So there I was sitting around watching tv last Tuesday afternoon when I get a call from one of my friends. He told me that he was invited to an event the Ticats were holding for season ticket holders from previous years that have not renewed their tickets this year. The Cats top-brass were there along with a few of the players. It was super cool! We got hooked up with free food and drink as well as some free hats. There was the expected motivational speech and sale pitch and then a Q&A session with the Cats top brass. After that some of us stuck around and got a chance to talk to both the players and the management. I myself had the opertunity to speak with both the Ticats president Scott Mitchell and GM Bob O’Billovich. Here are a few things I learnt:
Cory Mace:
I asked what the situation with his signing and Obie’s reply was (not an exact quote) “Cory’s agent told him that if he is not signed with an NFL team by April 1st he should sign with the Ticats, instead he fired his agent. However he is still not signed and there has not been much interest shown in him by other NFL clubs”.
Darcy Brown:
Although I couldnt get a straight answer as to why the picked him in the 1st round I did notice that they were really really excited about him and that they did alot of research on this guy. I have a feeling we are going to see this kid on the field quite soon.
Ryan Hinds:
I asked Obie about the speculation that he was accepted in to medical school. Obie said that they sent a coach out to have a chat with him and he is committed to playing football.
I also got a chance talk to the Cats pres Scott Mitchell about an idea we had here on the forums about rewarding fans that bring more people out to the games. He agreed and told me that they recently upgraded the software to allow them to keep better track of fan purchases and a reward program is in the works.
Overall it was a really fun night. It was really cool to see the Ticats top brass and some of the players rub shoulders with the rank and file fans. It really shows how devoted they are to maintain links with the community.