Edmonton Elks Thread

[oilers'72]

I’d sure love to hear the opinions of our current do-gooder about these companies and where we are with righting this unconscionable injustice.

Especially the ESKIMO acronym.

 

[bellagiobob]

I'm sure there are many knowledgeable football fans on here. However, it seems like most of the posts regarding the EEFC specifically, focus predominantly on the negative. More centered around what the CFL and the EEFC aren't, or what they used to be. That's a fine and valid discussion to have, but it seems like it's the only conversation.
For more detailed discussion regarding the team, I just prefer esksfans.

Not much positive going on with the league or team lately. I've been on esksfans many times, good site, but lots and lots of negative talk as well, which is understandable given the reality of the situation. Not that you're here, what do you think of our off season acquisitions, are there any of the US college recruits you think will surprise in camp, etc.

 

[Samus44]

I have had seasons tickets for my whole life and was at one point easily considered to be a hardcore fan that would spend into the thousands annually on Eskimo stuff.

I consider the name change a panic decision and a slap in the face to people that care about the team. Now I won't spend a nickel at the games other than tickets (if I even choose to continue with that). The way the whole thing was handled was embarrassing and they lost my money because of it. I promise you I'm not the only one.

The Eskimos hardcore fan demographic is old, white, blue collar and not fond of political correctness. The fanbase isn't old because young people were offended by the name (a laughable assumption), it's because younger people consider the product second rate when they compare it to the polished product of the NHL or NFL. Now the Eskimos have pissed off their bread and butter fanbase with this nonsense while young people are still not going to show up for the reasons I just described.

It's going to be an absolute failure and I'm honestly looking forward to watching it happen.

I don't know if I share your enthusiasm for any degree of failure, I do have some empathy for the Eskimos position, but I think you pretty much nailed it as did Drivesaitl. This wasn't an honest process and I think you're right that they suffer a great deal for it. I would expect merchandise sales in particular to be heavily damaged as most of us will continue to cheer for the team we thought this community, not Belair Direct or whoever the f*** else, owned. This was a public institution and now it's political debate nobody wanted because a very small vocal minority was offended and our corporate masters decided to step in for the good PR. I just can't believe these idiots on Social Media who celebrate and beg for the corporate world to provide moral guidance while they use a litany of devices, likely made by slaves/near slaves, that many of these same corporate bodies unethically produce or cooperate with. They only care about profit and these idiots want them to provide moral leadership (why is a whole other matter) so no wonder we're getting so f***ed up.

This was not a compassionate solution for the majority of people affected despite the false narrative it was about being compassionate to the Inuik and Natives most of whom weren't offended. The Eskimos were doing the right thing in engaging with these communities and it provided an opportunity for us to talk about things and get engaged in a real discussion. The sad truth is this will make it easier to just go back to ignoring them.

I wish this ideological nonsense would f*** off and people could talk like adults again without fear of being cancelled or offending. Now it's just some ideological war where truth is secondary to ego and convivence. All these idiots who came riding in on their high horses aren't going to give a f*** when the institution, that has been a boon in this community, is soon destroyed. I agree and I think this will be devastating.

 

[Drivesaitl]

The group of guys that post on this thread and the NFL thread are hard core football fans. Small in numbers, but very knowledgeable. Curious why if you don’t consider this a true fan site, with part time football fans, that you would all of a sudden make a flurry of posts.

Most of you know Esksfans more than I do but even in a 30minute latest check in (I lurk the board from time to time) I note that some of the same name change activists that post in favor of the name change were making the same identical posts here, and there, in typical spam the internet with their specific opinion. Topic only posters. they couldn't even be bothered to change the posts at all. Probably same things on reddit, twitter, etc. copy/paste

 

[Stoneman89]

I typically post on esksfans.com. For me that's more of a true fan site as opposed to this which seems like more Oiler fans and part time football fans.

But you have no problem coming on here and spouting your SJW and cancel culture views for all to see. This is first and foremost an Edmonton Football and CFL site, and with plenty of up to date and knowledgable football fans to discuss. There is plenty of discussion on here regarding ALL things Edmonton football team. How ironic that you choose to go to a site still using the old name that you find so outdated, useless and offensive. Let's see if you truly are a fan, and don't use lame excuses that you conveniently try to give now. You are appearing to be exactly what I thought you were. I hereby lump you in with Pickleboy and the other do-gooders that only come on here for flybys and one reason, and one reason only. And it's not to talk about the game of football or our players.

