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Senators fan Spencer Callaghan has been displeased with the direction the hockey franchise has taken in recent weeks.
He’s certainly not the only one with that point of view.
But he’s the only one to come up with the idea of putting up #MelnykOut billboard to broadcast his feelings and to ask the public to back him via GoFundMe.
Since starting his quest, he’s discovered he’s far from alone.
“Eugene Melnyk has decided that he would rather tear the team down and sell it for spare parts than admit he can no longer afford to run it effectively,” wrote Callaghan in his appeal. “Sens fans and the city of Ottawa need to step up to save a pillar of this community. As the media haven’t been effective in telling the fans’ story, we have to do it ourselves.”
The cost of the billboard is an estimated $5,000, said Callaghan, who works in communications and social media. His campaign raised more than $7,300 in less than a day, mostly in increments of $10 to $20. One fan responded that he wasn’t going to Saturday’s game, but would kick in the price of two large draft beers. He’s aiming for a spot near Canadian Tire Centre.
“It gives a sense of how frustrated this community is,” said Callaghan, who has been a Sens fan since he was a 16-year-old high school student in 1992.
Spencer Callaghan has raised more than $7,300 in less than 24 hours to fund a #MelnykOut campaign.
Callaghan’s anger started to build in December when the Senators owner mused that the team might relocate in the leadup to the NHL 100 Classic at Lansdowne Park, a celebration of the NHL’s 100th anniversary. Among the problems cited by the Sens; owner: low home attendance — the team has tarped off 1,500-1,700 seats from the Canadian Tire Centre’s upper bowl — and uncertainty over the future of a downtown arena.
Fans have their own beefs with Sens management, including persistent and nagging rumours that Erik Karlsson will be traded before the Feb. 26 deadline, and a report last week that instead of hiring a replacement for recently departed president and CEO Tom Anselmi, Melnyk will be taking over the job himself.
“Erik Karlsson is a generational talent. Daniel Alfredsson is more beloved, but Erik Karlsson is more talented. There is no need to trade Karlsson. He bought a house here, he’s married an Ottawa girl, he obviously loves the city,” said Callaghan.
“It’s a symptom that something is fundamentally wrong. Melnyk has no respect for this community. It’s time this community had a voice.”
Callaghan got the inspiration for a billboard from New York Islanders fans, who launched a similar campaign earlier this month to purchase two billboards near Brooklyn’s Barclays Center reading “Snow must go” — a reference to Islanders’ GM Garth Snow. (The Islanders fans, in turn, got their inspiration from a 2014 campaign by New York Jets fans to buy “Fire John Idzik” billboards.)
Meanwhile, Ryan Mance, a Sens fan who grew up in Carp and has lived in Vancouver for the past 13 years, got noticed on Twitter this week when he held up a #MelnykOut sign from his rinkside seat during the Canucks vs. Avalanche game on Tuesday.
Lol @ this guy with the #MelnykOut sign at the Canucks Vs. Avalanche game tonight. https://t.co/csDom81ZhR—
Thomas Aurele (@ThomasAurele) February 21, 2018
“People who have connections to Ottawa, not just those in Ottawa, are fed up,” said Mance. “The last straw was the Karlsson news. It just doesn’t make business sense.”
Just hours before Callaghan began his campaign, Mance asked on his Twitter account whether other fans would be interested in crowdfunding the cost of a full-page ad in the Ottawa Sun to give Melnyk a piece of their minds.
Fan consensus was favourable.
Now, with the success of the Callaghan’s crowdfunding, it appears that that the open letter ad page will also be part of the campaign. Mance is already working on a draft of the letter.
“We’re not angry at Erik Karlsson. We know who’s at fault,” said Mance, who has never met Callaghan, but knew him through online fan sites. “We’re willing to do something — anything — to let him know this.”
Fans have kicked in with other ideas, including radio or television spots and bumper stickers. Meanwhile, any funds not needed for the campaign will be donated to the Ottawa Senators Foundation, said Callaghan.
The billboard is just a starting point, said Callaghan.
“I want to get the fans talking. I want the media talking about it. It’s not a sports story. It’s a city story. The Sens are a major pillar of the community, and the franchise is basically imploding.”
