Toronto MLS research

[mlsintoronto]

Hello everyone - I'm at Maple Leaf Sports and the nice folks at Big Soccer told me to come talk to you. I hope we're all interested in big fun games at the new Toronto stadium...We're interested in your thoughts and opinions. Dump them here!

[morrison]

for anyone who doesn't go on bigsoccer.com forums

you might want to take a look at this first:

http://www.bigsoccer.com/forum/showthread.php?t=297546

[Richard]

My vote is for Toronto City as a name, a good, solid traditional choice. Avoid using the word football as it will inevitably result in confusion in the minds of some. I would also prefer to avoid the North American penchant for animals and other weird things. All very well for sports like basketball and gridiron football but not the world's most beautiful game.

[BrennanFan]

quote:Originally posted by mlsintoronto

Hello everyone - I'm at Maple Leaf Sports and the nice folks at Big Soccer told me to come talk to you. I hope we're all interested in big fun games at the new Toronto stadium...We're interested in your thoughts and opinions. Dump them here!

Is it possible for you to let us know your name and what position you hold with MLSE? Also, it would be useful to know what, if anything, has already been decided. No point in giving name suggestions if MLSE has already decided on the issue, or if there is already a short list.

[sstackho]

Hi mlsintoronto, and welcome to the board. Here are some of my random thoughts.

Toronto FC or Toronto City are both good names, in my opinion. Classy.

For me, the big thing that will keep me coming to the games will be the stadium atmosphere. A supporter's section is important. I see some people mentioned flares in the thread on BigSoccer. I think that's a bad idea, and goes against what I would like a supporter's section to be. It has the potential cross the line to being scary and not a welcoming environment. I've never seen a flare in an English stadium.

Cost for the supporter's section will be an important factor for some. It's a tough balance - do you have a supporter's section right in the middle (like Chicago, I think?) where it is highly visible for the fans and TV cameras, but where prices might be higher - or do you have it in a cheaper section, but might be too far away from the action if the stadium is designed to accomodate the CFL?

It's frustrating when some crowd singing finally starts at a Leafs game, only for it to be drowned out by stadium music (or an advertisement) just when it gets going.

Be careful on the theme nights. The Lynx do that a lot, and it's embarrassing.

And there's nothing worse for stadium morale than a bad product on the field. Gotta keep it competitive!

[Gian-Luca]

quote:Originally posted by BrennanFan

Is it possible for you to let us know your name and what position you hold with MLSE?

I won't reveal his name or position, but I (as well as Sean Keay) can confirm that he is legitimate, in case that is what you were wondering.

[Calgary Oranje]

Welcome, MLSE guy. You'll notice the Calgary address on my post, but I grew up in T.O., plan to be there for the first game and will rabidly support the team from afar, so I feel I have some stake in this....

I personally like Toronto City because it has its roots in the city's soccer history, is a traditional-sounding soccer name without going with a Euro label that has no connection to Toronto or resonance with the fans. (Salt Lake is indeed a good example of that phenomenon.)

Let me also echo others in saying no matter what you do, nothing would be worse than a cartoony name and/or logo. A lot of times this gets misinterpreted as a Eurosnob thing, but there are plenty of egregious examples in other sports — and also evidence that fans in those leagues don't like it either. It took more than a decade, but at last they're getting rid of the gawdawful "Mighty Ducks" in Anaheim and changing the name to just plain "Ducks."

The truth is, most of us will support the team no matter what it's called — but you earn a heck of a lot of goodwill right out of the gate if you show you respect the traditions of the game and what the fans think. Your presense in this forum is heartening evidence that MLSE is making the effort.

[juaninho]

It is nice to hear that MLSE is willing to listen to what fans have to say, rather then having some MLSE prescription of what soccer 'should be' forced down our throats. Thanks for lending both an ear and an open mind.

But where to begin?

-I'd like the eventual mls toronto website to have a link to the eventual supporters' website. This is a must, as it would allow those interested an easier means to become a member of the supporters group.

-For me the name may be one of the more thorny issues, as I'm really of two minds. Yes I see the merits of a nickname-driven name such as the Blizzard, but yet at the same time I'd like to see something more traditional, but not necessarily couched in 'Euro' terms. Some may say that by choosing Blizzard you'd tap into the aspect of tradition, but yet the Blizzard were only around for about a generation.

Toronto City is okay, but I think I am more inclined to names involving suffixes or prefixes surrounding 'Toronto'. Toronto FC or FC Toronto I'd have no problem with, but the 'F' may cause some confusion, as Richard has mentioned, as the team is in a league called Major League Soccer and not Major League Football. Maybe SC Toronto or Toronto SC would be a better alternative. (I think this was DJT's point in another thread).

-Please, not a garish uniform.

-A natural grass pitch would be best.

