April 2010 = Birth of l'Olympique de Montreal???

[Daniel]

I like it. The Impact is a crap name with no relation to soccer or Montreal.

By 2012, the Impact will have offered 20 years of pro soccer in Montreal. I don't see how that is "no relation".

[yomurphy1]

^ Yes the organization was done a great job with soccer in Montreal. My disagreement comes from a lack of professionalism in the name. Impact just sounds like a minor league baseball team who picked the name out of a hat.

[Mr.Impact]

In Toronto's case, it wasn't just MLS, it was MLSE. They can shake a stick and make things happen. I doubt Kerfoot will get 1/5 of the milage out of MLS that MLSE did/does. I hope he does, and I hope Montreal does too.

The Impact have been drawing close to 10,000 fans a game, since the CCR days. I doubt that they will need help from anybody, when it comes to marketing. The Impact name is original and authentic, and I hope they keep it. I would hate it if they decide to Rip off some Euro name, just to attract a certain clientel.

[TFCRegina]

To those who say the Impact has no connection to Montreal or soccer, you obviously never heard of the Champions League Quarterfinal. I don't even like the Impact, but to say they've done nothing for soccer and to say the name isn't connected to the city is stupid. They've established something with that brand...why throw it away?

[tmcmurph]

To those who say the Impact has no connection to Montreal or soccer, you obviously never heard of the Champions League Quarterfinal. I don't even like the Impact, but to say they've done nothing for soccer and to say the name isn't connected to the city is stupid. They've established something with that brand...why throw it away?

Got to agree with you there. Think BRANDING and you see how silly it would be to throw away the Impact name. They might not have the pedigree that the Whitecaps have but it is still a substantial amount of name recognition in Quebec. TFC started from scratch and both the Caps and Impact have been building for a decade to get their cities back to the top flight of soccer in the US & Canada. It would be silly to throw it away and neither owner strikes me as silly.

[Admin]

The Impact have been drawing close to 10,000 fans a game, since the CCR days. I doubt that they will need help from anybody, when it comes to marketing. The Impact name is original and authentic, and I hope they keep it. I would hate it if they decide to Rip off some Euro name, just to attract a certain clientel.

I never suggested they change it. It has history/momentum. I would keep it. I don't think it's a bad name at all.

What I am talking about above is the ability to purchase/leverage your way into the mainstream. Impact gets crowds but they get Caps slightly better than Caps level coverage. Impact got crowds despite the lack of coverage. They don't just need to increase the numbers, the need to increase the number of paying customers.

A few years ago the caps made an important transition, the attendance was simliar, but almost everyone was paying to be there. That is something to scale up.

Montreal has to do something different because simply scaling up the current crowd is not what is needed or wanted. (present ultra company excluded of course, you know what I'm talkin bout)

[kyam]

To those who say the Impact has no connection to Montreal or soccer, you obviously never heard of the Champions League Quarterfinal. I don't even like the Impact, but to say they've done nothing for soccer and to say the name isn't connected to the city is stupid. They've established something with that brand...why throw it away?

If the Impact decide to change their name, at least Montreal can lay more claim to l'Olympiques name than Lyon or Marseille (dont think either city has hosted an Olympic games) .... It wouldn't be the first sports club in Quebec to use the Olympiques name, here in Ottawa-Gatineau, the Olympiques play out of the QMJHL.

One of the guys at work was joking about renaming the Impact to the Manic's... If I was an Impact fan, I'd definitely prefer the status-quo over the Manic's, but does anybody on this forum feel a connection to the Manics?

[Mr.Impact]

I never suggested they change it. It has history/momentum. I would keep it. I don't think it's a bad name at all.

What I am talking about above is the ability to purchase/leverage your way into the mainstream. Impact gets crowds but they get Caps slightly better than Caps level coverage. Impact got crowds despite the lack of coverage. They don't just need to increase the numbers, the need to increase the number of paying customers.

A few years ago the caps made an important transition, the attendance was simliar, but almost everyone was paying to be there. That is something to scale up.

Montreal has to do something different because simply scaling up the current crowd is not what is needed or wanted. (present ultra company excluded of course, you know what I'm talkin bout)

The Impact leveraged their way into the mainstream, and possibly into MLS by drawing 55000 fans on February 25 2009 defeating Santos Laguna in the Home leg of CCL quarter Final. No they didn't give away 55000 tickets for that game. Coverage is oustanding for a team playing in the USL/NASL, heck the Impact could probably teach marketing to most MLS teams.

