Question for CIS/U-Sport Fans:

[robertmac43]

Just wondering what got people to become big fans of U-Sport hockey. Was it being an alumni to the school? playing for the team? Is your team the highest level of hockey in town? Etc etc.

What made you become a big fan and why? Just curious.

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[FreddyFoyle]

Watched university hockey with friends while a student. Quality and intensity of the hockey made me a fan ever since.

 

[dm8895]

Because I am not drawn in by all the gimmicks and promotions surrounding every other league of a similar caliber that would end up attracting casual sports fans. For $10 I can go watch teams that would clobber major junior teams, and depending on the location have the entire arena to myself pretty well.
Being a CIS fan is frustrating however , as no one really seems to grasp the caliber of the league, I have had people tell me that tier 2 Jr. A teams would smoke the average CIS team, or one person even try and compare it to Jr.B level hockey... I feel like even most of the people who follow it don’t get how good it is

 

[robertmac43]

Watched university hockey with friends while a student. Quality and intensity of the hockey made me a fan ever since.

I watched a couple of games over my time at UW. They were not the best team but my goodness thye played hard. A lot of hard hitting too

 

[robertmac43]

Being a CIS fan is frustrating however , as no one really seems to grasp the caliber of the league, I have had people tell me that tier 2 Jr. A teams would smoke the average CIS team, or one person even try and compare it to Jr.B level hockey... I feel like even most of the people who follow it don’t get how good it is

People who think that need to educate themselves more. I was curious about the level of play a year or so ago and started a thread comparing CHL and CIS teams. Definitely changed how I though about the level of play.

CIS team Verse CHL team:

 

[Drummer]

A lot of people look at university sports as the next step after high school, so it's average hockey - perceived as weaker or below Jr. A/B. Now, this maybe true for many of the sports in the Athletics Department, but not for hockey. Not a lot fans really know where the players have come from or the road they've travelled, so their lack of knowledge makes it hard for them to understand the caliber of the hockey USPORTS teams have.

The average first year player is 21, not 18. They've played top tier Maj. Jr. for 4-5 years (not Jr. A or Jr. B) and many have been drafted or played on Conference or Memorial Cup teams. Their good players, but with the hype and focus on Maj. Jr./Memorial Cup/Prospects/Rookies - they get overlooked, considered also-rans or washed out.

I like watching USPORTS because these are student-athletes playing a great game. No fights (well not many) an it's about playing a good honest hard game and mainly on the weekends. The Maj. Jr schedule is much longer with weekday games while each and every USPORTS game has an impact.

 

[AUS Fan]

People who live in places with Major Junior have seen Taylor Hall, Corey Perry, Nathan MacKinnon and others. They think the CIS players are "failures" because they aren't in the NHL. As stated above, people are sucked in by Jumbotrons, mascots, T-shirt cannons and all the hoopla that is part of the entertainment factor in CHL hockey.

Major Junior players are only known while they play for the team. After they leave, the fans find another "hero" to idolize. A prime example is Jody Shelly, who "walked on water" with the Halifax Mooseheads. When he finished his 5 years no one knew where he went. He went down the street to Dalhousie. Same thing with Billy Manley, Brandon Bennedict and many other ex-Mooseheads.

CIS hockey is very good amateur hockey. I would guess that several CIS teams could beat most CHL teams. I'm not going to list them, but you know what I'm saying.