[Steve B]

Toronto City or Toronto SC would be far preferable to some fuzzy animal name geared to eight year olds. Keep in mind many football teams that don't have formal nicknames but become known by informal nicknames anyways e.g. Tofees, Baggies, Shrimpers (I'm not kidding), not unlike Habs in hockey.

DO NOT PLAY MUSIC during the match. It destroys any chance that you have for atmosphere and it is annoying. If you don't believe me, attend a game day farce that is the Lynx. Focus on making the game experience pleasurable, not some sideshow circus and you will get and retain the solid core of 12-17,000 that you require and upon which you can build. Marketing morons that tell you to "appeal to the kids" have their heads up their MBAsses.

[mlsintoronto]

quote:Originally posted by Steve B

Marketing morons that tell you to "appeal to the kids" have their heads up their MBAsses.

Hinterland who's who...(cue the flute music)

"The frisky marketing moron habits in snowy climes and wiles away the winter with its head up its MBAss. The moron can be quite sensitive and is know to strike back with lame attempts at humour at the drop of the hat."

I slay me.

[mlsintoronto]

On supporters clubs - absolutely! We'll be at the next meeting of U-Sector and any other clubs that come out of the woodwork. We want to be supportive, but we'll fall short of trying to control. Issues like safety and our ability to keep our liquor licence will guide our thinking here. As you may have heard, we are under a bit of a microscope when it comes to liquor laws...the ACC had been fined and a few months ago we had a Metallica (i think) concert where we could serve no alcohol. This was not the first time either. So we'll be concerned about alcohol consumption for sure. Also, we'll put the "family" area as far from the supporters area as possible, so if a "You suck!" chant happens to spontaneously erupt, we needn't be too worried.

I think the cooperation will occur in things like

- a specific section - access to tickets

- a place to lock up supplies

- flares / smoke - we'll want to help enhance the atmosphere while ensureing everyone's safety

With respect to Chicago - I think what they do is a good start, but I have to believe we can find enough "supporters" to triple or quadruple their numbers...do you agree?

[KAS]

Hello!

after trolling for quite some time, I decided to register so that I could reply to this thread. I hope that you will find my ideas to be worth the effort. BTW, I'm a "Grad student on a break" who lives near Toronto (905). I do not support any particular club (Cdn MNT obviously), although I do keep tabs on the Europeans leagues - especially the EPL and SPL.

As far as a name goes, I really like Toronto United. I know that "United" already exists in MLS, but you can have more than one. This would remind people of many great clubs without copying one specific club, and most importantly - IT BEST REFLECTS THE COMING TOGETHER OF MANY PEOPLE FROM ALL OVER THE WORLD IN THIS GREAT MULTICULTURAL CITY!!! If any city's club deserved to be named "United", it is Toronto. Also, this choice will have great widespread support - as evidenced by the current poll on the soccer section of sportsnet.ca - without excluding anyone.

As for team colours, obviously blue and white. But rather than all blue shirt, vertical stripes, or Blackburn's half/half, I have a better idea. I would suggest horizontal stripes for both the body of the shirt and the sleeves. The MLSE crowd would be reminded of the "old school" Leafs jersey with the stripped sleeves, but the real inspiration would be the Bhoys of Glasgow Celtic ("The Hoops"). It would be just like Celtic, only blue/white instead of green/white. It's a great and relatively unique look that ties in with Toronto's sporting past, and did you see how many Celtic shirts there were when they played at the Dome?!

A proper traditional crest/shield is needed, but that takes more time and heraldry experts can be hired for that. A "nickname" should come from the fans AFTER they have started playing, rather than being forced on fans by MLSE. Just name the team Toronto United and once they start playing, something will occur to inspire a nickname among the fans.

Sorry my first post is so long, but I figured that if someone at MLSE would actually read and consider this, then it would be worth making my views known.

Ken.

[Ivan]

I too support a traditional soccer name. My preference, relecting Toronto's multiculturalism, is Toronto International, or Inter Toronto.

My $0.02.

[isa]

i think its important to start a fan club and anyone who is a member can get discounts on tickets and game gear and of course seasons tickets discounts should also have a section in the stadium for fan club members only. hey if they bring back the blizzard they can call them section H .

[isa]

as for a nickname i like Toronto F.C. or F.C. Toronto.

[Gian-Luca]

quote:Originally posted by KAS

Hello!

after trolling for quite some time, I decided to register so that I could reply to this thread.

I think you mean "lurking" for quite some time, no?

In terms of the name, I get the impression that the league itself has some input into the name that will be used and I suspect they would be opposed to two "United" in the same league.

[Polish_LYNX_Fan]

We welcome you with open arms and look foreward to talking n person at the next meeting. Thankyou for taking an interest in the supporters.

U-SECTOR FOREVER[8D]

[G-Man]

Toronto Ice Strikers.

