh of what he wrote.