Hamilton CPL Supporters Thread

[Kent]

10 hours ago, admin said:

Odd I can see it on desktop and mobile.

I see it on desktop, couldn't see it on my iPad.

[gator]

31 minutes ago, admin said:

Test Picture

Does this come through? 

What are you viewing it on? Mobile? Tablet? Computer....

Who is Doug??

[Admin]

1 minute ago, Kent said:

I see it on desktop, couldn't see it on my iPad.

Even the most recent one?

[Rheo]

3 minutes ago, Kent said:

I see it on desktop, couldn't see it on my iPad.

Don't have an iPad but I just checked on my iPhone and it worked (originally seeing was desktop)

[Kent]

Just now, admin said:

Even the most recent one?

I was talking about the original one (made the mistake of not reading the rest of the thread before commenting) and I am on desktop now. It was last night on my iPad that I wasn't able to see it (after having seen it earlier on the desktop). So I haven't tried the newer pics on the iPad.

[grande]

42 minutes ago, gator said:

Who is Doug??

[RickC]

Not sure if it would work with the scheduled roll out of official teams (with names, kit, etc) but would Hamilton be able to announce just in time for the Canada vs Germany match on June 10th? I don't think there was an announcement that the lawsuits had been dropped (there was one about an understanding to settle them I think) so this may be an obstacle to get the official unveiling done. But, it would be terrific timing to have Hamilton CPL all over Tim Horton's Field for the women's match. Would be nice to pick up some official gear at the match.

[Rheo]

 

[Rheo]

Small article on the official launch http://www.hamilton-today.com/sports/hamiltons-pro-soccer-club-unveilling-july-12th/

[Rheo]

SoccerFootieFootball-June 16

https://www.tsn.ca/radio/hamilton-1150/soccerfootiefootball-june-16th-1.1114337

-General talk on Women’s match in Hamilton, the World Cup, interview with McMaster men’s coach Dino Perri

Interview with Hamilton CPL Sr Director of Business Operations Greg Dunnett (starts around 20 min in)  Short but I found it interesting.  Couple of notes

-Talked about their preps.  Did photo shoot with Batallion.  They’re out in the pubs now engaging soccer fans. After launch they’re off and running, raising awareness and trying to get memberships.

-He started April 1 in his current position.

-Has worked with other CPL clubs, asking for advice. Everyone is working together.  Put over PB experience in launching TFC.

[Shortdutchcanuck]

Reserved my spot at the July 12 Hamilton launch!  Very curious to see what kind of event this will be and what sort of turnout it warrants.

Optimistic but also a litttle nervous as to how Hamilton's membership #'s measure up to previous launches.  A lot of potential in Hamilton market but we do exist in the GTA shadow as well, with a lot of competition for entertainment $$$.  Hoping to be up there with Winnipeg though!

[baulderdash77]

Hamilton is going to be the biggest team in the league I think.  

It’s a good sized city with its own Center of gravity playing in a great stadium with a real soccer culture.  

I think we’re going to average over 10,000 per game.  

[maccaliam]

^ gutted I can’t make it to the launch as I’ve got a prior commitment. I have evening plans like twice a year, yet I still somehow have a conflict here. 

I can’t wait to hear how the launch goes. I hope you are right about the big support for this team. Moving forward, I’ve been worried by playing in such a big stadium that it can hurt the atmosphere. Hearing that Ottawa fans are happy where they are makes me feel a bit better though. 

[Grandbloke]

3 hours ago, baulderdash77 said:

I think we’re going to average over 10,000 per game.  

A very optimistic estimate, but I certainly hope you're right!

[BringBackTheBlizzard]

Will be interesting to see how the wider Hamilton soccer community responds to this given TFC are not so far away (unlike the scenario in Winnipeg) and CanPL is a lower budget league than MLS that will be viewed by many people as the minors regardless of how it is sanctioned. Does civic pride kick in or do people prefer to watch the best possible soccer, if they only have the time/money to make the emotional investment in one of the pro teams available to them? Somewhere in the 4000 to 5000 range was the norm for the Hamilton Bulldogs:

http://www.hockeydb.com/nhl-attendance/att_graph.php?tmi=5998

but that was a rebranded NHL B team rather than a standalone franchise obviously. Having grown up supporting Hamilton Academical from the original Hamilton in Scotland, it was always depressing that there were more Rangers, Celtic and arguably even Motherwell supporters in the Hamilton area than Accies ones, because most people tended to gravitate towards the higher quality soccer rather than backing the more local lower budget team. Maybe having the Ticats involved makes a difference. We'll find out soon.

