Sports in Canadian culture - Page 55

Runt · #**1081** Posted **Mar 10, 2014, 6:00 PM**

Esquire....

Ya Hemmings was the best...lol. The guys he brought in from Toronto and the US,
well let's just say they made a impression on us Jr High kids who followed them.
I can't remember if it was U of M or UW that was pissed at his recruitment skills.

My problem with Hemmings was if you were FROM Brandon then you weren't good
enough for his teams.
2 Players from my high school went on to play for U of M and U of C out west and were starters.
2 guys from the rival school in town went to U of M and UW... the one player now coaches one of the best high school teams in Wpg (Garden City).

Volleyball seems to have taken over BU recently.

elly63 · #**1082** Posted **Mar 10, 2014, 6:09 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by middeljohn

Hmm, never heard of him.

Yeah, that seems to be a problem with the younger set, posting without knowing their history. It's like the pro wrestling fans thinking it all began with Hulk Hogan.

No offense intended.

esquire · #**1083** Posted **Mar 10, 2014, 6:22 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by middeljohn

On to another topic, another indication of basketball being more popular than hockey among Toronto's immigrants is reflected by Raptors Republic, a Raptor fan site run almost exclusively by immigrants.

Basketball is definitely an international game, far more so than hockey, football and baseball. I'm guessing that many immigrant kids would already be familiar with basketball upon arriving in Canada.

Antigonish · #**1084** Posted **Mar 10, 2014, 7:00 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by Runt

Isaidso...

Always loved the atmosphere in the Metro Centre. Followed Brandon back in the
80's and I thought they were supported well. Gym was packed for every game (800-1000). I always thought if the school could have been larger...say 10,000 students, and Brandon had 80,000 to 100,000 pop- they would have easily filled the Keystone (6000? seats for hoops).

Did you travel to Halifax for the 2000 & 2001 championships? Those were some of my fondest memories of college hoops. Brandon were one of the top basketball teams in the country then, but the good guys came out on top both years

I seem to remember Lethbridge had a great basketball team around the same time. Whatever happened to these programs these days?

Runt · #**1085** Posted **Mar 10, 2014, 7:58 PM**

Antigonish..

I remember UVic being the powerhouse.
I only went once 87-88 Championship (Halifax) and was blown away at the support
and the city(great pub scene, which is nonexistent in Brandon).

As for what happened to the teams...I would say the east got smart and started
keeping their kids at home...It was no secret why BU won in those days.
Pat Jebbison was a Toronto kid ..John Carson was a American but DAMN he had game.

isaidso · #**1086** Posted **Mar 10, 2014, 9:06 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by Runt

Isaidso...

Always loved the atmosphere in the Metro Centre. Followed Brandon back in the
80's and I thought they were supported well. Gym was packed for every game (800-1000). I always thought if the school could have been larger...say 10,000 students, and Brandon had 80,000 to 100,000 pop- they would have easily filled the Keystone (6000? seats for hoops).

I remember those Brandon teams in the 80s. I was a regular at the Metro Centre year after year. Besides varsity sports mattering in NS, Halifax benefited from having the tournament for 27 years. The population genuinely appreciate college basketball and even non AUS teams got support from the locals which was nice. That element is totally missing in Ottawa.

I agree about Brandon being too small. It would likely still be a power house today if they had a bigger talent pool to draw from. Then again, Cape Breton, St. FX, and Acadia are in an even more difficult position than BU in that regard. It all comes down to recruiting from beyond the region. All 3 of these NS teams realize they need to heavily recruit outside NS if they're to be competitive, but seem to be able to do that year in, year out.

isaidso · #**1087** Posted **Mar 10, 2014, 9:09 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by middeljohn

Yeah I saw that too. I didn't realize that Carleton's program is THAT good.

Few Canadians are aware of Carleton. They'd be in the NCAA tournament every year if they were eligible. They regularly beat top NCAA Division 1 teams and have been doing that for a decade. Now if only we could build another 4-5 Carleton's and then get the general population to start supporting these teams. 500 fans/game at the Raven's Nest is appalling.

Quote:

Originally Posted by middeljohn

Hmm, never heard of him. Doing some research though, it appears that he never played a game unfortunately.

