Winnipeg Blue Bombers

[CoryB]

A business decision the CFL made sometime in the last 20 years is doing more to hurt in person attendance than anything else, they ended local market tv blackouts because the cheques TSN would write got big enough.

[thurmas]

Originally Posted by CoryB

A business decision the CFL made sometime in the last 20 years is doing more to hurt in person attendance than anything else, they ended local market tv blackouts because the cheques TSN would write got big enough.

Blackouts were a terrible policy and they didn't even help attendance as lots of teams had declining and very weak attendance even with them in place

[esquire]

Originally Posted by CoryB

A business decision the CFL made sometime in the last 20 years is doing more to hurt in person attendance than anything else, they ended local market tv blackouts because the cheques TSN would write got big enough.

The CFL blackout rule has been gone for a long time now, someone can correct me if I'm wrong but I think 2007 was the first season where there were no blackouts in place?

For what it's worth CFL attendance generally did quite well in the years after the rule was removed... it's not as though attendance plummeted. Which in some respects would have been the rational outcome... I mean, why spend $40-$180 a ticket to attend in person when you could see the game just as well at home? But people don't seem to mind. The in-stadium experience is enticing enough that people will still pay. And sure enough, tonight's game is nearly sold out.

That said, I think there is a better understanding of the long-term value that comes from TV exposure than there was back in the 70s. It was long said that blackouts hurt teams like the Toronto Argonauts that were effectively hidden from sight much of the time in their home market. A sports event on TV is basically a two to three hour commercial for your product, so there is certainly value there. Not to mention the fat cheques you get from the broadcasters themselves.

[optimusREIM]

Originally Posted by esquire

The CFL blackout rule has been gone for a long time now, someone can correct me if I'm wrong but I think 2007 was the first season where there were no blackouts in place?

For what it's worth CFL attendance generally did quite well in the years after the rule was removed... it's not as though attendance plummeted. Which in some respects would have been the rational outcome... I mean, why spend $40-$180 a ticket to attend in person when you could see the game just as well at home? But people don't seem to mind. The in-stadium experience is enticing enough that people will still pay. And sure enough, tonight's game is nearly sold out.

That said, I think there is a better understanding of the long-term value that comes from TV exposure than there was back in the 70s. It was long said that blackouts hurt teams like the Toronto Argonauts that were effectively hidden from sight much of the time in their home market. A sports event on TV is basically a two to three hour commercial for your product, so there is certainly value there. Not to mention the fat cheques you get from the broadcasters themselves.

Yeah that is a good point. My thoughts are eventually if the CFL wants to remain relevant is it's gonna have to be affiliated with the NFL, unless there's a major grassroots renaissance of fans here...

[esquire]

^ NFL affiliations are complicated by the fact the games have some significant rule differences, not to mention that the CFL sees its raison d'etre in part as nurturer and custodian of the Canadian game, which means the continued existence of ratio rules which is at odds with what the NFL would be looking for.

I think it's more likely that the CFL will carry on more or less as it has. Back in 1995 former CFL QB Frank Cosentino wrote an insightful book called "A Passing Game" where he predicted that the CFL would adapt to its reality by playing in smaller venues and for less money than the larger North American leagues, and that's exactly what has happened. It's not a bad thing, though... it has worked out fairly well. The fact that the league survived an entire lost season in 2020 speaks very well to its overall resilience.

[bomberjet]

Went pretty dark here haha The CFL will always be a mediocre league and will always have to deal with this financial situation. The CFL will always play second fiddle to the NFL, NHL and MLB.

It's really up to the teams to market themselves within their regions. If the people of Toronto are holding out for a NFL team, maybe they should give up that hope. I'm praying to win the lottery. Doesn't mean I stop working.

[thurmas]

Originally Posted by esquire

^ NFL affiliations are complicated by the fact the games have some significant rule differences, not to mention that the CFL sees its raison d'etre in part as nurturer and custodian of the Canadian game, which means the continued existence of ratio rules which is at odds with what the NFL would be looking for.

I think it's more likely that the CFL will carry on more or less as it has. Back in 1995 former CFL QB Frank Cosentino wrote an insightful book called "A Passing Game" where he predicted that the CFL would adapt to its reality by playing in smaller venues and for less money than the larger North American leagues, and that's exactly what has happened. It's not a bad thing, though... it has worked out fairly well. The fact that the league survived an entire lost season in 2020 speaks very well to its overall resilience.

I agree it is what it is youth viewership is up 29% this year it won't be the CFL of the late 70s early 80s again but it has its own niche. It just needs to diversify its media presence as being all in on tsn only has made the product very stale since 2007. Give some games to cbc or global or sportsnet so more media properties are promoting your sport across Canada

[esquire]

Originally Posted by bomberjet

Went pretty dark here haha The CFL will always be a mediocre league and will always have to deal with this financial situation. The CFL will always play second fiddle to the NFL, NHL and MLB.

It's really up to the teams to market themselves within their regions. If the people of Toronto are holding out for a NFL team, maybe they should give up that hope. I'm praying to win the lottery. Doesn't mean I stop working.

I wouldn't call the CFL mediocre, at the end of the day it is still one of the largest pro sports leagues in the world. Yes you put it next to MLB and it's financially tiny. But so what? The NHL is trivial next to the Premier League, the NFL, etc. from a financial standpoint but that doesn't prevent us from caring about hockey. I mean, this huge Auston Matthews NHL record deal would make him like the 6th or 7th highest paid player on Arsenal FC alone.

