I can finally write this. Thank you Leafs. Thank you Raptors. Thank you MLSE.
I started working there thinking that it would be an opportunity to do great work on cool brands. Mainly the Raptors. My wife got an awesome job in Toronto and I had to find work from New York. So I cold applied to MLSE. I didn't know anyone there, but I figured it was worth a shot.
I was there for five championships (TFC, 905, Marlies, Argos and Raptors). Full disclosure - I didn't have to do with any of them. That was all the front office, the players, the coaches, the analytics teams, the training staff and the GMs. They won their rings through hard work, determination, vision and strategy.
To sit at the feet of greatness and to hear from the people that made those decisions ... that was life changing. To hear how Kyle Dubas was willing to leverage the Marlies to experiment with things that were locked into tradition - like the five forward power play or individualized player development with Adam Brooks. Or to listen to Masai talk about being able to make a decision with the best information that you have in the moment and ignoring the noise. Small glimpses into the minds of these people allowed me to start to understand how they think. The mental models they use. How they made decisions.
I left having had the opportunity to lead three amazing marketing teams - (1) Raptors digital, (2) Leafs & Marlies marketing, and (3) Live & Lifestyle. The best part of it was watching the people on my team grow. Grow into smart strategists. Grow into strong leaders. Grow into good decision makers.
Seeing people move up with promotions they worked hard for was one of the most rewarding things that I experienced as a boss (or ex-boss, I guess). Being there to support team members battling through tough circumstances and see the them come out the other side stronger ... that sort of thing imbues a weird sort of paternal pride. Knowing that the confidence that you had in them, they now see in themselves. And having the teams you lead clean up at the awards shows ... well, that's always a cause for an ego boost and champagne celebrations. Or was it donuts? Probably both.
And there were bumps in the road. Structures to navigate. Relationships to build. Tough conversations to have. Real talk - who the fuck thought it was acceptable for an 8 second load time for a website? At my most exasperated, I remember having everyone in the meeting room sit in silence and watch the clock for the full time it took the website to load. Uncomfortable? Yes. Rude? Absolutely. But why would we expect our fans to do it if we wouldn't? It got fixed.
With every mistake, I strived to learn. Where the boundaries of the brand were. Where our fans needed us to lead them. How the process could improve. If we were really listening to what our partners wanted, or playing broken telephone. I remember the crash course in how an unrealistic narrative can be built from a couple of hand selected Tweets from anonymous fans on a slow day for sports news in Toronto.
People think that the value of MLSE is their brands - that they are able to build cultural artifacts so powerful that they lead conversations instead of following them. Or the people who buy tickets. Or the players they’re able to attract. Or the championships.
But it's really their fans. They legions of people that get whipped up into a frenzied obsession. It doesn't matter if you've been ride-or-die with the team for 20 years. Or if you've never seen the end of a game because your mom makes you go to bed before the 3rd period. That audience is the true value. They're the people who keep the lights on with their passion, demand championships and hold MLSE accountable.
I may be oversharing compared to what people normally talk about when they leave MLSE. But I had a great time there. I had some great bosses. I led amazing teams. I learned a lot. I wanted to share it. So sue me.
- Christian
PS. To read about where I landed, click here.