Could Expos return to Montreal?

[Acajack]

Originally Posted by BretttheRiderFan

There's nothing very funny about following the Tour de France...that's why I am only giggling quietly. Cycling is tough as crap and I have the utmost respect for those guys, my original comment wasn't totally serious so don't get those panties knotted up.

No worries. As I said, I am not really a cycling fan - at least not as a spectator.

Originally Posted by BretttheRiderFan

And London, Paris and Hong Kong not having baseball teams is rather irrelevant in this discussion. .

Well, Mexico City is a North American city and it doesn't have a pro baseball team either! And Los Angeles doesn't have an NFL team!

[BretttheRiderFan]

Originally Posted by Acajack

No worries. As I said, I am not really a cycling fan - at least not as a spectator.



Well, Mexico City is a North American city and it doesn't have a pro baseball team either! And Los Angeles doesn't have an NFL team!

I thought they had a pro league in Mexico? I know baseball is huge in certain regions of Mexico but not others....

EDIT: After searching, Mexico City does have a team in Mexico's highest league, the Diablos Rojos del Mexico that plays in a stadium of 26,000

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Diablos...el_M%C3%A9xico

[Acajack]

Originally Posted by BretttheRiderFan

I thought they had a pro league in Mexico? I know baseball is huge in certain regions of Mexico but not others....

EDIT: After searching, Mexico City does have a team in Mexico's highest league, the Diablos Rojos del Mexico that plays in a stadium of 26,000

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Diablos...el_M%C3%A9xico

OK, OK...

Note that there are also (to my knowledge) no IHOPs, Denny's, Perkins, Pottery Barns, Chuck E. Cheese's in Montreal either...

[Gerrard]

Originally Posted by Acajack

OK, OK...

Note that there are also (to my knowledge) no IHOPs, Denny's, Perkins, Pottery Barns, Chuck E. Cheese's in Montreal either...

There are very few of those in any Canadian city that isn't Niagara Falls. Baseball is a very N.A. & Caribbean centric sport. There's certainly nothing wrong with that. Neither is the part that Canada has played historically in that sport. I lost my interest in it as a spectator after the lock out but I certainly do participate as a player still (recreational-ly).

[mr.John]

Breaking news this just in ..the Alouettes have just signed Tom Brady, and not to be outdone the Impact have announced they have secured the services of Lionel Messi and to top it all off the Expos will also return to Montreal,the team is expected to play in a new fantasy stadium built will sugar canes and sprinkled with pixie dust

[Acajack]

Originally Posted by Gerrard

There are very few of those in any Canadian city that isn't Niagara Falls. Baseball is a very N.A. & Caribbean centric sport. There's certainly nothing wrong with that. Neither is the part that Canada has played historically in that sport. I lost my interest in it as a spectator after the lock out but I certainly do participate as a player still (recreational-ly).

Well, maybe not IHOP but the others are found in several Canadian cities. Ottawa has Perkins and Denny's and (maybe) Pottery Barn as well... I've seen all of the other chains in the GTA for example...

Anyway, just having a little bit of fun!

And the reason most of the American retail chains that aren't in Quebec haven't come here is not because they wouldn't work here, but because of perceived language hassles. Restaurants are a different matter though, and it's tough for non-Quebec family sit-down restaurants to break into the Quebec market. US-based Perkins and the Canadian chain Kelsey's failed miserably with their initial Quebec forays in my city of Gatineau. People in Quebec seem to have their own unique particularity when it comes to sitting down for a meal in a restaurant.

But as for other forms of US retail, yeah they'd do well in Quebec. Actually, I think most American retailers would do fine in most western developed countries with only a few adaptations to the local markets. Except maybe for Bass Pro Shop - although on second thought they might make a killing in Scandinavia!

[telyou]

Originally Posted by Darkoshvilli

There are baseball diamonds in almost every park in the west end and west island. Also, the expos had pretty good support in the 70s and 80s and in 94 when we had the best team in the league. Of course we all know what happened in 94. People say that was the last straw.

Stop already with the bs. The Expos were 21st in a 28 team league in attendance in 1994.
As i stated, only from 79-83 did they have a higher attendance then average.
They never had any support from Montrealers. People have memory issues.

[Gerrard]

People have nostalgia issues.

[SHOFEAR]

Originally Posted by Acajack

Well, Mexico City is a North American city and it doesn't have a pro baseball team either!

They have better!

[kool maudit]

Originally Posted by Gerrard

People have nostalgia issues.

i prefer to think of it as a crush on the not-too-distant past.

[Blitz]

Originally Posted by mr.John

well the main reason for enrolling kids in any sports is to have them get some exercise please tell me what kind of exercise a kid playing little league baseball gets? other than picking his nose waiting for a ball to be hit in his direction. now compare that to soccer where you just throw the ball to the kids and have them chase after it, ....guess which sport most kids play in Quebec

Maybe it has something do to with the culture and since soccer is big in Europe it's more popular in Quebec. Around here though, baseball is much bigger than soccer. Sports isn't just about exercise, it's about teaching kids how to be part of a team. Baseball develops different physical skillls, involves a lot of different strategies, and can be one of the more difficult games to play and master.

[SHOFEAR]

Originally Posted by Blitz

Maybe it has something do to with the culture and since soccer is big in Europe it's more popular in Quebec. Around here though, baseball is much bigger than soccer. Sports isn't just about exercise, it's about teaching kids how to be part of a team. Baseball develops different physical skillls, involves a lot of different strategies, and can be one of the more difficult games to play and master.

Kids whose parents are lazy enroll them in soccer cause they dont have to buy anything and the kids can bike to the local feild. It's basically babysitting. But thats why when most kids turn 12 they stop playing and couldn't give two shits about it and never follow it at an sort of pro level.