 

[SupremeTeam16]

I expect the name change to be a failure and I’ll bet anyone here that attendance numbers will suffer over the coming seasons. Of course the organization and proponents of the name change will grasp at excuses for poor attendance and merchandise sales.

Personally I had 4 season platinum level season seats that I had since 2014 that haven’t been renewed and my parents (dad was a die hard eskimos fan for 30+ years) had 4 seasons seats as well as a concourse suite that they continued to renew for two seasons even after selling their business which had been paying for it. Not renewing is for my family a direct result of the name change.

I actually know of several others who haven’t renewed because of the name change and I’ve had conversations with some of them about taking the money we would of spent on season tickets and putting it towards buying some billboards near the stadium (unaffiliated to the team) for the year and putting some Go Esks Go on them and possibly one to commemorate what would of been Dwayne Mandrusiaks 50th year with the team. We’ve been toying with some really funny ideas for some ways that fans can get their displeasure across to the organization.

 

[rboomercat90]

Seems like they should drop the Cleveland name as well while they're at it. Rebrand everything.

Cleveland is the country's 5th worst city to live in, study says | wkyc.com

Much worse to worry about in Cleveland than the name of a sports team.

edit. Nobody got the Cleveland joke. sigh. heh

Mistake by the lake?

 

[MoontoScott]

I expect the name change to be a failure and I’ll bet anyone here that attendance numbers will suffer over the coming seasons. Of course the organization and proponents of the name change will grasp at excuses for poor attendance and merchandise sales.

Personally I had 4 season platinum level season seats that I had since 2014 that haven’t been renewed and my parents (dad was a die hard eskimos fan for 30+ years) had 4 seasons seats as well as a concourse suite that they continued to renew for two seasons even after selling their business which had been paying for it. Not renewing is for my family a direct result of the name change.

I actually know of several others who haven’t renewed because of the name change and I’ve had conversations with some of them about taking the money we would of spent on season tickets and putting it towards buying some billboards near the stadium (unaffiliated to the team) for the year and putting some Go Esks Go on them and possibly one to commemorate what would of been Dwayne Mandrusiaks 50th year with the team. We’ve been toying with some really funny ideas for some ways that fans can get their displeasure across to the organization.

I would love to see the billboards but of course it won't happen.

I doubt they'd let you put it up and if it did go up then someone from Iveson's staff would simply call and have it taken down the same day. This is the power that they now enjoy in the city.

The real issue is partly about the Eskimos but it runs much deeper than that. The wokesters come on the thread and say that its just a "football name" so what's the big deal and state that anyone who supports the term "Eskimos" is old, cringeworthy and won't accept change of any kind. The cryptic message needs no translation for those who are experienced in life. I won't bother stating what it implies.

The real issue is do you and your friends have a right to free speech and your opinion on certain topics? Well certainly you do-- as long as your opinion of the Eskimo name is on the "correct" side of the ledger.

For anyone who wants to know where this is all headed I refer you to George Orwell's classic called "Animal Farm".

 

[K1984]

I would love to see the billboards but of course it won't happen.

I doubt they'd let you put it up and if it did go up then someone from Iveson's staff would simply call and have it taken down the same day. This is the power that they now enjoy in the city.

The real issue is partly about the Eskimos but it runs much deeper than that. The wokesters come on the thread and say that its just a "football name" so what's the big deal and state that anyone who supports the term "Eskimos" is old, cringeworthy and won't accept change of any kind. The cryptic message needs no translation for those who are experienced in life. I won't bother stating what it implies.

The real issue is do you and your friends have a right to free speech and your opinion on certain topics? Well certainly you do-- as long as your opinion of the Eskimo name is on the "correct" side of the ledger.

For anyone who wants to know where this is all headed I refer you to George Orwell's classic called "Animal Farm".

It's one of the worst parts about it. The name "Eskimos" isn't even close to a black and white "racist" team name, especially considering that the team uses no indigenous mascots and imagery. Outside of a few off colour cartoons from the 1960's, they never have. Honestly never even made the connection to indigenous people myself until this was brought up years ago and I laughed it off as ridiculous. The name to mean means cold, igloo, north - it has never at any point been about making mascots of people. The real mascot was a polar bear for Christ sakes.

