Leaf Fans: Crank it up to 11!
Posted 5:22 PM ET | Comments 4
I am a very lucky guy.
I get to go see several leafs games every year, and I am thankful for the opportunity.
The one thing that really pushes my buttons about being there is that a good chunk of the lower bowl is corporate seating. The leafs sell out every game and the waiting list for season tickets is insanely long. We are talking 15 + years.
When corporate boxes are used at the air Canada centre, quite often people in the seats are their doing business, not watching the game. I once sat in a box and people didn't show up until after the half way mark of the first, and they left at the second intermission. For a good chunk of the game, these seats that your average Joe fan would love to have remain empty. Quite often people in the lower boxes don’t even come out during the game. I do admit the free food and drinks are quite tempting.
Matt Stajan said today that he wants to hear more noise from the fans, I AGREE. At times you can hear a pin drop in the middle of play. MLSE makes tremendous profits off these seats and fail to solve the problem. How many times have you been watching HNIC, TSN, or Sportsnet and you see more empty primo seats than you can stomach to count?
The lower bowl boxes are great, but the seats need to be moved higher in the rink. This way, deserving fans can get closer to the action, and more of an energetic crowd will show up.
Leafs fans need to rally together, give the team the energy and confidence that the team needs. Toronto wants a cup, but they can't do it without home crowd fans, which show up and make some noise!
Right now the noise level sits at like a 5. Lets go to 11!
I get to go see several leafs games every year, and I am thankful for the opportunity.
The one thing that really pushes my buttons about being there is that a good chunk of the lower bowl is corporate seating. The leafs sell out every game and the waiting list for season tickets is insanely long. We are talking 15 + years.
When corporate boxes are used at the air Canada centre, quite often people in the seats are their doing business, not watching the game. I once sat in a box and people didn't show up until after the half way mark of the first, and they left at the second intermission. For a good chunk of the game, these seats that your average Joe fan would love to have remain empty. Quite often people in the lower boxes don’t even come out during the game. I do admit the free food and drinks are quite tempting.
Matt Stajan said today that he wants to hear more noise from the fans, I AGREE. At times you can hear a pin drop in the middle of play. MLSE makes tremendous profits off these seats and fail to solve the problem. How many times have you been watching HNIC, TSN, or Sportsnet and you see more empty primo seats than you can stomach to count?
The lower bowl boxes are great, but the seats need to be moved higher in the rink. This way, deserving fans can get closer to the action, and more of an energetic crowd will show up.
Leafs fans need to rally together, give the team the energy and confidence that the team needs. Toronto wants a cup, but they can't do it without home crowd fans, which show up and make some noise!
Right now the noise level sits at like a 5. Lets go to 11!
I do find it sad that San Jose has one of the loudest arenas in the league. I mean yes they have a lot to cheer for, but its always been that way. Us Leaf fans could really learn something from our friends on the lower west coast.
How many times do you hear of a guy, who knows a guy, whose business has season tickets. Most of the time its such a waste. These companies buy them for promotional reasons. Gifts to clients, or incentives to their employees. Either way, I bet that any game you go into, most of the people there don't give a damn about the Leafs as a whole. It's just a good night to them. That's completely fine, I mean, it's all about having a good time; but something needs to be done to give the every day fan; the one who actually buys your merchandise (I doubt you'll see the stockbroker from Bay Street sporting a Stajan Jersey, or holding a foam finger), a chance to see the Leafs. A chance to take in a game; and not just once a year, because finding the tickets, and saving the money to pay for the ones you can find takes you that long.
Toronto was stupid to build a smaller arena, they could have built an arena with 30,000 seats and sold out everygame but they're dumb and now the lil guy can't even go and see a game. I payed $150 to see the devils at the Acc when the face value of the tix was $60..... complete rip off. Your exactly right when you say that all of the seats go to corporates it's such crap.
However it is a tax write off