Post by gary on Oct 4, 2011 14:53:17 GMT
Thought I would pen a few thoughts on the trip to London. Don't worry - I've had my say on the game elsewhere.
First time I have visited London Scottish. Made to feel most welcome by all at the Athletic ground. Surrounded by people with Scottish accents!
We sat just under the press box to watch the game in a small but solid and permanent grandstand. I don't know how many the capacity was but I would guess about 1500/2000. (If someone knows better I will stand corrected). It made me think again about our own development plans and I still feel we need something more permanent to create a feel good and moving forward feeling for spectators, players and sponsors.
I sat with a group of London Scottish supporters who were clearly either committee members or ex-committee members. There is a lot of money down there which we can only dream about. Their main sponsors are Deutche Bank and others include Aberdeen Asset Management. I was also told that the Chairman or ex-Chairman of Tesco was a big supporter. Surely we have ex players or others who might be connected to some of the big businesses or financial institutions in Birmingham who could offer us support?
A brief word on presentation. The announcer down in London was either a media man or just good at doing it. Announcements were slick, professional and I noticed that the scorer of every try/conversion by London Scottish was accompanied by the remark '....who is sponsored by............'. They do that at Rotherham too and I'm sure all our sponsors deserve/would welcome a similar mention. You felt as though you were at a professional event.
I know most things come down to money but I just feel that our presentation and our product feel slightly amateurish at times and, with a little tweaking, could be improved all round.
It was our first time down in Richmond. The supporters coach did not run (are there any smaller coaches or larger minibuses?) so we went down early and arrived mid morning. Richmond was very impressive - everyone looked seriously rich! We went for a lovely walk along the Thames and, as usual, looked in a few estate agent windows. You could not make this up but we saw 2 bedroomed flats to rent for £3,000 per month and a house to rent for £12,000 per month. I guess it's easier to find sponsors when that sort of money is floating around!
All in all a most enjoyable day out (save the rugby).
That was last week. The important thing now is to support the club on Saturday.
See you there.
First time I have visited London Scottish. Made to feel most welcome by all at the Athletic ground. Surrounded by people with Scottish accents!
We sat just under the press box to watch the game in a small but solid and permanent grandstand. I don't know how many the capacity was but I would guess about 1500/2000. (If someone knows better I will stand corrected). It made me think again about our own development plans and I still feel we need something more permanent to create a feel good and moving forward feeling for spectators, players and sponsors.
I sat with a group of London Scottish supporters who were clearly either committee members or ex-committee members. There is a lot of money down there which we can only dream about. Their main sponsors are Deutche Bank and others include Aberdeen Asset Management. I was also told that the Chairman or ex-Chairman of Tesco was a big supporter. Surely we have ex players or others who might be connected to some of the big businesses or financial institutions in Birmingham who could offer us support?
A brief word on presentation. The announcer down in London was either a media man or just good at doing it. Announcements were slick, professional and I noticed that the scorer of every try/conversion by London Scottish was accompanied by the remark '....who is sponsored by............'. They do that at Rotherham too and I'm sure all our sponsors deserve/would welcome a similar mention. You felt as though you were at a professional event.
I know most things come down to money but I just feel that our presentation and our product feel slightly amateurish at times and, with a little tweaking, could be improved all round.
It was our first time down in Richmond. The supporters coach did not run (are there any smaller coaches or larger minibuses?) so we went down early and arrived mid morning. Richmond was very impressive - everyone looked seriously rich! We went for a lovely walk along the Thames and, as usual, looked in a few estate agent windows. You could not make this up but we saw 2 bedroomed flats to rent for £3,000 per month and a house to rent for £12,000 per month. I guess it's easier to find sponsors when that sort of money is floating around!
All in all a most enjoyable day out (save the rugby).
That was last week. The important thing now is to support the club on Saturday.
See you there.