The worst part is the woksters can't even engage in debate. It's either you're "tolerant" or you're "cringeworthy, racist, intolerant, etc." The fact that they can't even acknowledge or respect that there might be some grey area here is infuriating and tells you all you need to know about their intellectual depth.

The theatrics Matthew Iwanyk was putting on when the name was changed was nothing short of pathetic. He was literally losing it on anyone that dare present a different opinion. I sent him a DM at the time telling him to calm down and understand that some might have a different opinion on the topic.

 

[Stoneman89]

I think the name literally means "eaters of raw meat". Which one old timer Inuit said, "well, that's pretty much true." Wow, what a nasty insult. Germans were called "Krauts", after the love of eating sauerkraut.
And so ironic, that this organization was literally the first to break the colour barrier for black quarterbacks, bringing Warren Moon up here to play QB for us, at a time when no other team down south wanted him to play that position for them. The organization was so classy back then. What a fall from grace and a disgrace they've become on so many levels.

 

[MoontoScott]

‘The Muppet Show’ ‘Harmful’ Content Warning — Disney Plus Disclaimer | TVLine

 

[rboomercat90]

‘The Muppet Show’ ‘Harmful’ Content Warning — Disney Plus Disclaimer | TVLine

I was sure they were talking about the portrayal of the Swedish chef. No mention of him at all.

 

[MoontoScott]

I was sure they were talking about the portrayal of the Swedish chef. No mention of him at all.

I think he's coaching in Bakersfield now.

 

[bone]

I wonder if you out your same PC opinions on Eskfans saying that the name is toxic and such, unmarketable, on a board named after the Eskimos. .

seems unlikely and your opinion would be viewed with even more circumspection over there.

Seems like the only "fans" on "Esksfans" that purportedly like the change are only posting primarily on that one topic.

I'm a long time poster on Esksfans, and frankly the old name isn't even a major topic of conversation anymore. Most on there hated the idea whenever it used to come up, but on this last go around in the middle of losing a season and longterm concern for the league itself, a large percentage came to accept the inevitability and just wanted to move on.

There's still a few "I'll never support the team types" over there, but most of them aren't contributing much anymore as they are following through on that promise. The rest of us seem to be looking forward to the future, not liking the new name suggestions as much as the old name, but just wanting to get back out to the stadium to watch some games.

So in that vein if he posted the same comments, and I am familiar with his posts there which are usually pretty positive, I don't think it would stir up very much anymore as it's kind of like old news now.

 

[Drivesaitl]

I'm a long time poster on Esksfans, and frankly the old name isn't even a major topic of conversation anymore. Most on there hated the idea whenever it used to come up, but on this last go around in the middle of losing a season and longterm concern for the league itself, a large percentage came to accept the inevitability and just wanted to move on.

There's still a few "I'll never support the team types" over there, but most of them aren't contributing much anymore as they are following through on that promise. The rest of us seem to be looking forward to the future, not liking the new name suggestions as much as the old name, but just wanting to get back out to the stadium to watch some games.

So in that vein if he posted the same comments, and I am familiar with his posts there which are usually pretty positive, I don't think it would stir up very much anymore as it's kind of like old news now.

Thanks for the reply. A disclosure. I spent more than 30mins reading that thread on Esksfans. Over time I've probably read the whole thread over there as well as stopping in on other threads and lurking from time to time. I don't post on Esksfans because I'm not a "knowledgeable" football fan compared to some of you diehards. Not being flippant with that, some people know so much about the game they could coach it. I'm more knowledgeable on hockey. I love football but some of the nuances would escape me. Its apparent that most people in this thread understand the game better than I do.

This part I do know about, dynamics. It would be different on Esksfans for the reasons you mentioned. The nays have left the building, only the yays remain. I mean its a one topic board. Ironically still named after Eskimos. As such one can't make any claim that people have moved on, or what proportion have or haven't, or if it remains an issue. A cross topic board like this, or reddit, etc, would reflect whether that is the case. Polls would reflect if that is the case. I sense we're not disagreeing, just clarifying a little. The comments contained herein, on this board, reflect that people are not OK with the name change, and resolutely so.

