Elks: Edmonton Eskimo Thread: 2018 Edition

[Drivesaitl]

CFL as a whole needs to be better IMO. Even here, our attendance just isn't what it use to be.

There was talk a couple years ago about targeting the Punjabi community much like the NHL and CBC did.

Where is that now? We need to target new Canadians and show them why we love the sports we do. The fact is the old Canadians just aren't paying attention like they use to and you need to supplement that.

Toronto could use their other teams to their advantage like you said. Would be interesting to see if that worked.

Pretty sure I'd mentioned it before because several of my neighbors will watch hockey, and mostly due to the telecasts, and have no familiarity with football. But also they are very familiar with Field hockey and so that Ice Hockey is already a sporting concept they innately understand and India and Pakistan are good at Field Hockey. They have no sporting parallel for football and thus a harder game to grasp or get interested in.

The converse being how many of us figure out what cricket is about? That's how huge a gap of understanding there is. Most of us will go through our whole lives without grasping or liking cricket. For Punjabi community, or Sikh community North American Football would be similarly confounding. There is no inate reason they would be attracted to it.

 

[joestevens29]

So you just give up on it?

As for Cricket if people actually watched it they probably could pick up on it.

 

[Drivesaitl]

So you just give up on it?

As for Cricket if people actually watched it they probably could pick up on it.

What I'm saying is fair. Getting ethnicities with no familiarity or interest in football is probably not going to work well. Hockey was a much different thing because of the incumbent familiarity with field hockey, which is a similar concept game played on a field. Ice Hockey would be very attractive to people familiar with field hockey because its fast, exciting, and a variant. Football would offer none of that. Its why North American football has really not spread too much in the world.

Trust me my neighbors have often tried to get me to watch Cricket, I'm pleasant about it, have a cider, try to get into it but its impossible for someone that doesn't even like baseball as a game. I could watch hours and understand next to nothing about the game. Primarily because I don't like the game and don't have the motivation to want to follow it. Cricket will remain mysterious for the rest of my life and I'm fine with that. I hear many people state that at about North American Football.

 

[MoontoScott]

So you just give up on it?

As for Cricket if people actually watched it they probably could pick up on it.

The only crickets I ever loved were the ones who played with Buddy Holly.

 

[rboomercat90]

Just figured I'd mention Toronto FC winning the MLS is going to be bad news for the Argos. They were already far behind in popularity and now the Soccer club has been even more entrenched in Toronto Hearts. So that Hockey, Basketball, Soccer, are miles ahead of the CFL in Toronto and with the Argos just playing the role of the ugly red head stepsister in the Toronto FC barn. They've basically gone from irrelevant to also ran with the Toronto FC win.

Although I always felt the move to BMO was misguided. The one thing the Argos had going for them in Skydome is at least playing in a stadium that was big league.

The Argos dropped below Toronto FC a while ago and it isn’t even close. That team has developed a cult following now. Just by watching their games on tv you can see it. Their games have become an event and there’s all kind of atmosphere in the stadium. BMO field sold out two straight MLS championship games while the CFL couldn’t give tickets away to the Grey Cup game there. Not sure if anybody can turn things around for the league in Toronto but if anybody can it’s MLSE. It’ll be interesting to see what they do.

 

[Stoneman89]

Have to think the signing of Gable will have some serious implications for John White. The organization may be tiring of having him on the IR all the time. Really good RB when he's healthy but he just can't seem to manage that.

 

[guymez]

The only crickets I ever loved were the ones who played with Buddy Holly.

Wow man...you go waaay back. I knew about Buddy Holly but had no idea there were crickets...lol

 

[MoneyGuy]

The only crickets I ever loved were the ones who played with Buddy Holly.

That makes more sense when you capitalize Crickets.

