We're Grey, We're Red: Our Watches Must Be Dead

Dear Whitecaps Fans,

There is something very ugly creeping into BC Place on Whitecaps matchdays. No, it's not hooliganism or dirty language. No, it's not Tommy Soehn either.


What I'm talking about is empty seats. Or, more specifically, the THOUSANDS of seats that remain unoccupied right before kickoff and well into the first half.

We've all heard the jokes about how Vancouverites are laid back, way mellow and too cool for school. One could argue that Vancouverites will take their sweet time going anywhere unless the VPD riot squad is chasing them towards a Lululemon sale.

Make no mistake about it - when the TV cameras pan across a gulf of empty seats at the first whistle, it reflects very poorly on the club and creates a damaging perception for casual onlookers that a Whitecaps game is not nearly the major league pro sports event it claims to be. That's a terrible shame. I believe in this club and always will, but I really think it's time the front office took more aggressive steps to spread the gospel to their season ticket holders.

Here's a video I took mere seconds before the players took the field this past Saturday against RSL:

Talk about a buzz kill. There's more red and grey plastic visible before a Whitecaps kickoff than at a Toronto FC fan convention.

When your front office is competing for ad dollars against the Canucks, Lions and Giants, these are the sort of hideous visuals you need to nip in the bud, and pronto. The Whitecaps are trying to encourage season ticket holders to arrive earlier by rewarding them with Caps Card reward points for doing so. It's a nice idea, but this is approach is far too passive - and the rewards far too small - to accomplish any significant traction with the lumbering, cement-footed masses.

Fast forward to 15 minutes after kickoff. As you can see, many empty spots have filled since the first whistle, but even at a distance the still-unoccupied red seats stand out like a sore thumb across the stadium.

I'd be interested in hearing from all of you readers out there as to whether there is more to this problem than meets the eye. I'm always in the stadium well before kickoff, so I fully concede that I really have no idea if BC Place line-ups at entrances and concession stands have anything to do with this unfortunate phenomenon.

What do you think, folks? Is it laziness? Is it traffic? Is it a carry-over of behaviours that have been established at Canucks games? Please write me at johnniemonster@gmail.com to share your thoughts.

One thing is for certain - whatever Vancouver is doing wrong, Portland is doing very, very right. The Timbers have a season ticket waitlist of 7,000 and counting. Significant numbers of fans are known to line up outside Jeld-Wen on the night before matchday to ensure a good spot in the general admission areas.

This city's passion needs to be ignited, and it's going to take some leadership from the club and supporters alike to fan the flames.  Portland's FO has taken great steps to create a sense of major league urgency. I really hope Vancouver's FO closely examines what our neighbours down south have done to see if there's any tricks in the bag worth repeating here.

Thanks for reading,

@johnniemonster