The Jays should just move

I've written about my love of the Toronto Blue Jays on here before. I was at the game tonight. Yes there are factors to take into account, such as they were playing the Cincinnati Reds, a sold out Major League Soccer game was happening across town, and the fact last night was a discount ticket night, but they only drew 15,409. They say the Phoenix Coyotes should move (different sport, I know) when they are perennial losers and play in the middle of nowhere. The Blue Jays play downtown and are currently in a playoff spot. Some might argue the 20 year-old Rogers Centre (formerly SkyDome), once an architectural and engineering marvel, is outdated. But it is far from a dump. Fifteen thousand on a hot, but bearable night with an open roof for a good team is horrible. And that was only the announced crowd. Early on, it looked like a crowd from an old Expos game.

I love the Jays, but they really don't get deserving support in this city.

Toronto Blue Jays

I am very excited about the Toronto Blue Jays starting so strongly this year, but was very disgusted to find out their entire series against Boston later this month will only be available on premium television channel TSN2, which isn't available in most of Toronto. It's their second big test, after dropping two of three to the Yankees and apparently it was the team’s decision, according to TSN, to limit viewership of the games. They’re making the same mistake the Raptors made in forcing their fans into bars or to just not bother.
Yes, it could be a ploy to sell tickets. But the Blue Jays always draw great crowds when the Yankees and Red Sox are in town, partially because of the big rivalry, partially because those teams have a lot of fans outside their market and partially because those teams’ fans are well-travelled, much like Maple Leaf fans earlier in the decade.
One has to look at what limiting home game television coverage did to the Chicago Blackhawks after they stopped winning and started drawing 10,000 fans a game. Ownership eventually relented in the last couple of years. Limiting viewership will not help the Blue Jays right now, when things are just starting to get good again. It’s not like they’re challenging gate totals or fan interest of 1993 yet. Moving them to the far end of the spectrum on TV will not draw interest, even if they do draw great crowds from Red Sox fans.