Recently the John Gormley Live Show devoted an entire morning to covering Saskatchewan’s ongoing cleanup efforts in the aftermath of all the crazy storms.
That morning, as the show was airing and I was sitting at my desk pondering the next day’s show, the phone rings. An obviously outraged listener was on the line, huffing and puffing in my ear.
“I want to know where the Riders are!” she cried, a blast of righteous indignation through the receiver.
Right now? I don’t know – practice? Want to talk to Wray Morrison?
“No no no,” she scolded. “I mean, this flooding situation in Saskatchewan - where are they?! With everything this province does for that team you’d think they’d be out there”….and, off she went.
I don’t mean to be rude, but I’m busy - what's your point?
“Well, I’m a season ticket holder and I can’t believe they”...
Oh.
My.
God. Why didn’t you say so in the first place? We’ve got a Riders season ticket holder here people! Somebody fetch Gene Makowsky a bucket and get him to her leaky basement, stat!
A few days later, a letter-to-the-editor in a Saskatchewan newspaper described ‘Fantuz Flakes’ – the breakfast cereal Saskatchewan Roughrider slotback Andy Fantuz is about to launch – as a “brilliant marketing endeavour”.
Agreed.
As Fantuz himself points out, “Fans seem to love every kind of unique little promotional thing that we throw at them. I jumped all over it. I think it's a great idea. It's a great opportunity for me.”
Wait... what did you just say?
“It’s a great opportunity for me.”
For who?
“…for me.”
I can hear it now - Not-so-fast, Greedypants Fantuz.
The same letter - written by a self-proclaimed “hardcore fan” - continues, “with the team being a community-owned franchise, isn’t it time to start putting some of those dollars back into the community?”
Hardcore Fan also hopes “it was a case of the (newspaper) failing to mention that proceeds from the Fantuz cereal would be directed to a charity. If not, then our beloved Rider organization has gotten greedy and is enjoying the "green" a little too much."
What? What?
Since when does Andy Fantuz, or any player, or the Saskatchewan Roughrider’s organization, owe Hardcore Fan, or any fan, or any charity - anything?
If Fantuz wants to sell his brand - his image - which is worth something because of the hard work and training he’s put into his career - why on earth would he be expected to turn the earnings over to charity?
As for the “community owned” bit - yes, if you have nothing better to spend $250 on, you can buy a share in the Saskatchewan Roughriders.
According the Saskatchewan Roughrider’s website, “As a Roughrider shareholder, fans will get the opportunity to vote on team leadership, contribute to the team’s long-term viability, and help create a football dynasty owned and operated by its fans. In addition Rider shareholders receive a number of other benefits including discounts on merchandise, preferred seating upgrades, first rights to priority parking and access to special Shareholder events.”
In other words - invest in a football team, and ta da! you get a football team. You get to go to football games. You may even get to park on actual asphalt, instead of somebody’s front yard.
The same logic, coincidentally enough, applies to season ticket holders. Buy a season ticket, and you get to go to football games at Mosaic Stadium – in fact, you get to go to every regular season football game at Mosaic Stadium. And as an added bonus, when you get to your seats before the game, they’ll be empty! Because they’re yours – you paid for them! Its like magic. You give the Riders your money, they give you a highly entertaining sporting experience.
So to recap, if you give your money to the Riders, they will give you football. That's it, that's all. Anything extra is a bonus - and if we're now demanding or expecting extras... well if you ask me, that's pretty greedy too.
Just so we're clear, I’ll be the first person to tell you that I think there’s a serious risk of Green & White saturation in this province. If you can buy it, the odds are you can also buy it in the Rider store. Take what happened to me just this morning - after commenting on a gentleman’s Rider socks, he lifted up the leg of his shorts to show off his Rider underwear. (I don’t know what’s worse, the fact that he was wearing Rider underwear, the fact that I had to see his Rider underwear, or that he was wearing socks with shorts and sandals).
When it comes to individual players, their number one job is to play football. But if along the way, one of those guys you pay good money to watch play comes across an opportunity to make some extra cash simply because he’s one of those guys you paid good money to watch play - high 5’s for that.
Then, if he wants to (or can afford to - have you seen the average CFL salary?) donate some of his bottom line to charity, he will. But that’s his business - not yours. This province will continue to be an amazing place to live, work and play, and one of the major reasons for that is because the Saskatchewan Roughriders’ organization is such a huge part of our identity.
I’d say that’s a big enough contribution in itself.
Tammy Robert is the Executive Producer of 'The John Gormley Live Show' - listen live every weekday morning from 8.30am - 12.30pm on NewsTalk 650 or NewsTalk 980.
Comments
Good one, Tammy
Well put; funny too.
Tammy, i disagree with you
Tammy, i disagree with you about 95% of the time, (what's john's record by the way...) but I am 100% with you on this one. I pay good money for season tickets to get the privilege of attending 10, maybe 11 football games a year. That is it, that is all. Anything else that the riders decide to spend their own money on is a bonus like you said and we should be happy with that.
Kyle
Could not have said it betty
Could not have said it betty myself Tammy. I am a diehard Rider Fan, but clearly the (the players) do have a life of their own. Maybe they are even cleaning out their own basement full of water, who are we to say, and as for Andy Fantuz and his Fantuz flakes. Good for him, I will probably even buy some just to keep the box. I have spent my money on sillier things.
GO RIDERS!!!!
P.S. My dogs make an awful mess, do you think Durant will come and clean my backyard, I mean I'm a season ticket holder you know....lol
That fan probaly is an
That fan probaly is an "owner" of a co-op too, lol!
This is a great blog. I
This is a great blog. I love the Riders but I think things are starting to go too far with fans, and the country too. I understand supporting your team but when you find it tough to purchase an item at your local CO-OP without it having the Rider Logo I feel we have gone to far. I do support the Riders every chance I have the chance but I am starting to feel like they are being forced on me now. The Rider centenial Loonie is another area that bothers me too. but that is another topic. again great blog and people have to soon realize the Rider players are people just like you and me they work hard at their jobs, have families like you and me and yes they also have problems of their own out side of the confinds of Mosaic Stadium. They live just like everyone else.
Must agree with you on this
Must agree with you on this one. As Tammy says,has anyone checked the average salary for a CFL/Rider player these days? Yes, they are paid a fair chunk more than the average Joe such as myself, but they are not anywhere near the pay scale we see in the spoiled little clubs such as NHL, NFL, NBA, etc etc. I have always seen them as much more the 'average' neighbor on the street. Are they not entitled to a bit of entrepreneurship or endorsements? In a way, this is an advantageous thing for fans if they can make a bit of extra money with their own projects. Would fans rather have salaries rise dramatically at some point? Tens of millions for multi year contracts?