Doncaster Rovers FC - MORE THAN A CLUB

[DMnumber4]

It’s amazing to see the global swathes of responses to Rovers ‘signing’ One Direction band member Louis Tomlinson in support of Bluebell Wood hospice.

I posted on another thread that I “liked the idea and was full behind it, though the timing was atrocious.”

I was wrong.

I LOVE the idea and the timing was brilliant; on Sky Sports, on the eve of the new football season – what better talking point?

Yes, people (myself included) are worried about the affairs with regards to investment and a distinct lack of signings, it has left a few of us fearing the worst in what will be a monumentally tough Championship season.

BUT, BUT, BUT...

What Rovers did on Thursday took guts, courage and a bit of innovation. The reactions of the ‘footballing world’ were a mixed bag, and it’s because the club is prepared to do these sorts of things which other clubs dare not do, and other clubs could only dream of.

Sports aside from football (someone mentioned rugby league on another thread – great example) have evolved as a great way of raising awareness and profiles – Sheffield Eagles wore a kit aimed at stamping out homophobia in light of the taunts aimed at former Welsh star Gareth Thomas on what was LGBT weekend. No one batted an eyelid of negativity.

It’s time to evolve the demographic of 16-50 year old white males and embrace other people. Let’s educate the world on the history of our proud club, which approaches the age of 135 years.
And I, for one am very proud, perhaps more so than I’ve ever been to say, “Yes, I support Doncaster Rovers. Yes we have signed a member of One Direction, but it’s for a great cause.”

Rovers, and Louis have thought outside the box on this one – well done to both.

For every One Direction fan and every football fan from Bentley to Brazil, male or female, black or white, young or old, welcome to Doncaster Rovers FC.

    

[RobTheRover]

Cracking post, Tom.

[RedJ]

Fully agree with that. It feels a lot like a family too more than anything, including the d**khead distant relatives you wish weren't around

Fantastic post. I say if anyone wants to become a fan, then let em, regardless of the reason.

[ponte_ricky]

Not a bad idea at all really. Great PR and puts rovers on the map. Hes in the biggest boy band in the world. Think of the tshirt sales.

I just hope he isnt actually playing right?

[Ian H]

A couple of months ago I asked who Louis Tomlinson was - can I say that I still can't identify his music?

The Bluebell Wood charity thing is great publicity for them & DRFC - Twitter was mental about it - stupidly there were some "fans" complaining.

I hope the shirt manufacturers are ready - and I hope I see the Red & white hoops with "28 Tomlinson" everywhere - 'cos it's got to be better than seeing kids in the local park with "10 Messi" on their backs.

Good Job - Louis Tomlinson & DRFC.

[jonnydog]

Aye, good post

[graingrover]

 exellent post .. both short term financial gains and further entrenchement of  the strategy of building our Commuity friendly club.

[Metalmicky]

Spot on - positive PR is priceless and if it does some good for a worthwhile charity at the same time then brilliant.

[IDM]

Not a bad idea at all really. Great PR and puts rovers on the map. Hes in the biggest boy band in the world. Think of the tshirt sales.

I just hope he isnt actually playing right?

He may get one appearance with the development squad/reserves.  He will NOT be part lf the first team - this is a myth that many folks are picking up on and ignoring the real reason for this ie the charity work.

[bedale rover]

Someone once said (Sam Goldwyn?) "There is no such thing as bad publicity"

Fits to a tee

[dodge]

My first reaction was "iv just been sick in my mouth" and i was abit, cringeworthy stuff on ssn. Now the dust has settled i can see the bigger picture. Yes the hardcore football world is sniggering at us but the rest of the world thinks good on ya. I have a friend with a badly disabled son who has been with bluebell wood for ever so i know the good it does. My friend had no intrest in football until a few years back until he got some free tickets for rovers from bluebell wood to take his disabled son and family. Totaly and hopelesly addicted now, season tickets for him and his other son so it even works both ways. Anyway JR has worked his pr magic and got everyone talking about our beloved Rovers again

[BigKeif]

At first I didn't know what to make of it but then seeing him put a tweet saying who is going to come watch him play and seeing over 40,000 retweets say's it al plus it is for a good cause so fully behind it.

[Mike_F]

I spent an hour or so trawling the other Championship fora last night and on the most part they were saying what a clever stunt it was. There were a few digs and "tinpot" accusations but every one I saw was followed by someone saying what a fantastic charity it's helping and then the consensus was "fair enough, good work then".

[natetherover]

It was a masterstroke from all involved. The timing was sublime exploiting the SSN push on the whole 92Live feature.

I can't imagine, if it was announced via a web article on DROS, it could have even snowballed into the frenzy it is currently, or had the impact it has had so far.

[chrisd_123]

I've seen a lot of negative comments about it, mainly for 15 year old's on Twitter who have no idea what the meaning behind it is and just love mocking other clubs than their own.

However, Well done Rovers. Yesterday was a so called "historic" day on SSN so why not make something of it, I'm sure they loved it! All the positives have already been covered by many on here and they all should raise the profile of the club no end worldwide, but most importantly the charity too.

The overall explosion should die down soon, probably on Saturday when the fans of other clubs realise they're clubs aren't as perfect as they like to make out and then most of them should see what this is all about.

As for the "tinpot" comments. I may be being stupid here but I still have no idea what this is actually suppose to mean! I hear it so many times banded about but have no idea how it's supposed to be an insult 

[Mr1Croft]

It was a masterstroke from all involved. The timing was sublime exploiting the SSN push on the whole 92Live feature.

I can't imagine, if it was announced via a web article on DROS, it could have even snowballed into the frenzy it is currently, or had the impact it has had so far.

Exactly, the marketing and media team have come under scrutiny by many fans in the past but for this they deserve credit!