 

[bone]

Thanks for the reply. A disclosure. I spent more than 30mins reading that thread on Esksfans. Over time I've probably read the whole thread over there as well as stopping in on other threads and lurking from time to time. I don't post on Esksfans because I'm not a "knowledgeable" football fan compared to some of you diehards. Not being flippant with that, some people know so much about the game they could coach it. I'm more knowledgeable on hockey. I love football but some of the nuances would escape me. Its apparent that most people in this thread understand the game better than I do.

This part I do know about, dynamics. It would be different on Esksfans for the reasons you mentioned. The nays have left the building, only the yays remain. I mean its a one topic board. Ironically still named after Eskimos. As such one can't make any claim that people have moved on, or what proportion have or haven't, or if it remains an issue. A cross topic board like this, or reddit, etc, would reflect whether that is the case. Polls would reflect if that is the case. I sense we're not disagreeing, just clarifying a little. The comments contained herein, on this board, reflect that people are not OK with the name change, and resolutely so.

For the name of the board. Of course the name hasn't changed, it's privately ran and paid for by a fan. To change the name to something generic, only to change it again when the final name is settled would be silly as it would cost him unnecessary money. The owner has already said they'll look at renaming once a name has been picked by the team.

The comment on dynamics is fair and it is currently compounded by the fact we haven't played a single game in 16 months now the activity is naturally a little slower than typical except for the most ardent fans, so the Yays are probably even more prevalent now than usual. But the point I was trying to make was in response to your challenge about whether they'd post the same there. My thoughts are that on that board, it wouldn't really be relevent anymore.

 

[Drivesaitl]

For the name of the board. Of course the name hasn't changed, it's privately ran and paid for by a fan. To change the name to something generic, only to change it again when the final name is settled would be silly as it would cost him unnecessary money. The owner has already said they'll look at renaming once a name has been picked by the team.

The comment on dynamics is fair and it is currently compounded by the fact we haven't played a single game in 16 months now the activity is naturally a little slower than typical except for the most ardent fans. But the point I was trying to make was in response to your challenge about whether they'd post the same there. My thoughts are that on that board, it wouldn't really be relevent anymore.

Yep. I meant no slight at all to that board. I was speaking to the irony of the Eskimos name change, I probably could have worded that better. yeah, what a headache it is for all supporters, clubs, boards etc to have to change names, signs, whatever, and eat some expense just because of this unrequired change. its a cost seldom talked about. Similarly anytime City Council wants to change the speed limits (often enough) theres the expense of changing all the signage changes and which can also be all for not as the next council may decide on re-instilling past limits. WE should bring back edsels or model T's again, they'd do fine with these speed limits. Maybe horse carriages and real horse power.. Pretty soon bicycles will be faster. ( got sidetracked)

I mention this because there is a particular zeal in the wind now to change so many things, so many names. Speciously by those who do not pay for , or have investment in those changes.

 

[bellagiobob]

Nice.

 

[Stoneman89]

Wonder if he needs a booster seat?

 

[Valhallis]

Holy Flutie Flakes, Batman!!

 

[oilers'72]

Wonder if he needs a booster seat?

How about an atomic generated heater, so he doesn't freeze up.

 

[Drivesaitl]

Nice.

This seems identical to the circa Adam West era Batman TV series. Saw one of these at JP IGA parking lot (they had the car on tour) around 1969. Think it appeared at K-days as well. several of these existed, I forget how many. roughly half a dozen, some others that have been after the fact customized out of Thunderbird base, which was a neat car in itself.

 

[Stoneman89]

This seems identical to the circa Adam West era Batman TV series. Saw one of these at JP IGA parking lot (they had the car on tour) around 1969. Think it appeared at K-days as well. several of these existed, I forget how many. roughly half a dozen, some others that have been after the fact customized out of Thunderbird base, which was a neat car in itself.

But you have to have the costume getup to make it work, otherwise, fa-get-it! And you also need another guy in stretch tights to sit beside you.

 

[MoontoScott]

Nice.

I have a model replica of the Batmobile at 1:18 scale--super sweet, manufactured by "Hot Wheels".

 

[bellagiobob]