Canadian Soccer Part II

[Pouchkine]

The CFL is fine? I was a big fan of the league and now a lot less for different reasons. At the moment Montreal BC and Toronto are in real danger. Toronto have on average 5000 at the games while BC are back to the mid 90's empty stadium, the Alouettes have never been less popular since they are downtown. I'm in Montreal and at the moment the Alouettes could be gone and not many people would care.

Crowds while still good have dropped a lot in Edmonton and Calgary. Ratings are down. The League is closer to be down to 8 teams or less than 10 teams. People in general even in the United States are tired of the increased violence and game lenghts so even the NFL have ratings dropped and big attendance drops.

Yes they do in Europe and Asia but here it's the opposite people are USED to have the best leagues and all the best players, that's why it's tough for MLS.
The North American sport market is beyond saturated and you compete with the best.

 

[robertmac43]

The CFL is fine? I was a big fan of the league and now a lot less for different reasons. At the moment Montreal BC and Toronto are in real danger. Toronto have on average 5000 at the games while BC are back to the mid 90's empty stadium, the Alouettes have never been less popular since they are downtown. I'm in Montreal and at the moment the Alouettes could be gone and not many people would care.

Crowds while still good have dropped a lot in Edmonton and Calgary. Ratings are down. The League is closer to be down to 8 teams or less than 10 teams. People in general even in the United States are tired of the increased violence and game lenghts so even the NFL have ratings dropped and big attendance drops.

Yes they do in Europe and Asia but here it's the opposite people are USED to have the best leagues and all the best players, that's why it's tough for MLS.
The North American sport market is beyond saturated and you compete with the best.

I'm not worried yet. The Lions swing up and down in attendance and they are on a down swing, the Als are transitioning to a new ownership group that is looking to invest more in the team, and the Argos, well yeah that is a tad scary.... I got season seats to the Ticats and we are doing fine, people seem to renew year in and year out.

Have there been that noticeable of rating drops in the NFL? I thought they the NFL was still fine but youth numbers have dropped.

As tough as it has been and is for some MLS franchises the product is still decent and there are hardcore fans throughout NA that don't care too much about being the 15th-20th best league in the world.

 

[Pouchkine]

The Alouettes have no owner at the moment! I can tell you right now in Montreal we are back to what it was in 1996-1997.
The BC Lions you just have to look on twitter emptyseatspics the day of games and you will see at times there's barely 5k there.

The NFL is still fine but yes there has been a slight ratings drop and also attendance in many places but the money comes from tv so they don't have problems now for sure. The CFL also the level of play has dropped a lot, I remember 15 years ago or so there was a lot of great QB and WR now the games are often unwatchable. Hamilton and Ottawa are the two places where it's going great. Even Winnipeg has games with half empty stadium.

Yeah MLS is actually doing pretty decent in terms of attendance in about half the places but on TV it's a disaster. The level of play, bad broadcasts and league format with 14/24 in the playoffs isn't bringing in casual viewers.

 

[robertmac43]

The Alouettes have no owner at the moment! I can tell you right now in Montreal we are back to what it was in 1996-1997.
The BC Lions you just have to look on twitter emptyseatspics the day of games and you will see at times there's barely 5k there.

The NFL is still fine but yes there has been a slight ratings drop and also attendance in many places but the money comes from tv so they don't have problems now for sure. The CFL also the level of play has dropped a lot, I remember 15 years ago or so there was a lot of great QB and WR now the games are often unwatchable. Hamilton and Ottawa are the two places where it's going great. Even Winnipeg has games with half empty stadium.

Yeah MLS is actually doing pretty decent in terms of attendance in about half the places but on TV it's a disaster. The level of play, bad broadcasts and league format with 14/24 in the playoffs isn't bringing in casual viewers.