Will Njoku! He was the star basketball player at my high school. That team used to get a lot of press in Halifax. They would tour high schools in New England and always come back undefeated. Halifax West Warriors were a power house in high school basketball for years and years. He went on to play for hometown SMU then I think a stint with the national team.

isaidso · #**1088** Posted **Mar 10, 2014, 9:19 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by Acajack

Could it be that something else is brewing with respect to the NFL in Toronto and that this is simply clearing the way for it?

Bite your tongue. I'm hoping Toronto will return to the fold and the NFL will come to their senses. It looks like the Argonauts have a fighting chance to claw their way back now that they'll have a proper stadium to play in. They were the first pro football team in the world and deserve to be Toronto's football team going forward.

It will be a very sad day for Canada if the current generation of Torntonians destroy what took 141 years to build and allow the NFL to comes to town.

isaidso · #**1089** Posted **Mar 10, 2014, 9:31 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by middeljohn

On to another topic, another indication of basketball being more popular than hockey among Toronto's immigrants is reflected by Raptors Republic, a Raptor fan site run almost exclusively by immigrants.

Within a generation, I can easily see hockey falling to 3rd behind soccer and basketball. It might not fall as far as football has, but it's definitely in decline.

esquire · #**1090** Posted **Mar 10, 2014, 9:34 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by isaidso

Within a generation, I can easily see hockey falling to 3rd behind soccer and basketball. It might not fall as far as football has, but it's definitely in decline.

I don't know how things are out east, but football must surely be close to an all-time high in western Canada. There are more amateur leagues for kids and teenagers than I ever remember there being when I was younger. The high school leagues are huge with way more participation than before. Football is not suffering in these parts. I understand it's still in growth mode in Quebec too.

isaidso · #**1091** Posted **Mar 10, 2014, 10:00 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by esquire

I don't know how things are out east, but football must surely be close to an all-time high in western Canada. There are more amateur leagues for kids and teenagers than I ever remember there being when I was younger. The high school leagues are huge with way more participation than before. Football is not suffering in these parts. I understand it's still in growth mode in Quebec too.

The east isn't homogenous from a cultural or sporting point of view. The GTA is increasingly an island onto itself within Canada on both counts. Football is at an all time low, hockey is still very strong but in steady decline, basketball and soccer are surging, while baseball is holding its own. Nova Scotia sporting interests mirror New England more closely than they do the rest of Canada with all 4 Canadian sports (football, baseball, hockey, basketball) very strong. Quebec seems to mirror western Canada although football is arguably stronger out west. Newfoundland and Victoria Island seem to beat to their own drum. Football is almost non-existent in both those places. Baseball, who knows?

I'll end by saying thank God for the prairies. If it wasn't for this region of Canada, football would be in a lot of trouble in this country.

GlassCity · #**1092** Posted **Mar 10, 2014, 10:08 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by isaidso

Within a generation, I can easily see hockey falling to 3rd behind soccer and basketball. It might not fall as far as football has, but it's definitely in decline.

In Toronto, I guess you'd know better than me. But Canada-wide, or even here in Vancouver, I just don't see it. Soccer's popularity is exaggerated to a crazy degree. The Whitecaps have good attendance for soccer, but it's still almost 10,000 behind the Lions and the TV numbers aren't even close. And the Canucks trump everything, despite being absolute crap. Could hockey lose a bit of share to other sports like soccer, yet remain #1? Sure. Are kids going to be whispering in class to each other about MLS trade deadlines in 10-20 years? No way.

isaidso · #**1093** Posted **Mar 10, 2014, 10:15 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by GlassCity

In Toronto, I guess you'd know better than me. But Canada-wide, or even here in Vancouver, I just don't see it. Soccer's popularity is exaggerated to a crazy degree. The Whitecaps have good attendance for soccer, but it's still almost 10,000 behind the Lions and the TV numbers aren't even close. And the Canucks trump everything, despite being absolute crap. Could hockey lose a bit of share to other sports like soccer, yet remain #1? Sure. Are kids going to be whispering in class to each other about MLS trade deadlines in 10-20 years? No way.

I see things largely the same as you do. Soccer is over hyped nationally because Toronto is obsessed with soccer and that's where the national media is based. They feed Canada what they deem important; hence why soccer gets rammed down everyone's throats whether we like it or not.