Logo: Have a Tiger on roller-skates kicking a ball through a ring of fire, with the CN tower in the background. Colours: Sizzler Silver and Arduous Red. And make sure you get cheerleaders, the closer they are to 18, the larger the middle aged pedophile crowd you'll bring in. Screw the kids at this point- you got them into the stadium with a cartoon tiger- and remeber the same guys who want the team called "city" are the same types that wear scarves- so make sure you have some of those for sail, charge like 55 bucks, they'll buy anything soccer fetish related.

And have various crap dance acts open up for the team to bring in the girl crowd. Shawn Desmond comes to mind. And apease those that want the name "Blizzard" back by having retro 80 half time shows with bands like Glass Tiger and Loverboy.

You can be everything to everyone and push your gate to 8K a game. And if all that doesn't work. Give away thousands and thousands of free tickets through Pizza Pizza. Have a deal like buy a large meat lovers and get 4 Ice Striker tickets. Or run radio contests where the winner gets 2 tickets to a game and the runner up gets 4. Or hand out season tickets with every Metro.

Inflate the gate UNTIL the team gets sold and moved to Montreal or Portland.

Toronto a soccer market! hahahahaha. "Big Fun Games" Hahahahaha. Can't wait until the WIZ of Kanasas City comes to town..hahahahahaha.

[marktci]

Just a suggestion I'll throw out there, not one I'm entirely in love with, but here goes:

Given the site of the stadium ("Garrison Common", the CNE grounds which were used by the DND as a training ground between 1942 and 1946), and the MLS's affinity for mimicking high-profile Euro clubs, how about the Toronto Garrison?

[RealGooner]

I have already made most of my opinions clear on BigSoccer, and I agree with most of what has been posted here. I do warn mlsintoronto as well as the other good posters here NOT to allow this thread to be hijacked by posters with anti-MLS/ anti-MLSE axes to grind. If these people post here, I ask that you just ignore their posts so that we can contine this great dialogue on here.

[Guest Dave]

MLSinToronto:

Please feel free to ignore "G-Man". He has an agenda similar to Dave Perkins, and is about as knowledgeable. Very few of us agree with him on anything.

[ray]

quote:Originally posted by KAS

As for team colours, obviously blue and white. But rather than all blue shirt, vertical stripes, or Blackburn's half/half, I have a better idea. I would suggest horizontal stripes for both the body of the shirt and the sleeves. The MLSE crowd would be reminded of the "old school" Leafs jersey with the stripped sleeves, but the real inspiration would be the Bhoys of Glasgow Celtic ("The Hoops"). It would be just like Celtic, only blue/white instead of green/white. It's a great and relatively unique look that ties in with Toronto's sporting past, and did you see how many Celtic shirts there were when they played at the Dome?!

I agree. Stripes or hoops.

[TOareaFan]

quote:Originally posted by Dave

MLSinToronto:

Please feel free to ignore "G-Man". He has an agenda similar to Dave Perkins, and is about as knowledgeable. Very few of us agree with him on anything.

I think MLSinToronto should be free to listen to whomever he wants to, whether you/we/us agree with him or not.

As far as the name goes, I am a big fan of Inter Toronto or Toronto International. Notwithstanding my UK passport, I think the word "traditional" too often just means British. Inter is as traditional a name as City or United and, honestly, I think it describes Toronto better.

As a Celtic supporter, I love the hoops idea but if you think blue hoops will bring all of those Celtic fans over automatically you have a very low understanding of the Scottish football fan. Firstly, many closed minded Celtic fans (I hope I am not one) have a hard time wearing anything blue. Secondly, a team in blue hoops will just lead to a lot of Celtic fans saying "why are they playing in Morton strips".

In all seriousness, though, good luck with this venture. I imagine that the people you will communicate with on BigSoccer or here will be at your matches. I think your challenge, however, is to balance the hopes/wishes of us with what it takes to attract new fans. As you have seen here already, people here will criticize efforts made to reach out to new fans (theme nights, kids days, etc) without recognizing that some of those days/nights are the only times the Lynx, as an example, draw crowds. Yours is a balancing act that others have failed in before and which will be very difficult.

Good luck with it.

[Cheeta]

quote:Originally posted by mlsintoronto

Also, we'll put the "family" area as far from the supporters area as possible

My boy, you do that and keep the canned music out and everything else well work itself out just fine.

Blizzard, City, SC, FC, Garrison (not bad). They're all fine by me. SC/FC will let a true nickname evolve eventualy though. Not that going that route is important but it is kinda cool.

As to kit schemes I'm actually pretty open minded about that to. Solids are cool and hoops or strips can be real gawdy but hansome all the same. No neons though please.

[TOareaFan]

quote:Originally posted by mlsintoronto

Hello everyone - I'm at Maple Leaf Sports and the nice folks at Big Soccer told me to come talk to you. I hope we're all interested in big fun games at the new Toronto stadium...We're interested in your thoughts and opinions. Dump them here!

Quick question, when will season ticket plans/packages be announced/available?

Will your loyal Leaf and Raptor subscribers be granted some sort of "front of the line" access to choice? (self serving question/suggestion there ).