 

[MoontoScott]

Wow man...you go waaay back. I knew about Buddy Holly but had no idea there were crickets...lol

Ha, well before my time but what a genius song writer he was. I often wonder what he would have done if he had lived past 22. The Beatles emulated him and took the name of some bugs as well although they dropped one of the e's and picked up an a for their name. Lennon in particular loved Holly. The boys from Liverpool did several covers of Holly originals on their albums. Holly was the one of the first guys to be songwriter-singer-guitarist and producer on his albums. Previous to that no one produced their own albums. Maas could have used a guy like Holly as a spotter because he didn't miss anything.

The band originally took the name Crickets because on the playback they heard a sound that they couldn't identify although it was also a sound that they liked. It turned out to be a cricket in Buddy's garage that was near the drums. Check out the Buddy Holly story on DVD, its a great movie.

 

[MoontoScott]

That makes more sense when you capitalize Crickets.

It already makes good sense, its a pun.

 

[MoneyGuy]

Yeah I'm aware it's a pun.

 

[joestevens29]

The one thing that baffles me after listening to 1260 yesterday is the lack of media availability from the stars of the league. Yesterday there was a ton of interviews done via phone. Tonight they'll probably have Larry Fitzgerald and Brady on the show.

Why doesn't the CFL start forcing the players to become more available?

Knowing who the players are is only going to help.

 

[Drivesaitl]

The one thing that baffles me after listening to 1260 yesterday is the lack of media availability from the stars of the league. Yesterday there was a ton of interviews done via phone. Tonight they'll probably have Larry Fitzgerald and Brady on the show.

Why doesn't the CFL start forcing the players to become more available?

Knowing who the players are is only going to help.

How do you force players that aren't even in the country to be available in the offseason for some reason on some radio show. Who even listens to radio these days? Do the ratings justify someone needing to show up? This isn't hockey where most of the players are Canadians and live locally. Few of the league internationals actually live in Canada. Hardly any of the Eskimos internationals live here in the offseason.

Availability isn't really the issue anyway. tbh even as an Esks fan my focus on the CFL from December to spring is virtually nil. Hockey and other sports take focus, CFL hibernates, and my interest in it does in the absence of games. Even if I happened to be a radio listener I wouldn't be that much interested in CFL news in an offseason.

 

[Drivesaitl]

Further, knowing who the players are isn't that swaying either. If I'm being honest knowing who the refs are, and knowing who Rhodes Scholar is keeps me away more than anything. Its the reason I stopped going to games is the management of this franchise under Rhodes is so awful, and the CFL officiating is asinine. I simply have little desire to go to games just to be pissed off seeing incompetence preventing good players from excelling. Add Maas making decisions to that and its a hard sell to maintain interest.

Of course the Grey Cup is here so that will entice, and of course I'll be around but I have less faith the Esks will win it. I thought that this season was their year.

I only mention my own take because I'm probably not atypical. A lot of people increasingly think the CFL is a joke. After a lifetime of following the league I'm veering in that direction.

 

[Tobias Kahun]

How do you force players that aren't even in the country to be available in the offseason for some reason on some radio show. Who even listens to radio these days? Do the ratings justify someone needing to show up? This isn't hockey where most of the players are Canadians and live locally. Few of the league internationals actually live in Canada. Hardly any of the Eskimos internationals live here in the offseason.

Availability isn't really the issue anyway. tbh even as an Esks fan my focus on the CFL from December to spring is virtually nil. Hockey and other sports take focus, CFL hibernates, and my interest in it does in the absence of games. Even if I happened to be a radio listener I wouldn't be that much interested in CFL news in an offseason.

Most radio interviews are done via phone, so it doesn’t matter where they live

 

[joestevens29]

Most radio interviews are done via phone, so it doesn’t matter where they live

That and it's more about getting to them during the year.

 

[joestevens29]

How do you force players that aren't even in the country to be available in the offseason for some reason on some radio show. Who even listens to radio these days? Do the ratings justify someone needing to show up? This isn't hockey where most of the players are Canadians and live locally. Few of the league internationals actually live in Canada. Hardly any of the Eskimos internationals live here in the offseason.