Baseball, hockey, Football etc on the other hand envolve significant investment, both time and financially, which is why kids who play those sports are far more likely to follow it.

[isaidso]

Originally Posted by Blitz

Maybe it has something do to with the culture and since soccer is big in Europe it's more popular in Quebec.

There are more Europeans in Quebec than Ontario? I don't think so. If anything, Montreal has maintained a stronger north American culture than Toronto has due to less immigration. Small cities and towns (Windsor) have been less culturally influenced by immigration whether they are in Ontario, Quebec, the Maritimes, or out west. It's in these places (outside the big immigrant cities) where Canadian culture has held its own.

[flar]

Originally Posted by SHOFEAR

Kids whose parents are lazy enroll them in soccer cause they dont have to buy anything and the kids can bike to the local feild. It's basically babysitting. But thats why when most kids turn 12 they stop playing and couldn't give two shits about it and never follow it at an sort of pro level.

Baseball, hockey, Football etc on the other hand envolve significant investment, both time and financially, which is why kids who play those sports are far more likely to follow it.

Soccer is the great equalizer, you just have to run around after the ball. If you suck, you won't score, but otherwise you could not touch the ball all game and nobody will notice how bad you are. Parents and kids alike have no fear of embarrassment.

Baseball puts every kid on the spot. When your kid is up to bat, all eyes are on him. When the ball comes to him in the field and he makes an error, everybody knows it. It's a team sport that puts a lot of responsibility on each individual. That's why it's a great game.

[Acajack]

Originally Posted by isaidso

There are more Europeans in Quebec than Ontario? I don't think so. If anything, Montreal has maintained a stronger north American culture than Toronto has due to less immigration. Small cities and towns (Windsor) have been less culturally influenced by immigration whether they are in Ontario, Quebec, the Maritimes, or out west. It's in these places (outside the big immigrant cities) where Canadian culture has held its own.

Immigration is not really the determining factor. Quebec and Montreal tend to be very "Euro-philic". A lot of people in Quebec - and I am not talking about immigrants - think that anything that is European (movies, cuisine, literature, fashion, music, sports, etc.) is automatically better than anything North American. There is a lot of this "posing" that goes in Quebec.

Plus, while Ontario does have way more people born in Europe or born in Canada of European parents, in Montreal they tend to hold onto their languages and cultures longer than they do in Toronto. (Language retention in Montreal down through the generations for Greek, Italian, Portuguese, etc. is I believe the highest of any North American city.)

Finally, immigration or not, Toronto feels deeply rooted in North America. Much more than Montreal does. Montreal, on the other hand, feels somewhat rootless - in a (charmingly) schizophrenic way.

[kool maudit]

acajack: this is the new line in ontario. it's similar to their extreme preference for "parisian french."

[someone123]

I am not sure what exactly is meant by "Europeans", but if you subtract Asians from the populations of the Toronto and Montreal CMAs you are left with a bigger number for Montreal. I believe that Montreal still has the largest population of native-born Canadians. It's not surprising that Toronto doesn't have much of a sense of place.

Many North Americans are Europhiles (UK + continental). Americans get all weird about France because they are bothered by the idea that it might actually be culturally superior (kind of a stupid thing to be worried about but whatever). Americans also have a weird attitude about British things and British English. I know lots of people who like the BBC, think they are better than most other news services, and can't articulate why. My guess is that basically it's the accents and the British "feel'". It's common for Americans and Canadians to write stilted things like "amongst" when they are trying to impress.

Last time somebody told me they spoke "Parisian French" it was a guy from the US who had taken some intro type course and argued with me that "u" and "ou" are equivalent (but maybe not their vulgar Canadian pronunciation!).

[Gerrard]

The preference some Americans have for foreign news services is about the content, which varies somewhat in that it's more "worldly". American news tends to focus on the U.S. (not surprising but while U.S. cultural hegemony hasn't any rivals, politically and economically it does) and be more inward looking. Also since Reagan in the 80s repealed the "balance" aspect of American news, it's difficult to get reportage that is perceived as non editorial.

Sorry for the derail. Back to the Expos.

[BretttheRiderFan]

Originally Posted by someone123

I am not sure what exactly is meant by "Europeans", but if you subtract Asians from the populations of the Toronto and Montreal CMAs you are left with a bigger number for Montreal. I believe that Montreal still has the largest population of native-born Canadians. It's not surprising that Toronto doesn't have much of a sense of place.

Many North Americans are Europhiles (UK + continental). Americans get all weird about France because they are bothered by the idea that it might actually be culturally superior (kind of a stupid thing to be worried about but whatever). Americans also have a weird attitude about British things and British English. I know lots of people who like the BBC, think they are better than most other news services, and can't articulate why. My guess is that basically it's the accents and the British "feel'". It's common for Americans and Canadians to write stilted things like "amongst" when they are trying to impress.

Last time somebody told me they spoke "Parisian French" it was a guy from the US who had taken some intro type course and argued with me that "u" and "ou" are equivalent (but maybe not their vulgar Canadian pronunciation!).

What exactly does this rambling have to do with anything?

[BretttheRiderFan]

Originally Posted by Blitz

Maybe it has something do to with the culture and since soccer is big in Europe it's more popular in Quebec. Around here though, baseball is much bigger than soccer. Sports isn't just about exercise, it's about teaching kids how to be part of a team. Baseball develops different physical skillls, involves a lot of different strategies, and can be one of the more difficult games to play and master.

This argument has almost 0 credibility, especially looking at the success of the Toronto and Vancouver MLS franchises and how Toronto also goes gay over soccer every World Cup. The amount of Europeans in a given city isn't significantly different enough to make much of a dent in the culture of either Toronto or Montreal