Ben Zayandehroudi VP Ticket Sales and Fan Services brings the meeting to order. There are about 40 people
listening intently while 40 people at the other side of the bar are just chatting and watching the sports news.
The drink glasses are Mason jars!
mp3 File...first segment...3 min 58 sec In this first sound file Ben Zayandehroudi outlines the progress of the team so far. Wow only 33 days away from the first CPL game! (I do remember the original CSL as a functioning Canadian league but I wasn't going to heckle him). He outlines the mandate of the league. He discusses yesterday's Canada vs French Guiana game and the opportunities provided by the CPL. A good selling job for season tickets but also another opportunity for non-season ticket holders to see the inaugural game in Hamilton offering the public a return bus ride to Hamilton and a ticket for $20.00. He then cues up a short video.
Goalie Matt Silva introduces the other York 9 FC players here tonight.
mp3 File...second segment...11 min 28 sec After the video Zayandehroudi continues outlining the other teams in the league. Halifax with 3000 SSH already! The York 9 FC ownership group is discussed. York 9 president Preben Ganzhorn discusses the formation of the team. He reveals the first shipment of team merchandize supplied by Macron. Tapping into local talent. Goalie Matt Silva outlines the other players on the team here tonight. There's a draw for a scarf and later a team ball but it hasn't been inflated yet so that brings a few jokes. Now we know for sure! It's Kyle Porter who is on the lifesize decals on the back of the buses on the York transit system.
(from left) MF Kyle Porter, FWD Cyrus Rollocks, DEF Roger Thompson, MF Ryan Telfer, and Ben Zayandehroudi
The presentation ends and I ask players for interviews. It's too noisy inside once the music starts up.
The players are quite coorporative to step outside as they've kept their coats on except Rollocks.
The only hitches tonight were the sign set up for the stadium rendering was for Alumni Field which in
news from last week will NOT be used as the team will start immediately at York Lions Stadium and they
didn't have a poster of that but I was assured it's on the web site. My seats will now be in Section 500
of that stadium. Looks good! There's new postcards but they have Alumni. This version has the new $399
price point. The back has a list of their home matches. The AS Blainville Canadian Championship game
was also listed with time 'TBD' (someone on one of the message board today says they saw a 1:30pm start
but it's a Wednesday! The postcard problem is the date was printed as 'Saturday' so some staff member
had to Sharpie that word out.
Now my questions about York Lions Stadium answered by Zayandehroudi were: The running track will be covered
for the first season and the field widened. For the second and third season the track will be gone.
It will be built elsewhere. Note it was my joke that it will be built through the tennis courts
(world famous for holding the Canadian Open) and not a York 9 staffer who told it.
Another question I asked was where in Hamilton's Ivor Wynne Stadium will we travelling supporters be sitting.
The answer is Section 108 and 109. When I looked that up at home, In football field positioning that's
at lower deck level from the 10 yard line to back in the endzone but not the separate stand behind the net.
The Forge supporters will be on the same side of the field as us but in Section 102 in the opposite corner.
I am still grovelling to ensure I get a press pass as I see more and more 'pro reporters' are pushing their
way in with the league. I was showing off the weekend report I'd done of the USSDA game between Toronto FC
Academy U-18/19 game against Vardar (Michigan). One of their players answered me that it only took them
four hours to drive from Detroit to Toronto on Friday night--and here it took me half that long tonight
to get only across my own city! The report looks bigger on a computer but even on a phone--well my pictures
and the team logos looked nice. Progress looks promising.
Friday April 5th is a trip for York 9 FC to the Dominican Republic for ten days of training and three
games against local teams. The other CPL teams will be there but there will be no games between
CPL teams. I reminded Ganzhorn that's there's probably no rule that the teams can't scout each other.
Zayandehroudi answered me that he expects tonight to be the last pub night. After the team gets
back from Dominican Republic they'll be preparing for the season opener.
Below are my outdoor interviews.
mp3 File...Matt Silva interview...4 min 15 sec Silva discusses his career from the time I watched him on the PDL Toronto Lynx from 2010 to 2014 until now. *Duncan Wilde and Billy Steele are currently coaching in the Oakville Blue Devils system. Camilo Benzi played goal on the York 9 Celebrity All Star team last September. He answers questions about dueling for that starting position with Colm Vance for that first game. Trivia. He talks about playing against York 9 FC forward Simon Adjei in his time in Sweden!
mp3 File...Ryan Telfer interview...4 min 15 sec Telfer talks about the loan arrangement that found him 'loaned' from MLS Toronto FC to landing at York 9 FC. Also he answers questions about playing for York University and already knowing the coaching staff and some of the players and how that will be an advantage. Also what he expects to accomplish on the trip to Dominican Republic.
mp 3 File...Cyrus Rollocks interview...3 min 23 sec Rollocks talks about his progress until now from Toronto FC Academy to York 9 in the last few years and why knowing that York 9 was on the horizon and breaking his hand stopped him from trying out in Germany. Also what he expects for the team in the Dominican Republic. I alway breathe a sigh of relief after each interview when I press the 'save' button as it's so close to the 'delete' button on my phone and with my big fingers that's a gamble every time.
Keenan's Irish Pub in Brampton...(taken while it was still daylight on my way inside although I did
conduct the player interviews on the sidewalk in front of the pub)
I left the event at 8:00pm and didn't have rush hour traffic to contend with but it still
took 70 minutes to get home as I stupidly turned off Steeles West to drive along Finch. Surely the
road construction at the intersection of Finch and Dufferin was finished from last October?
Well yes, the east-west paving along Finch was complete but now there was north-south installation
of sewer pipes across the intersection from Dufferin backing up traffic in all directions.
Rocket Robin
robing@eol.ca
twitter @RocketRobin01
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