Availability isn't really the issue anyway. tbh even as an Esks fan my focus on the CFL from December to spring is virtually nil. Hockey and other sports take focus, CFL hibernates, and my interest in it does in the absence of games. Even if I happened to be a radio listener I wouldn't be that much interested in CFL news in an offseason.

Has nothing to do with the off-season. It's in season.

You sure have all the answers yet zero opinions of your own on how to make a dying league better.

 

[Drivesaitl]

Most radio interviews are done via phone, so it doesn’t matter where they live

Why do radio interviews matter at all? Do people really listen to offseason CFL interviews from any player during hockey season here?

That said I never even listen to radio. Or sports programs of any sort. I only pay attention to the actual games. The rest is just some attempt at ratings.

 

[Drivesaitl]

Has nothing to do with the off-season. It's in season.

You sure have all the answers yet zero opinions of your own on how to make a dying league better.

I've stated them often. Improve officiating, get rid of stupid challenges and reviews, just automatic reviews on TD's and such.

One division, not two, and so that the teams earn playoff spots as per place. Not just backing in to Grey Cups in the East while doing next to nothing all season.

On a more local level revamp the pathetic Esks Board, management, and stop ridding this org of quality people like Hervey.

Jones and Hervey are competent, and not too curiously were the ones to lead the club to a GC W.

Who in coaching or management in this org is competent now? Anybody?

 

[rboomercat90]

More certainly needs to be done in season to let the fans know who the players are. In a transient league like the CFL is, it’s hard to have a connection with them unless the organization and or media is making them available in some form. Fans will care more about the team if they care about the players. I haven’t bought an Edmonton Sun in years so I don’t know if they still do this but during the season they’d have an Eskimos pullout every week. In that pullout there was a page long bio of a different player. One of the first players I ever read about in there was Fred Stamps back when he was a first year Eskimo. It talked about his background, what his goals surrounding the team were, etc. It turned me into a fan of his. Reading those player bios was one of my favourite things about game week. Again, not sure if the Sun or Journal still runs these but this is something the league needs to be doing more of.

 

[joestevens29]

Why do radio interviews matter at all? Do people really listen to offseason CFL interviews from any player during hockey season here?

That said I never even listen to radio. Or sports programs of any sort. I only pay attention to the actual games. The rest is just some attempt at ratings.

It's one way to get to the people considering the CFL seems to be against any sort of social media. You know what the rest of the sports world allows it's players to use, to help promote themselves and the game.

 

[Cloned]

I've stated them often. Improve officiating, get rid of stupid challenges and reviews, just automatic reviews on TD's and such.

One division, not two, and so that the teams earn playoff spots as per place. Not just backing in to Grey Cups in the East while doing next to nothing all season.

On a more local level revamp the pathetic Esks Board, management, and stop ridding this org of quality people like Hervey.

Jones and Hervey are competent, and not too curiously were the ones to lead the club to a GC W.

Who in coaching or management in this org is competent now? Anybody?

I think Sunderland is competent, but doesn't have full control/autonomy. Maas and Rhodes can GTFO though.

 

[samiam]

Don't mean to be insensitive, but could the fact that Rhodes was diagnosed with cancer be the reason why the Esks may be dragging their heels on canning this clown?

 

[MoneyGuy]

^That has nothing to do with it.

Rick Lelacheur is the new Lions president.

Lions appoint former Eskimo boss Rick LeLacheur as the team's new president. - CFL.ca

 

[Cloned]

^That has nothing to do with it.

Rick Lelacheur is the new Lions president.

Lions appoint former Eskimo boss Rick LeLacheur as the team's new president. - CFL.ca

They followed up a decent move (hiring Hervey) with a questionable one.

Will be interesting to follow.

That said, outside of Hufnagel, there aren't really any standout organizational leaders in the CFL right now.