[Admin]

The Impact leveraged their way into the mainstream, and possibly into MLS by drawing 55000 fans on February 25 2009 defeating Santos Laguna in the Home leg of CCL quarter Final. No they didn't give away 55000 tickets for that game. Coverage is oustanding for a team playing in the USL/NASL, heck the Impact could probably teach marketing to most MLS teams.

A special interest story isn't the same thing as what I am talking about.

Toronto passed a certain critical level of 'something'. How exactly that was accomplished I don't think is clear, and what that 'something' is isn't easy to describe.

The best word I have for it is permission.

I am willing to bet the majority of people on this board are to some degree, for want of a better word, promoters of the game. I have done that in all three major cities.

We have all had 'those' conversations wrt to Canada or the three USL/A-League teams. In Toronto, you don't have those conversations anymore. Supporting not just the team, but the game itself is 100% legitimized. It doesn't mean people are not critical of what happens on the field, lord knows they should be, but the context is very very different.

Unless things have changed dramatically in Montreal in the last couple of years I suspect the conversations are still as much about sales and self defense as they are about the game when it comes to local soccer and random cafe soccer guy. The 55 000 is an indicator of the incredible potential, not the date of it's arrival.

[kyam]

The Impact leveraged their way into the mainstream, and possibly into MLS by drawing 55000 fans on February 25 2009 defeating Santos Laguna in the Home leg of CCL quarter Final. No they didn't give away 55000 tickets for that game. Coverage is oustanding for a team playing in the USL/NASL, heck the Impact could probably teach marketing to most MLS teams.

The 55 000 fans are an indicator of the Impact's potential in big game situations. But at the end of the day, it was just one game. One game is not representative of its success throughout the season. If anything, the Impact selling out 13 000 seats per game is a better indicator of how successful the club will be, than just one game.

When it comes to marketing to hardcore fans, I think the Impact have maxed their potential and MLS won't do anything to change that. But when it comes to attracting more casual fans, I think MLS will market it much better than the Impact do, without having to give big discounts to little league teams.

It will likely increase television ratings as well, not necessarily cause of the Impact, but cause of the opponents they face. Casual Impact fans will much rather watch a TFC-Impact game or a game against New York in their new Stadium than a game against Rochester.

[Mr.Impact]

A special interest story isn't the same thing as what I am talking about.

Toronto passed a certain critical level of 'something'. How exactly that was accomplished I don't think is clear, and what that 'something' is isn't easy to describe.

The best word I have for it is permission.

I am willing to bet the majority of people on this board are to some degree, for want of a better word, promoters of the game. I have done that in all three major cities.

We have all had 'those' conversations wrt to Canada or the three USL/A-League teams. In Toronto, you don't have those conversations anymore. Supporting not just the team, but the game itself is 100% legitimized. It doesn't mean people are not critical of what happens on the field, lord knows they should be, but the context is very very different.

Unless things have changed dramatically in Montreal in the last couple of years I suspect the conversations are still as much about sales and self defense as they are about the game when it comes to local soccer and random cafe soccer guy. The 55 000 is an indicator of the incredible potential, not the date of it's arrival.

Bottom line is that there are very little indicators supporting the fact that this Franchise will not be successful in MLS. The Impact have done things correctly in building professional Soccer in Montreal, and are now ready for the next step.

Things have changed dramatically in Montreal over the last couple of years. People tend to talk about whats happening on the field, beginning by winning championships, and doing well against international compettion.

[Admin]

When it comes to marketing to hardcore fans, I think the Impact have maxed their potential and MLS won't do anything to change that. But when it comes to attracting more casual fans, I think MLS will market it much better than the Impact do, without having to give big discounts to little league teams.

Oh, no, I disagree. They have not even scratched the surface of that yet. This is what I am talking about with the 'permission' thing.

There is a big difference between these two things.

1. Complaining about your local team because it is local.

2. Complaining about your local team because that's what all soccer fans do.

It is a subtle but powerful difference.

What I am hoping for in Vancouver and Montreal is the scaling up the likes of UM02 and scaling down the family contingent on a massive scale.

Toronto probably could have done much better on the supporters side with RPB ect... but they sold so many seasons tickets everything was locked in and growing it in the stadium was impossible even though the interest was there. RPB could probably have a much larger in stadium presence if the flexibility was there in the seating but it's not.

I am not sure how that is done, and talking to TFC/MLSE people they are not sure either. The potential is there in Montreal and Vancouver. I want to see UM02 and/or other supporters groups get soooo big Saputo is on his knees before you guys. You deserve it.

[Admin]

Bottom line is that there are very little indicators supporting the fact that this Franchise will not be successful in MLS. The Impact have done things correctly in building professional Soccer in Montreal, and are now ready for the next step.