查看原文...
He’s certainly not the only one with that point of view.
But he’s the only one to come up with the idea of putting up #MelnykOut billboard to broadcast his feelings and to ask the public to back him via GoFundMe.
Since starting his quest, he’s discovered he’s far from alone.
“Eugene Melnyk has decided that he would rather tear the team down and sell it for spare parts than admit he can no longer afford to run it effectively,” wrote Callaghan in his appeal. “Sens fans and the city of Ottawa need to step up to save a pillar of this community. As the media haven’t been effective in telling the fans’ story, we have to do it ourselves.”
The cost of the billboard is an estimated $5,000, said Callaghan, who works in communications and social media. His campaign raised more than $7,300 in less than a day, mostly in increments of $10 to $20. One fan responded that he wasn’t going to Saturday’s game, but would kick in the price of two large draft beers. He’s aiming for a spot near Canadian Tire Centre.
“It gives a sense of how frustrated this community is,” said Callaghan, who has been a Sens fan since he was a 16-year-old high school student in 1992.
Spencer Callaghan has raised more than $7,300 in less than 24 hours to fund a #MelnykOut campaign.
Callaghan’s anger started to build in December when the Senators owner mused that the team might relocate in the leadup to the NHL 100 Classic at Lansdowne Park, a celebration of the NHL’s 100th anniversary. Among the problems cited by the Sens; owner: low home attendance — the team has tarped off 1,500-1,700 seats from the Canadian Tire Centre’s upper bowl — and uncertainty over the future of a downtown arena.
Fans have their own beefs with Sens management, including persistent and nagging rumours that Erik Karlsson will be traded before the Feb. 26 deadline, and a report last week that instead of hiring a replacement for recently departed president and CEO Tom Anselmi, Melnyk will be taking over the job himself.
“Erik Karlsson is a generational talent. Daniel Alfredsson is more beloved, but Erik Karlsson is more talented. There is no need to trade Karlsson. He bought a house here, he’s married an Ottawa girl, he obviously loves the city,” said Callaghan.
“It’s a symptom that something is fundamentally wrong. Melnyk has no respect for this community. It’s time this community had a voice.”
Callaghan got the inspiration for a billboard from New York Islanders fans, who launched a similar campaign earlier this month to purchase two billboards near Brooklyn’s Barclays Center reading “Snow must go” — a reference to Islanders’ GM Garth Snow. (The Islanders fans, in turn, got their inspiration from a 2014 campaign by New York Jets fans to buy “Fire John Idzik” billboards.)
Meanwhile, Ryan Mance, a Sens fan who grew up in Carp and has lived in Vancouver for the past 13 years, got noticed on Twitter this week when he held up a #MelnykOut sign from his rinkside seat during the Canucks vs. Avalanche game on Tuesday.
Lol @ this guy with the #MelnykOut sign at the Canucks Vs. Avalanche game tonight. https://t.co/csDom81ZhR—
Thomas Aurele (@ThomasAurele) February 21, 2018
“People who have connections to Ottawa, not just those in Ottawa, are fed up,” said Mance. “The last straw was the Karlsson news. It just doesn’t make business sense.”
Just hours before Callaghan began his campaign, Mance asked on his Twitter account whether other fans would be interested in crowdfunding the cost of a full-page ad in the Ottawa Sun to give Melnyk a piece of their minds.
Fan consensus was favourable.
Now, with the success of the Callaghan’s crowdfunding, it appears that that the open letter ad page will also be part of the campaign. Mance is already working on a draft of the letter.
“We’re not angry at Erik Karlsson. We know who’s at fault,” said Mance, who has never met Callaghan, but knew him through online fan sites. “We’re willing to do something — anything — to let him know this.”
Fans have kicked in with other ideas, including radio or television spots and bumper stickers. Meanwhile, any funds not needed for the campaign will be donated to the Ottawa Senators Foundation, said Callaghan.
The billboard is just a starting point, said Callaghan.
“I want to get the fans talking. I want the media talking about it. It’s not a sports story. It’s a city story. The Sens are a major pillar of the community, and the franchise is basically imploding.”
查看原文...