I know Guzzo buying the Als has been put on hold for now but their is still optimism he buys in. The league is full of ups and downs financially, it always seems to end up okay. The Qb roles has definitely had a rough go recently throughout the league but hey if it helps the Cats win a GC I'm fine with it :p

 

[robertmac43]

Can York9 FC succeed in Canada's most saturated sports market?

Well back to CPL stuff. I have been thinking in these early goings that York 9 may have a tough go when it comes to selling themselves to the community. This is an article on the subject.

 

[Pouchkine]

I know Guzzo buying the Als has been put on hold for now but their is still optimism he buys in. The league is full of ups and downs financially, it always seems to end up okay. The Qb roles has definitely had a rough go recently throughout the league but hey if it helps the Cats win a GC I'm fine with it :p

I agree about the ups and downs historically but now with soccer being so popular it changes the dynamics completely. Clearly in Toronto, Montreal and Vancouver the MLS teams are now much more popular than the CFL teams. I can see the CFL in 10-15 years being back to what the NHL was pre-67 expansion : 6 teams league!

 

[robertmac43]

I agree about the ups and downs historically but now with soccer being so popular it changes the dynamics completely. Clearly in Toronto, Montreal and Vancouver the MLS teams are now much more popular than the CFL teams. I can see the CFL in 10-15 years being back to what the NHL was pre-67 expansion : 6 teams league!

I can only imagine what would happen if Montreal ever get a baseball team back....That may be game over for the Als

 

[sabremike]

I can only imagine what would happen if Montreal ever get a baseball team back....That may be game over for the Als

The team becoming total garbage is what is killing them. They start competing for Grey Cups again and they would become a hot ticket again.

 

[sabremike]

Can York9 FC succeed in Canada's most saturated sports market?

Well back to CPL stuff. I have been thinking in these early goings that York 9 may have a tough go when it comes to selling themselves to the community. This is an article on the subject.

After reading about that complete fiasco on Saturday I'm all but certain they are one and done. Best case is someone buys the franchise and relocates them instead of them folding. Do you know what other cities could end up with teams in 2020?

 

[robertmac43]

After reading about that complete fiasco on Saturday I'm all but certain they are one and done. Best case is someone buys the franchise and relocates them instead of them folding. Do you know what other cities could end up with teams in 2020?

I think there are a lot of places where there have been slight discussion of expanding. I know Quebec and Montreal are both being talked about, Regina, Kingston, Kitchener-Waterloo, and maybe a team in Ottawa or the Fury moving leagues in some capacity.

I don't know what happens for next year but there are plenty of decent options out there

 

[Pouchkine]

The team becoming total garbage is what is killing them. They start competing for Grey Cups again and they would become a hot ticket again.

I don't think so the buzz is over in Montreal for the Alouettes. I don't know if the interview got out in english but Larry Smith admitted years ago that the team lied in terms of their attendance numbers to have money from the governments to help pay for the increase capacity.

Meaning when the team was great with Calvillo and we only had 20 202 of capacity often times there were hundreds of tickets still available.

That was before the Impact in MLS.

The Alouettes could be gone BEFORE the Expos come back if it happens.

 

[Pouchkine]

After reading about that complete fiasco on Saturday I'm all but certain they are one and done. Best case is someone buys the franchise and relocates them instead of them folding. Do you know what other cities could end up with teams in 2020?

This wouldn't be that bad for the league, it wasn't the best idea to put another team in the GTA.

If we have one here it will be in Laval not in Montreal. And to be honest I'm not sure it would work that well, maybe only Quebec.

 

[Pouchkine]

I think there are a lot of places where there have been slight discussion of expanding. I know Quebec and Montreal are both being talked about, Regina, Kingston, Kitchener-Waterloo, and maybe a team in Ottawa or the Fury moving leagues in some capacity.

I don't know what happens for next year but there are plenty of decent options out there

It's Laval not Montreal.

Ottawa should quit USL as fast as possible.

 

[robertmac43]

It's Laval not Montreal.

