Comments on: This is why you pay staff to work year-round. http://natnotes.com/2007/10/23/this-is-why-you-pay-staff-to-work-year-round/ Accept no imitations! Fri, 21 Nov 2008 11:33:53 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.6.2 By: Rob Fai http://natnotes.com/2007/10/23/this-is-why-you-pay-staff-to-work-year-round/#comment-796 Rob Fai Wed, 24 Oct 2007 18:23:41 +0000 http://notesfromthenat.com/?p=796#comment-796 Thanks Oz, even I was a bit surprized by the turnout. But - I can say that looking back about a week ago when the Rockies first clinched the NL, I thought how I could capitalize on this - and I thought it out like a reporter would. I thought if I was at TEAM 1040 and I needed a story, what would intrigue me. It started out as the shirt, and eventually I thought that wouldn't be enough... So I put out a call to Brent Mutis, Cav Whitely and Brooks McNiven who all didn't blink in saying 'I'll be there"... They got it just the same way I did... I didn't put the media together for the C's persay... It was for the UBC Thunderbirds, for fans of Jeff Francis who now had something physical to touch and be a part of even though they could never afford a ticket to see him pitch - and most of all just for baseball... No C's logos smeared in the background - no tickets for the 2008 season available - just a day for the C's to step back and give Francis, his time at the Nat and his old friends a little ink... And ink they got - with my thanks to the Vancouver media. Simply put, in this business - you have to think like a reporter, and think like a fan. You are right Oz, its not about selling a ticket today - its about making people realize that this team is about baseball as a whole. We support minor baseball in the Lower Mainland, we support the T-Birds and we support the fans that pay to walk through our gates... My favorite moment of the media day came about an hour after the media left... And a dad and his son came to the front office hoping to get a look at the Jeff Francis exhibit... I didn't even hesitate and took them to the clubhouse - turned the lights back on and gave them a few minutes to look around. And that was special. I told the boy to take the jersey off from its hanger and try it on - he was thrilled... So there was a kid, off from school, with his dad in a locker room all to themselves remembering the days when Jeff Francis played at the Nat... He tried on his hat, the shirt and loved every minute of it... And then I took a picture of the two of them together, just a father and his son... Yesterday's exhibit was different... It symbolized the local kid making good... It symbolized a dream come true dreams - and a moment where a father and a son managed to find a common ground from a simple memory of the day they went to the Nat and together watched a young, scrawny kid pitch for UBC only to find out a few years later he'd be the starter for Game One of the World Series... That was why yesterday - it was so much more than just a shirt hanging in a locker - even though it WAS just a shirt hanging in a locker. Thanks Oz, even I was a bit surprized by the turnout. But - I can say that looking back about a week ago when the Rockies first clinched the NL, I thought how I could capitalize on this - and I thought it out like a reporter would. I thought if I was at TEAM 1040 and I needed a story, what would intrigue me. It started out as the shirt, and eventually I thought that wouldn’t be enough… So I put out a call to Brent Mutis, Cav Whitely and Brooks McNiven who all didn’t blink in saying ‘I’ll be there”… They got it just the same way I did… I didn’t put the media together for the C’s persay… It was for the UBC Thunderbirds, for fans of Jeff Francis who now had something physical to touch and be a part of even though they could never afford a ticket to see him pitch - and most of all just for baseball… No C’s logos smeared in the background - no tickets for the 2008 season available - just a day for the C’s to step back and give Francis, his time at the Nat and his old friends a little ink… And ink they got - with my thanks to the Vancouver media.

Simply put, in this business - you have to think like a reporter, and think like a fan. You are right Oz, its not about selling a ticket today - its about making people realize that this team is about baseball as a whole. We support minor baseball in the Lower Mainland, we support the T-Birds and we support the fans that pay to walk through our gates…

My favorite moment of the media day came about an hour after the media left… And a dad and his son came to the front office hoping to get a look at the Jeff Francis exhibit… I didn’t even hesitate and took them to the clubhouse - turned the lights back on and gave them a few minutes to look around. And that was special. I told the boy to take the jersey off from its hanger and try it on - he was thrilled… So there was a kid, off from school, with his dad in a locker room all to themselves remembering the days when Jeff Francis played at the Nat… He tried on his hat, the shirt and loved every minute of it… And then I took a picture of the two of them together, just a father and his son… Yesterday’s exhibit was different… It symbolized the local kid making good… It symbolized a dream come true dreams - and a moment where a father and a son managed to find a common ground from a simple memory of the day they went to the Nat and together watched a young, scrawny kid pitch for UBC only to find out a few years later he’d be the starter for Game One of the World Series…

That was why yesterday - it was so much more than just a shirt hanging in a locker - even though it WAS just a shirt hanging in a locker.

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