Sports in Canadian culture

[esquire]

Originally Posted by Acajack

Come to think of it, I have never, ever heard an American say that they ignore NCAA football because it's inferior to the NFL. Nor have I ever heard anyone say that NCAA Final Four was mickey mouse because the players aren't as good as in the NBA.

Never.

Me neither. If Americans had the same mindset that we do, Auburn and Alabama would play football in front of 1,000 parents and girlfriends while the people of Tuscaloosa would stay home and watch the Seahawks vs. Bengals or whatever.

I think all of our Canadian CFL haters should start a public service campaign to inform all those NCAA fans that they're wasting their time watching "second rate football"

[Acajack]

Originally Posted by suburbanite

Blunders in the first half? You mean like the qb fumbling twice or snapping the ball right past the qb?

I was thinking excitement in terms of one the best quarterbacks of all time overcoming his largest career deficit. Or perhaps the smartest and most unorthodox coaches rallying the team and getting them back in the game with a third-string runningback. Maybe it was the Knowshon Moreno limping of the field after every play in the fourth quarter and still coming back to rush for 220 yards.

You make it sound like it was the second coming of Christ!

Stuff like this happens all the time in pro sports in all leagues: great comebacks, one coach outsmarting the other, guys playing injured and having a stellar game...

It even happens in the CFL... sometimes.

As I said.... "shiny objects"...

[Acajack]

Originally Posted by suburbanite

Now you're really being nitpicky. You yourself said the difference can be negligible at any point. So do I watch the one that is on tv and being broadcasted in English? Most likely.

I am only repeating what you said: that only the absolute "world best" is worth paying attention to.

[esquire]

Originally Posted by Acajack

It even happens in the CFL... sometimes.

Come on Acajack, don't you know that comebacks only happen in the CFL because those unskilled, untalented bums can't hold a lead?

That attitude reminds me a bit of the worst sportswriter of all time, the disgraced plagiarist Scott Taylor... he definitely had that mindset. A Minnesota Vikings vs Chicago Bears 7-6 game was an EPIC DEFENSIVE BATTLE while a Winnipeg Blue Bombers vs Hamilton Tiger-Cats 7-6 final was because of TWO GARBAGE OFFENCES.

[Acajack]

Originally Posted by esquire

Me neither. If Americans had the same mindset that we do, Auburn and Alabama would play football in front of 1,000 parents and girlfriends while the people of Tuscaloosa would stay home and watch the Seahawks vs. Bengals or whatever.

I think all of our Canadian CFL haters should start a public service campaign to inform all those NCAA fans that they're wasting their time watching "second rate football"

Check out theses hordes of patriotism-blinded lemmings who have no ambition and even less appreciation for true excellence in sport!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E9CVx_fQAqY

[suburbanite]

I believe that was the 6th time in history a team has come back from a 24 point deficit at halftime, so yes colour me impressed.

[Nathan]

Originally Posted by Acajack

The most exciting in recent memory? It's over the top hyperbole like this that leads people to think pro-NFL Canadians are just attracted by "shiny objects".

I watched quite a bit of that game on Sunday night - the first half was a one-sided snoozer full of miscues and blunders by the Patriots which explains why the Broncos had such a crushing lead.

Admittedly the Grey Cup, aside from the hype about the Riders and their noble loyal fans see them win it at home, was something of a snoozer as well.

But the Argos-Ticats eastern final was every bit as exciting if not more than the Patriots-Broncos game, as it went down to the wire and featured the lead changing many times, not just one team dominating a half and the other team dominating most of the other and winning in the end.

That's a bit of what it's getting at. Often if you have a low scoring CFL game, it's an offensive snooze-fest, but a low scoring NFL game is a titanic defensive battle. Likewise a high scoring CFL game is a defensive failure, while in the NFL, it would be an epic offensive shoot out. Advertising/marketing conditioning.

I think if there was less general CFL bashing (the Canadian media were especially terrible for this in the 90s, there's also a Rogers commercial on YouTube from a couples years back promoting their NFL package... The promotion being based on the premise that the CFL sucks View here), fans of the league would be less defensive, but as it is now, people who like the league automatically go on attack/get defensive as a knee-jerk reaction. It's kind of what had to he done before; call it conditioning.

That Rogers ad is especially galling considering they just recently started waving a protect your Canadian telecoms patriotism flag... All while they wave a giant American flag next to a tiny paper Canadian flag...


Edit: It appears esquire noted my thoughts/comment before I hit enter.

[Acajack]

[QUOTE=Nathan;6354227]

I think if there was less general CFL bashing (the Canadian media were especially terrible for this in the 90s, there's also a Rogers commercial on YouTube from a couples years back promoting their NFL package... The promotion being based on the premise that the CFL sucks View here),
[QUOTE]

I had never seen that! Wow... astonishing that a domestic company would actually produce something like that to air in their own country.

[Acajack]

Originally Posted by suburbanite

I believe that was the 6th time in history a team has come back from a 24 point deficit at halftime, so yes colour me impressed.

I actually watched the Buffalo Bills quite a bit in my youth, so in my mind nothing can really top this:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Com...rican_football)

[brentwood]

Originally Posted by suburbanite

When I watch a sporting event, I want it to be the very best the world has to offer. If Canadians can supply that product as they do in the NHL then that's fantastic, but if not, I'm going to look elsewhere.