Things have changed dramatically in Montreal over the last couple of years. People tend to talk about whats happening on the field, beginning by winning championships, and doing well against international compettion.

There is every indicator an MLS franchise in Montreal will be a HUGE success. That is why we are having this conversation.

But how will it take shape. The last thing I want to see/hear a few years from now is how UM02 is boxed in by security and being told to sit down by moms whose kids are playing on the inflatable playground behind the stands.

So the question remains what is that 'permission' and how do you 'grant it' to the guys watching games from St. Laurent to Jean Talon? That short bike ride is your target market but they are as fickle as a group of teenage girls.

Legitimacy is a complex thing in a society and I don't think MLS alone holds the keys to that. That is what I mean by MLSE being big enough to shake a stick and make things happen that are more intangible. I think Saputo possesses a great deal of that while Kerfoot probably does not. This is of course rampant speculation.

Maybe you just need to buy enough advertising to purchase your way into the casual language of the media. It's possible that is all it is. I also don't watch TV in Quebec, so this is a question... not a specific question as the question itself is an example of the kind of thing I am talking about ... such as.. Does the weatherman ever tack things onto the things he says like "... it's a nice day for the fans down at Saputo stadium watching the Impact tonight".

I have always been curious about those kinds of things on the level of how scripted they might be.

So how do you purchase legitimacy? TFC doesn't do it on the field and MLS doesn't really do it as a league.

So what is it?

[Keano]

I agree with the sentiment that although the Impact is not the best name, it would be a shame to change it after 20 years and much successes. On the other hand, I disagree with those who say the potential name Olympiques is either random or an attempt at copying French teams of the same name. They play on the Olympic Park for god's sake. Also for the guy who thought it isn't bilingual enough: if a "que" replacing a "c" gets your knickers in a bunch you have other more pressing things to worry about (and I'm anglo).

At least Impact is not "The Terminators" or something equally North American Minor League. In fact it kind of reminds me of Russian sports names like "Dynamo" and "Locomotiv".

[Tuscan]

Maybe Montreal needs to go the Ukrainian naming route, choose an industry that is particularly prevalent in that area of the province, perhaps Fromageries, and become Fromagerie Montréal (kinda like Metalist Kharkiv for the Kharkiv metal mining industry).

Ok I jest

[Keano]

Maybe Montreal needs to go the Ukrainian naming route, choose an industry that is particularly prevalent in that area of the province, perhaps Fromageries, and become Fromagerie Montréal (kinda like Metalist Kharkiv for the Kharkiv metal mining industry).

Ok I jest

Telemarketing FC. I like it.

[SteveBeau]

Telemarketing FC. I like it.

Lmao

[Grizzly]

How about FC Strip Club! :-)

[Keano]

So THAT's what the pink is all about.

[Admin]

How about FC Strip Club! :-)

Pole dancing mascots for the win!!!

[Seb of Mtl]

In an interview given by Joey Saputo to the Team 990 he said that negotiations are going well with the MLS unfortunately there is no announcement that is imminent and this is confirmed by Don Garber's spokesperson in a conversation with CKAC 730; he was asked to comment the rumors that Garber was gonna be in Montreal over the weekend to announcement the impact as the 19th Franchise in mls. On the other hand, Joey Saputo told the Team 990 that he would be surprised if there is no announcement by the AC Milan friendly.

[Mr.Impact]

Joey Numbas! Got to believe it's got to be Sunday just before the Portland home opener.

[Trillium]

When it comes to marketing to hardcore fans, I think the Impact have maxed their potential and MLS won't do anything to change that. But when it comes to attracting more casual fans, I think MLS will market it much better than the Impact do, without having to give big discounts to little league teams.

Your wrong there is lots more hard core potential to be mined, MLS will increase that potential, once in many more groups will form to join UM02, with a differing mix of people forming the supporters groups.

[jamieNDG]

I think the mls will do extremely well in montreal. the games will sell out.

[Trillium]

One of the guys at work was joking about renaming the Impact to the Manic's... If I was an Impact fan, I'd definitely prefer the status-quo over the Manic's, but does anybody on this forum feel a connection to the Manics?

Kyam the name was Manic, as in Montreal Manic named after the major development of Hydro projects at Manicouagan.... so Manic, the Impact name links to Manicouagan, becuase its the result of Majour Impact crater in northern Quebec. So the name Impact today has historical and geographic links and more importantly deep social significance as a symbol of Quebec stepping out to create a majour engineering project and ongoing cash cow to Quebec.

So frankly L' Impact de Montreal roles well on the tongue .... is historical ... has a 20 year reputation, hope they stick with it.. I fact pretty sure Joey will.