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Thursday, August 6, 2009

"Real" Greed Makes MLSE Kaka

To brand Friday night's friendly against Real Madrid as a negative would be an ignorant thing to do. To imagine that MLSE brought the Nu-Galacticos here to further the "beautiful game" in Toronto would be a far more ignorant line of thought. The fact that our local squad, comparable in stature with a second division European club, gets to test their skills against the reserves of one of the world's Top 5 clubs is great in theory. The way the event was created, and the why it was created, is an exercise so steeped in corporate greed that it must even make some MLSE execs blush - and their bar is quite low already.

The bad taste for some supporters started early when the match was first announced. The immediate excitement that Real Madrid was this year's friendly was amazing. Then the bottom fell out. This was not the free match, instead, season ticket holders were given the privilege to get a bank loan and pay four or five times the regular price of their ticket to see a no contact, no hustle friendly. Inevitably the match sold out, there was little doubt about those chances, however, the very fans who make the noise and atmosphere that the ownership uses so deftly to promote the team will mostly be absent. The great unwashed got the distant second place award of a night with River Plate. Instead, the average rabid TFC supporter will be supplanted on Friday by suburbanites in Cristiano Ronaldo jerseys and corporate hangers-on who might watch the odd "soccer" game every four years. Some BMO Field regulars will be apologists and tout the "once in a lifetime" aspect of the match but real Reds' supporters are far more interested in the remaining MLS schedule and still very angry at the team's pathetic Champions League elimination.

It is no secret in Toronto that MLSE is not in the trophy-winning business. The Bay Street Bankers are in the profit business and they are perennial champions. But, even in their wildest dreams the board could have not seen this coming when they paid a pittance for the expansion fee and weaseled their way into a nearly free stadium. Sold out crowds (who can pound back the Carlsberg), merchandise wearing fanatics, transfer fee windfalls and now this - the multi-million one night only jackpot! It's no wonder that MLSE has been pushing this as the "be all and end all" of football extravaganzas, for them it is. An approximate profit of $3 Million for the match itself and for the cherry on top, an approximate $225,000 gate from tonight's Real Madrid open practice. And that's before refreshments and merchandise! The giddy giggling you hear from Bay Street is The Board of Directors rolling in a big pile of money taken from those "crazy soccer lovin' sons of immigrants!"

Toronto FC, despite its name, is not a club. To it's fans it is, to the suits it is very much a franchise - part of the corporate branding in MLSE's sports entertainment catalogue. It is just the latest product to be sure that all of the Toronto area's market demographics are covered. Results on the pitch are of no consequence to the boardroom. Win, lose or draw, BMO Field is full. MLSE collects just enough men in red shirts to manage expectations and to field an opponent for "big" football teams to visit. This is most reflected by the tone of MLSE VP Bob Hunter who when asked about the grass being installed for Real Madrid said the surface "reflects the quality of the team we're playing...". If that's the case, then the Field Turf, which now looks like a pair of old man's polyester green slacks, must reflect the quality of the team who plays on it the rest of the year. Complain all you want Mr. De Rosario - you are just the pin-up boy for TFC Inc. - your thoughts on the turf do not matter.

The saddest part of this whole fiasco is how a friendly, what most real clubs play in their pre-season, is being sold to the dimmer lights of TFC support as "The Highlight of the Season". For supporters, that should send a collective chill up the spines. There was barely a peep from TFC/ MLSE about the Champions League debacle, there is a glossing over of the wall that TFC has hit and the rapidly disappearing play-offs, the Director of Football has spent most of the transfer window watering a falsehood about Julian De Guzman signing while not actually signing anyone, and yet what is the PR machine churning out and the media eating up? “Kaka is here!” Indeed it is.

Real Madrid will come and go and MLSE will have a giant $3 Million dollar-plus cheque in their hands. That’s a similar amount to the fee they got from the sale of Maurice Edu last year, which was apparently going to be spent on club improvements. Is temporary one-day grass covered in the Edu fund? TFC is turning into a very lucrative little jewel in the MLSE Empire and has given the execs the one thing they didn’t think was possible – “Leafs Nation” 12 months a year. The “Leafs On Turf” may wear red but the bottom line will never share the same hue. One more similarity TFC will share with its MLSE cousins on ice and hardwood… an empty trophy case.

4 comments:

  1. Geez, losing to a bunch of Puerto Ricans does get you in a bad mood, eh?

    Why not stop the sermonizing, and instead rejoice that your insignificant spot in the football universe will get to see the debut of Kaka, Alonso, Albiol in a Madrid shirt.

    That you will remember all your life, if you were there. Who gets into the playoffs or even who wins the MLS tournament is something nobody will remember three days after it happens.

    Saivan

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  2. That's the whole point - people pay a lot to see Real play. MLS wouldn't organize these things if they didn't make money. They have a single entity league structure, so they *need* the money -- it helps keep teams like FC Dallas, Kansas City and others afloat.

    And these things *always* bring in the casual fan and suburbanites. Until Toronto FC has Kaka, Ronaldo or Benzema on their roster, those folks probably aren't going to make the trip to see a game. And do you think they'd drive in from the suburbs to watch TFC vs. NYRB? Holy crap, I'd rather drive off a cliff.

    At this point in the league's lifecycle, it needs all the sold-out, high priced friendlys it can get. MLS will never increase its level of play without investment, and that investment will come as the league gains a higher profile, wealther owners come in, and also simply by reinvesting profits the league makes from merchandise sales, friendlies, etc.

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  3. I can't support this because the money they will make off of Real Madrid will not improve Toronto FC one bit. That money goes into the pockets of the Teachers Pension.

    I'm disappointed that the media is so whupped by MLSE that no one dares to point out the gross money grab that this is. Let's not rock the boat. This is why traditional media is taking a beating because the criticism isn't coming from the sources we trust, it's coming from the people who care.

    $3.2 million dollars is the gate alone here.

    If seeing players play a third rate team for beyond a reasonable price is going to be the highlight of my "soccer fandom", then someone is making a boatload more money than I am.

    1) Hamilton defeating Montreal in extra time of a CSL playoff game after a torrential downpour
    2) Tunisia v. Saudi Arabia at the World Cup in 2006
    3) the 2-2 draw at the last home game of the year where Dichio bagged a late one and we celebrated like we actually won something.

    Those are memorable. Not WHO, but WHAT. And I was there for those matches. One a few years ago, one an ocean away and one when I was merely a child.

    Next time a "big time club" come around for you to fawn over, I'll happily sell you my tickets. I'm sure I'll remember whatever trinket I buy moreso than the game you overpaid for a second time.

    And no one on Real is a legend yet. Just overpriced.

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  4. Hamiltonsteelers , Real Madrid is the legend itself.

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