Ottawa should quit USL as fast as possible.

Long term the league also wants to be in Montreal, at least that is what Bunbury has alluded too. The league believes the city can sustain two teams.

 

[robertmac43]

Also I don't know how these expansions into Quebec will go over; I think Quebec City could work well and I would start there if I'm the league, but other than that it seems rather risky on their part.

 

[Pouchkine]

Long term the league also wants to be in Montreal, at least that is what Bunbury has alluded too. The league believes the city can sustain two teams.

But it's actually Laval. The team would be in Laval. I don't know why he says Montreal maybe it's because he thinks people in the rest of Canada don't know Laval but they actually have a bit more population than Quebec City. Zero chance of a second team on the island of Montreal.

 

[robertmac43]

But it's actually Laval. The team would be in Laval. I don't know why he says Montreal maybe it's because he thinks people in the rest of Canada don't know Laval but they actually have a bit more population than Quebec City. Zero chance of a second team on the island of Montreal.

Do you think a team could survive in Laval? Would soccer fans take the trip in to Montreal for the Impact or would they embrace having their own thing?

 

[sabremike]

I don't think so the buzz is over in Montreal for the Alouettes. I don't know if the interview got out in english but Larry Smith admitted years ago that the team lied in terms of their attendance numbers to have money from the governments to help pay for the increase capacity.

Meaning when the team was great with Calvillo and we only had 20 202 of capacity often times there were hundreds of tickets still available.

That was before the Impact in MLS.

The Alouettes could be gone BEFORE the Expos come back if it happens.

A very good friend of mine's nephew played for the team during that period and he's told me lots about it and I'd think he'd know what was happening.

 

[Pouchkine]

Do you think a team could survive in Laval? Would soccer fans take the trip in to Montreal for the Impact or would they embrace having their own thing?

I'm not sure really. Laval has never been a good sports city. At the same time soccer is really popular now and with the size of the city I think they could be ok with a decent small stadium. The Impact have lost a lot of prestige the last few years, fans were really behind the team at the beginning and with the Drogba signing and Champions League run but for some years now the ownership doesn't show any ambition and with the ticket prices increasing too much, I think people in Laval and it's surroundings could really be tempted to support a CanPL team of their own.

 

[Pouchkine]

A very good friend of mine's nephew played for the team during that period and he's told me lots about it and I'd think he'd know what was happening.

What do you mean?

I went to a lot of games for many years and yes it's true often times there was a lot of empty seats in a 20k stadium. It was fun though, downtown, tickets quite cheap, very good team, no Impact-MLS.

Now the team is bad, the prices have gone up, the Impact have taken a lot of sports fans away and to be honest the CFL as a whole is really declining in terms of excitement and the level of play.

It was always a league known for spectacular games, great offense now it lacks a lot of talent and the games are too long, young people don't care.

 

[robertmac43]

With that win it looks like Canada is almost sure to get the CONCACAF Champions League qualification spot. It's also huge for staying in contention for the spring league Title although Cavalry are looking like they may have it in the bag. I'm not sure it really matter which team wins the Spring, it seems pretty likely it will be Forge v Cavalry in the finals.

 

[sabremike]

"We're the Forge, the MIGHTY Forge, I just don't think you'd understand!!!!!"

 

[robertmac43]

 

[robertmac43]

FORGE FC TO WEAR BLACK & GOLD MACRON KIT JUNE 15 TO CELEBRATE HAMILTON’S PROUD SPORTING HISTORY – Forge FC

These are so nice! Fit the Hammer so well and they match the colours of the BTB!

 

[sabremike]

FORGE FC TO WEAR BLACK & GOLD MACRON KIT JUNE 15 TO CELEBRATE HAMILTON’S PROUD SPORTING HISTORY – Forge FC

These are so nice! Fit the Hammer so well and they match the colours of the BTB!

There's another $120 I'm going to be spending on the 15th!