It's been a while since I blogged about Toronto FC. For my first blog this year about TFC, I was meaning to talk about the squad and the expectations going into the new season, but there was a bit of a controversy yesterday on Twitter. There is a TFC survey that season ticket holders can fill out, and included in that survey was a question on whether they would be open to TFC having a mascot for the club. This led to very strong reactions on Twitter, especially from supporters who were opposed to TFC having a mascot. You could even say that there was an overreaction from particular TFC supporters on Twitter, who say that the introduction of a mascot contributes to the "sanitizing" of the atmosphere at BMO Field.
As a supporter of Toronto FC, I absolutely agree that the BMO Field atmosphere and experience now, compared to 2007, has been sanitized. There is more of a focus on marketing, sponsors, and sideshow entertainment than the actual football, and creating an "authentic" European atmosphere with no bells and whistles. However, it is also important to look at the business side of introducing a mascot to Toronto FC. The hardcore TFC supporters are not the target market for this. Mascots mostly appeal to children, and my guess is that the mascot will be around at TFC community events, and not so much the stadium itself. A lot of European clubs have mascots, and still keep their image relatively intact, so why can't TFC do the same? Purely as a supporter, I wouldn't want a mascot, but also taking the business side into account, it could actually work (though I was always under the impression that Bitchy the Hawk was Toronto FC's mascot). If it is done right, it should have little to no influence on how supporters support the team.
With this controversy, some TFC supporters have been reminiscing of the 2007 days when the experience at BMO Field was at its purest form, without all the overstimulating sponsor advertisements, price hikes, and sideshows that have little to do with football. The thing is, those days are long gone and I don't think it is coming back. If Toronto FC was a success on the pitch from the start, then you could have seen an experience nowadays at BMO Field that looked something like a European or South American atmosphere. But, as we all know and experienced, Toronto FC has been awful since they entered Major League Soccer. A sizable amount of supporters have walked away from the club and MLSE need to fill the seats. So obviously, they will rely on a lot of cheap promotions and entertainment, as well as star players and sponsor involvement to get new customers to go see Toronto FC matches and maybe buy season tickets and merchandise. This is why you are seeing more casual fans and families than ever before, and their hesitance to join in the chants and songs is one of the reasons why the atmosphere at BMO Field isn't what it once was.
Now, the people I would imagine reading this are those who would be considered hardcore supporters of Toronto FC. I have something I want to share with you.
Throughout the existence of Toronto FC, I have grown from a young high school kid to a functioning adult. From my experiences following the team and everything that came with it, I want to share the most important thing I have learned from following Toronto FC to you, the reader (and most likely hardcore TFC supporter). Are you ready? Here it is:
Toronto FC and MLSE don't care about you. You are nothing more than a dollar sign to them. They use your fandom as a means to make more money for them.
The reason TFC has the survey for season ticket holders to fill out is not because they want to hear and listen to your opinion. The reason is that they can use that information to make the most money off of you and everyone else that goes to BMO Field, Let's face it, the influence of hardcore supporters on the club who are striving for a better atmosphere has been waning, and MLSE have realized that the real money comes from the new fans that enter the gates of BMO Field because they are more likely to buy into what MLSE is offering them. MLSE doesn't have to cater to the hardcore supporters as much anymore because most of you will always be coming back every year to BMO Field no matter how disgruntled you may feel about the team. If TFC increases season ticket prices, yeah you'll be upset, but you'll still come back. If TFC introduces a mascot, yeah you'll be upset, but you'll still come back. Hell, if the Argos move to BMO Field, which is a real possibility, I wouldn't be surprised if most TFC supporters come back to support the team at BMO Field. If you don't come back, MLSE will just lure someone else to the stadium.
As much as I hate MLSE, this is the ugly truth. If you are sick and tired of the corporatism at BMO Field (believe me, I am as well), voicing your opinion on a survey and voicing your displeasure on Twitter is unlikely to get MLSE to listen to you. You are going to have to do more that, and whatever that might be is up to you, whether it be from voicing your displeasure in the stadium, or simply not giving your money to MLSE anymore, though those are not the only two options.
On its own two feet, having a mascot for TFC isn't an issue, but if you look at the bigger picture, it is yet another piece of the growing corporatism at BMO Field. This issue also shows that MLSE is continuing to bite the hand that feeds them, and they are the supporters who have been bravely trying to keep the atmosphere alive at the stadium. Unfortunately, there are the MLSE cheerleaders who turn a blind eye to all the corporatism, but if there are enough supporters who hate it, and realize that their opinions aren't being heard, and do something about it, then maybe, just maybe, MLSE will be forced to listen.