Says the guy as currently there are a grand total of one Canadian NHL team in a playoff spot and that one is on the verge of a freefall.

Correction: I guess Montreal is in a wildcard spot but the point stands, no other Canadian team will get anywhere near a playoff spot for the foreseeable future. And of course, there is the minor point of no Canadian team winning the Stanley Cup in 20 years.

[rousseau]

Originally Posted by Acajack

Come to think of it, I have never, ever heard an American say that they ignore NCAA football because it's inferior to the NFL. Nor have I ever heard anyone say that NCAA Final Four was mickey mouse because the players aren't as good as in the NBA.

Never.

This doesn't work as an analogy, though, because you're talking about the difference between college and the pros, between 19-year-old rookies and seasoned 27-year-old veterans. They're not the same as the NBA and the ABA back in the 1970s, when people in NBA cities did indeed look down their noses at the ABA. College ball is a feeder for the pros. It's not just another league.

Having said that, there is a very sizable contingent of Americans who only follow college football/basketball due to either school loyalties or a firm belief that the game in college is more exciting than the pros because they consider it more organic and amateur. Which is only partly true, as the best players go to the best college programs, and said programs are big business that bring in millions of dollars in revenue.

[Acajack]

Originally Posted by rousseau

This doesn't work as an analogy, though, because you're talking about the difference between college and the pros, between 19-year-old rookies and seasoned 27-year-old veterans. They're not the same as the NBA and the ABA back in the 1970s, when people in NBA cities did indeed look down their noses at the ABA. College ball is a feeder for the pros. It's not just another league.

Having said that, there is a very sizable contingent of Americans who only follow college football/basketball due to either school loyalties or a firm belief that the game in college is more exciting than the pros because they consider it more organic and amateur. Which is only partly true, as the best players go to the best college programs, and said programs are big business that bring in millions of dollars in revenue.

All of this could actually point to *more* potential dissing of NCAA sports but true quality-minded sports fans...

[Acajack]

Originally Posted by brentwood

Says the guy as currently there are a grand total of one Canadian NHL team in a playoff spot and that one is on the verge of a freefall.

Correction: I guess Montreal is in a wildcard spot but the point stands, no other Canadian team will get anywhere near a playoff spot for the foreseeable future. And of course, there is the minor point of no Canadian team winning the Stanley Cup in 20 years.

20th anniversary this year!

That trophy should never have been entrusted to the NHL.

[esquire]

Originally Posted by Acajack

20th anniversary this year!

That trophy should never have been entrusted to the NHL.

How did it ever come to this? Canada is the golden calf as far as league revenues are concerned, but there is really only one Canadian team that has consistently been in the upper echelons of competitive clubs in recent years. Of course, none of them have brought home a Stanley Cup in over 20 years.

[elly63]

NHL and Rogers Announce 12-Year Broadcasting Deal
The Canadian Press 11/26/2013

TORONTO - The National Hockey League has reached a 12-year, $5.2 billion agreement with Rogers Communications for the league's broadcast and multimedia rights.

As part of the deal, Rogers says the CBC will continue to broadcast its iconic Hockey Night in Canada broadcast and that the TVA network in Quebec has all of the Canadian French-language multimedia rights.

The league says the deal gives Rogers national rights to all NHL games, including the Stanley Cup Playoffs and Stanley Cup Final, on all of its platforms in all languages.
In addition, the NHL says the agreement guarantees that there will be no further regionalization of games or local blackouts.

The NHL says the partnership, which is subject to approval by the NHL Board of Governors, will begin with the 2014-15 season and run through the 2025-26 season.
The Board of Governors will next meet Dec. 9-10 in Pebble Beach, Calif.

The league said in a statement that the agreement is the largest media rights deal in its history and one of the largest media rights deals ever in Canada, including the largest-ever sports-media rights agreement.

[Barnard's Star]

I don't like the Sportsnet deal. I don't like that our public broadcaster is now beholden to Rogers for HNIC. I don't like the power it gives them over cable packages. I don't like the fact that TSN viewership (and thus CFL viewership) will erode because of this. Watching monopolies form is never fun.

[Barnard's Star]

Speaking of the effect this will have on the CBC, here's a truly sad piece from the National Post: http://fullcomment.nationalpost.com/...as-we-know-it/

[GlassCity]

It would not be an exageration to say that the death of the CBC would be a national tragedy.

[The_Architect]

Originally Posted by Nathan

I think if there was less general CFL bashing (the Canadian media were especially terrible for this in the 90s, there's also a Rogers commercial on YouTube from a couples years back promoting their NFL package... The promotion being based on the premise that the CFL sucks View here), fans of the league would be less defensive, but as it is now, people who like the league automatically go on attack/get defensive as a knee-jerk reaction. It's kind of what had to he done before; call it conditioning.

Rogers has been trying to kill the Argos since they took over the Skydome. Fuck them.

[The_Architect]

Originally Posted by suburbanite

No one ever wore CFL jerseys in high school but Patriots, Colts, Saints etc would always be seen. There were always tons of SuperBowl parties to go to but never a grey cup one. .

Maybe where you went to school.

Like I said, hype machine and shiny things.