Soccer is increasing in popularity across Canada, but in Toronto it's just on another level. I play in a recreation football league here in Toronto and the fields are dominated by soccer teams/leagues. They look at us like we're from Mars. What is this strange sport they're playing? I bet half of them have never watched or been to a football game in their lives. I kid you not.

GlassCity · #**1094** Posted **Mar 10, 2014, 10:20 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by isaidso

I see things largely the same as you do. Soccer is over hyped nationally because Toronto is obsessed with soccer and that's where the national media is based. They feed Canada what they deem important; hence why soccer gets rammed down everyone's throats whether we like it or not.

Soccer is increasing in popularity across Canada, but in Toronto it's just on another level. I play in a recreation football league here in Toronto and the fields are dominated by soccer teams/leagues. They look at us like we're from Mars. What is this strange sport they're playing?

Soccer participation is huge here, much bigger than football, but participation and cultural popularity are different. I didn't even know soccer was so popular in Toronto, my post is based mostly on people I've talked to who seem convinced that soccer will overthrow everything else. I mean come on, is TFC really gonna replace the Leafs as the talk of the town? I have lots of friends who play soccer in leagues, but none of them watch it.

esquire · #**1095** Posted **Mar 10, 2014, 11:08 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by isaidso

I see things largely the same as you do. Soccer is over hyped nationally because Toronto is obsessed with soccer and that's where the national media is based. They feed Canada what they deem important; hence why soccer gets rammed down everyone's throats whether we like it or not.

I haven't picked up on any sort of obsession with soccer in Toronto... I always got the impression that it is reasonably popular because of the large immigrant population that plays or follows teams from the old country, as well as the contingent of TFC fans, but it doesn't seem like anything approaching what I'd regard as an obsessive level.

suburbanite · #**1096** Posted **Mar 10, 2014, 11:09 PM**

Youth soccer is huge in the GTA especially the outer burbs. Oakville's youth soccer leagues rivaled that of hockey until about age 13 when I was playing in them. It just unfortunately hasn't translated into producing many players that can compete at the international level, which I think is what you really need to garner support for the sport among established Torontonians.

middeljohn · #**1097** Posted **Mar 10, 2014, 11:18 PM**

Soccer is very popular in Toronto, much to my distaste as I despise the sport.

Basketball seems to be the preferred sport for the South Asians, Africans and Carribeans. Soccer is the preferred sport for the Europeans. There's also a huge overlap between the two obviously. The Leafs remain first, second and third on the priority list for TSN coverage, but the FC gets a lot of attention as do the Raptors when they're winning.

FYI, in case ROC is wondering why they've been seeing more Raptors coverage as of late, Rogers and Bell co-own MLSE now, and they also own all of the sports channels. They have a huge monopoly.

middeljohn · #**1098** Posted **Mar 10, 2014, 11:21 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by suburbanite

Youth soccer is huge in the GTA especially the outer burbs. Oakville's youth soccer leagues rivaled that of hockey until about age 13 when I was playing in them. It just unfortunately hasn't translated into producing many players that can compete at the international level, which I think is what you really need to garner support for the sport among established Torontonians.

You're from Oakville too?

Yeah I stopped playing around 13 as well. Every year at that house league tournament at Shell Park we kept getting reminded how Oakville has the largest youth soccer league in North America, or something like that.

suburbanite · #**1099** Posted **Mar 10, 2014, 11:42 PM**

Haven't lived in Oakville for more than a week at a time since I left for school but ya I grew up playing sports there. Tons of Portugese, Croatian, and Italian immigrants make it no surprise that soccer is so popular. There were some real talents too, but most of the guys I knew stopped playing in high school. It just wasn't taken as seriously as hockey, football, or basketball.

GlassCity · #**1100** Posted **Mar 10, 2014, 11:52 PM**

Growing up in Richmond, basketball is definitely the most popular sport due to the huge Chinese population we have. You always see lots of them wearing NBA jerseys and our courts were always overcrowded. However the white kids in school were all about hockey (well at my school it was rugby but we're an oddity.) It seemed like the white part of town and Chinese part ran parallel to each other as there was very little overlap due to the language barrier. As such both hockey and basketball are big. And like I said earlier, everybody plays soccer when they're young but then quits and never does much in it again.