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Joe McFarland Profile picture
@JoeMcFarland
Sep 17, 2020 • 11 tweets • 6 min read • Read on X
As discussed on the new @ABDugoutStories podcast, I find the future of live, in-person sports to be fascinating heading into the future. As someone at the forefront of sports in #yyc hosting with @calstampeders & @WHLHitmen, it will be a challenge. #RandomJoeThoughts
It isn't just going to be a challenge to convince fans to come back to their favourite barns to be shoulder-to-shoulder with strangers in a post-#COVID19 world. That is only going to be one aspect of it. The other is very consumer-centric. #sports
In my mind, it's not enough to just lean on the sport itself to drive fans back to the stands. Sure, some fans are there for the baseball or hockey or football. But I would argue most fans are there for the experience. Will they walk away saying "that was a great time"? #sports
Are they going to want to come back? Were they really immersed in the game & the contests & everything or will they look back on it & think it would have been better to spend the time at a movie or mini-golf course or home with Netflix? #sports
Because let's be honest here: many people are going to be hurting for cash. The expendable income they have for "fun" is going to be spread thin & #sports will be lumped in with movies, etc. So what are organizations going to do to get those fans back?
Yeah, there will be a novelty aspect to getting back in the stands & cheering for the local team. But I think this break is allowing many fans to reimagine how their money is being spent & I think some have realized they don't NEED to be at games all the time. #sports
And if it is costing $500 (or more) for a family of 4 to go out for a night to watch their favourite team, they are going to think twice. So what are teams & leagues dreaming up to convince those fans that the wait will be worth it? Or are they going back to the old well?
This is something I noticed even before #COVID19 hit. Fans (especially in #yyc) were shying away from their local teams. Not because they wanted to stop cheering, but because of the economy & overall cost. It will be worse next season. So planning better be underway.
I honestly can't wait to get back on mic & #MakeSomeNoise. However, I am concerned that fans won't be as excited. We gotta think outside the box to get fans back & keep them. Even I am thinking about how I will have to change my approach a bit. #sports
I'm not sure how that will look or sound, but when I turn the mic on, I want fans to be excited. I want them to laugh or cheer or be engaged. But I also don't want my "act" to be stale. I want fans to come back & say "that was cool." It's an opportunity & challenge I welcome.
Anyways, that does it for this lengthy thread. But I do believe #sports will be different. That doesn't mean it has to be bad. It's an opportunity for us to do those things that maybe we wanted to, but were scared to rock the boat. Let's go! Let's do it! TTFN! #MakeSomeNoise

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More from @JoeMcFarland

Joe McFarland Profile picture
Apr 6, 2022
It's been a while since I've gone on a lengthy Twitter 🧵 about #ABleg & #education, but I've been thinking a lot about the debate about the new curriculum & certain pundits who believe our kids' grades in English language arts are cratering. Before I begin, lemme preface...
...that yes, my wife is a teacher. But that doesn't preclude me from being able to articulate my opinion, which is based off my own life experiences + what I hear from her + what I've witnessed in her classroom as a volunteer in the pre-COVID days. Okay...here we go. #ABleg
Something that has bothered me about the select few who are trying to treat our illiteracy issues as a "curriculum" issue are either being wilfully ignorant or are being misleading. Does that mean the curriculum shouldn't change? Of course not. But it's not the silver bullet.
Read 16 tweets
Joe McFarland Profile picture
Mar 4, 2022
It's been a while since I've written an #ABleg 🧵. To be honest, I've just grown tired of it all. After a while, it starts to feel like yelling into the abyss. Realistically, it's all noise in what's become a really noisy space, where nuance & reason are foreign ideas. #Alberta
That being said, I did wanna put pen to paper on something that I've been thinking a lot about lately. I hate that we've reached the point where it feels like we're cheering against ourselves. Even when good news comes, it feels like it's bad. And that's not healthy. #ABleg
This has been going on for a while. I remember how Alison Redford could say the sky was blue & Danielle Smith would hold a news conference to say the sky was red. That's how ridiculous the divide in this province seemed to be. It continued with the NDP & now continues with UCP.
Read 13 tweets
Joe McFarland Profile picture
Aug 3, 2021
Looking back, 7 different people sat in #Alberta's highest office while I was in radio (Klein, Stelmach, Redford, Hancock, Prentice, Notley, Kenney). Interviewed all but one while they were in that office (Kenney, despite numerous attempts). Also interviewed numerous opposition.
I don't recall a time where a leader, a cabinet & a party had such contempt for anyone who wasn't an active cheerleader for them. I don't recall a time where asking tough questions of a leader or cabinet minster led to demonization of any member of media. #ABleg
I also don't recall a time where so many backroom people within government acted like children. Granted, never before has social media been used like it is. But can you imagine Rod Love taking to Twitter to troll Albertans who didn't agree with Ralph's decisions? #ABleg
Read 5 tweets
Joe McFarland Profile picture
May 27, 2021
Time for another patented #ABleg thread from yours truly. I went down a bit of a rabbit hole this morning, as it irritates me that @jkenney & @AdrianaLaGrange are painting people who aren't in favour of their proposed curriculum as "leftist activists." This isn't about politics.
This is about what my child will have to learn in a few years if this curriculum is implemented. As a parent, I have wanted to do my research because, at some point, I will be asked to help my child with their homework. So I went down a rabbit hole. #ABleg
If you head to the province's curriculum website, you can sort each subject by grade. Then each outcome is sorted by "knowledge", "understanding" & "skills & procedures." The latter is essentially what each child is expected to be able to do by the end of the year. #ABleg
Read 16 tweets
Joe McFarland Profile picture
Dec 29, 2020
Time for another one of my patented threads on #education in #Alberta. I couldn't let this one from @DavidStaplesYEG go unchecked. I know he tries to carry water for @jkenney but this one misses a lot of key points. Here we go... #ABleg edmontonjournal.com/opinion/column…
I don't know what it is but there seems to be a belief that if we could only slay the beast known as "discovery math", all will be good in the world. For anyone who has actually been in a classroom in the last decade, they know its more complex than that. #ABleg #education
Full disclosure (again because people tend to claim I have some sort of hidden agenda): my wife is a grade 3 teacher. I volunteer in her school fairly often. I've also covered education as a reporter & I'm a product of small town public schools. So I have observations & opinions.
Read 22 tweets
Joe McFarland Profile picture
Oct 26, 2020
Alrighty, my friends, time for another world-famous #JoeTwitterThread. I wanna give a little more background on this #ABleg curriculum review & rewrite. Firstly, yes my wife is a teacher. I volunteered in her classroom often & have seen all of the work her kids do. #Education
Secondly, I have a son who will be entering the system in a few short years. So yeah, I have pecuniary interests in how this all shakes down. Thirdly, I spent a lot of time reporting on #education issues in this province as a reporter & news director. And there's a fourthly...
And that is I have been involved in #education myself. A few years ago, I approached @JoyBowenEyre to get a pilot program going, aimed at teaching kids about game-day presentation, sports & public speaking. I ended up running it for 2 years before taking a break. #ABleg
Read 20 tweets

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