[Shortdutchcanuck]

There are plenty of TFC fans in the area, but on the whole Hamiltonians do not like to be associated with Toronto, I promise you that.  Will be interesting to see which direction Burlington fans travel though.

[Tigers]

The Ticats angle helps not only from them being actually involved,  but it means people are used to valuing something Canadian even if there's a "better" American option nearby. 

Similar in hockey actually. I hear way more about the OHL Bulldogs than I did about the AHLversion.

[Keegan]

4 hours ago, Tigers said:

The Ticats angle helps not only from them being actually involved,  but it means people are used to valuing something Canadian even if there's a "better" American option nearby. 

Similar in hockey actually. I hear way more about the OHL Bulldogs than I did about the AHLversion.

Well the Bulldogs attendance has dropped only slightly from the AHL which bodes well for us.  I think we’re in an even better position with a chance to have games against Toronto Montreal and Vancouver.  The CSA should do whatever it takes to get as many of these games as possible (ie Canadian community shield or super cup) to grow the interest.  If we get people seeing that their local team can compete with the big American league they’ll be excited. 

[RickC]

And the new Hamilton CPL team can beat Toronto FC and carry on the tradition of the TiCats who beat the Buffalo Bills. OK, that football game was eons ago and let's not mention the other inter-league games. But, I can imagine the feeling of being at a Canadian Championship game at THF and cheering on Hamilton blasting Toronto's assets.

[Keegan]

It’s a totally different dynamic to CFL or CHL we/they just need to find a way to the casual fan who just doesn’t “get it” aka 95% of people. This is like imagine if your local CHL team could somehow play the Leafs and compete.

[grande]

16 hours ago, Keegan said:

Well the Bulldogs attendance has dropped only slightly from the AHL which bodes well for us.  I think we’re in an even better position with a chance to have games against Toronto Montreal and Vancouver.  The CSA should do whatever it takes to get as many of these games as possible (ie Canadian community shield or super cup) to grow the interest.  If we get people seeing that their local team can compete with the big American league they’ll be excited. 

I don't know if I'd agree with that... The last three seasons of the AHL had an average attendance of 4913, while the first three OHL seasons averaged 4069. That's a drop of 17%; certainly nothing to sneeze at.

[Keegan]

4 hours ago, grande said:

I don't know if I'd agree with that... The last three seasons of the AHL had an average attendance of 4913, while the first three OHL seasons averaged 4069. That's a drop of 17%; certainly nothing to sneeze at.

Dropping from a pro to amateur level though - that’s not much of a drop if you look at it that way. 

From the last AHL season to the latest OHL season the difference is 201.  So I guess it depends on how you look at it but either way you know they have to be happy not paying salaries and travel for such a low drop. 

[Macksam]

14 hours ago, Keegan said:

It’s a totally different dynamic to CFL or CHL we/they just need to find a way to the casual fan who just doesn’t “get it” aka 95% of people. This is like imagine if your local CHL team could somehow play the Leafs and compete.

The comparison being the Hamilton CPL club playing TFC? I don’t think it will be like that. MLS isn’t seen as major league so it will be more like a WHA vs NHL thing imo. 

[BringBackTheBlizzard]

On 6/25/2018 at 5:00 PM, Shortdutchcanuck said:

There are plenty of TFC fans in the area, ...

That's always been my impression given how many Hamilton people were in the TFC fan groups in the early years. In all but the CFL you are basically part of the Toronto market in sports and entertainment terms in a way more distant cities like London are not. It definitely won't follow the York 9 trajectory on memberships or anything like that, but it will be interesting to see if it can follow or exceed the Winnipeg one. In some ways the Ticats involvement will help on attracting more of a mainstream fanbase, but in others such as playing second fiddle on fieldturf to the CFL while TFC are the primary tenants on grass the optics may not be so good with the core of the soccer community.

[Keegan]

9 hours ago, Macksam said:

The comparison being the Hamilton CPL club playing TFC? I don’t think it will be like that. MLS isn’t seen as major league so it will be more like a WHA vs NHL thing imo. 

That’s a better comparison I agree that it will be more like WHA vs NHL.. but that sort of contradicts you saying MLS isn’t seen as major league as clearly the nhl is.

The point is that small Canadian markets will be able to compete with big clubs at the highest level (in North America) - even in hockey we don’t have that.