I do agree that it's up to teams to market themselves. Obviously the less competition there is in a market, the better a team does. The Bombers certainly did benefit from having 15 years as the undisputed biggest show in town, and even though they share that stage with the Jets now there is still a lot of long-term loyalty from that era. Obviously a lot tougher for the likes of Toronto where there is a ton of sports competition.

[VANRIDERFAN]

Originally Posted by esquire

^ NFL affiliations are complicated by the fact the games have some significant rule differences, not to mention that the CFL sees its raison d'etre in part as nurturer and custodian of the Canadian game, which means the continued existence of ratio rules which is at odds with what the NFL would be looking for.

The NFL now has 3 developmental leagues (NCAA, XFL, USFL) who play their rules and are located within the lower 48 so any affiliation with the NFL really makes no sense. In what world would Canadians pay to watch another version of the same stuff they see on TV from south of the border? People watch the CFL for a number of reasons; national pride, they know people who are playing, they like the product, or they are mature enough to enjoy both Canadian and US styles of gridiron football. If the CFL decided to become a "farm" league to the NFL I predict viewing numbers on par with what USports currently get.

[bomberjet]

Originally Posted by esquire

I wouldn't call the CFL mediocre, at the end of the day it is still one of the largest pro sports leagues in the world. Yes you put it next to MLB and it's financially tiny. But so what? The NHL is trivial next to the Premier League, the NFL, etc. from a financial standpoint but that doesn't prevent us from caring about hockey. I mean, this huge Auston Matthews NHL record deal would make him like the 6th or 7th highest paid player on Arsenal FC alone.

I do agree that it's up to teams to market themselves. Obviously the less competition there is in a market, the better a team does. The Bombers certainly did benefit from having 15 years as the undisputed biggest show in town, and even though they share that stage with the Jets now there is still a lot of long-term loyalty from that era. Obviously a lot tougher for the likes of Toronto where there is a ton of sports competition.

Fair enough. I've heard a recent argument that CFL vs NFL, it's the elite in the NFL that are the obvious difference. A lot of the guys in the middle are comparable and could conceivably play in either league. It's about how they developed and what system they were in. Harder to make a switch later in your career IIRC.

To your point about being tiny financially, that is what I'm getting at. So what if the CFL is small. That's what it is. It survived the pandemic when things were very much on the ropes for the league. They had talked about merging with the XFL, were actively exploring partnerships. And came out it.

[CoryB]

This year Dakota Prukop demonstrated there is truly a possible synergy between the USFL and the CFL to potentially work together on player rosters in the future. Not necessarily based on whole teams but letting players under contract move between the leagues as the seasons are mostly offset. Sure Dakota missed the Bombers preseason this year but as a returning player they already had a plan where he would fit in, no differently than if he had missed preseason due to an injury or other issues (see Lawler).

The other reality of the NCAA, CFL and NFL is players already move between them and to some degree USports as well. The CFL already acts as an adhoc development league for players after they graduate out of the NCAA system that clearly have talent but didn't find a spot of the NFL. It seems to work well for the most part as-is in terms of team operations.

[thurmas]

Usfl and xfl are better for players 23 to 27 trying to get another chance at nfl. Cfl is more for players 28 to 35 trying to forge a career after trying a few cracks at nfl.

[BlackDog204]

Total Dominance.

47-17

bring on the Riders

[BlackDog204]

Originally Posted by thurmas

Usfl and xfl are better for players 23 to 27 trying to get another chance at nfl. Cfl is more for players 28 to 35 trying to forge a career after trying a few cracks at nfl.

CFL is even better for players younger than 27.

[Biff]

Should have been 47-3.

Don't think I have ever seen 2 pick-6's by the same quarterback in one half of football before...let alone the leagues reigning MOP.

[esquire]

Originally Posted by BlackDog204

Total Dominance.

47-17

bring on the Riders

Collaros is so good that he even threw the other team's touchdowns!

I kid, I kid. But I was a little nervous in the first half. Luckily the defense stepped up and shut the door on the pretender Als.

Very happy that the weather cooperated. It was looking very ominous before kickoff but not a drop of rain at IG Field last night.

[BlackDog204]

Standings:

West

1. Winnipeg (9-2)
2. BC (7-4)
3. Saskatchewan (5-5)
4. Calgary (3-8)
5. Edmonton (1-9)

East

1. Toronto (8-1)
2. Montreal (6-4)
3. Hamilton (4-6)
4. Ottawa (3-7)

The Bombers can conceivable wrap up 1st place, if they win back-to-back games against the Riders.

[Highwayman]

Originally Posted by thurmas

I agree it is what it is youth viewership is up 29% this year it won't be the CFL of the late 70s early 80s again but it has its own niche. It just needs to diversify its media presence as being all in on tsn only has made the product very stale since 2007. Give some games to cbc or global or sportsnet so more media properties are promoting your sport across Canada

I agree it does need more tv presence as you need to get people involved . Those people will eventually go to a game of two.

But the CFL needs more teams. It's simple as that. 9 teams is not enough . Back in the 70's the NFL was the sad sack league and they turned it around. Back then the CFL was in its heyday. NHL was ok with the original teams but they needed to expand. We don't need big stadium's like the NFL. But new teams should be able to support at least 20k fans per game.

I also don't buy the Toronto excuses of too many pro sports to chose from. Let's be real here. It has the largest pool of people to pull fans from. Literally 1/6 of Canada FFS. Yet they can only muster 17k and that's a GOOD night lol. Then little cities like Regina or Winnipeg can muster 30k ? Maybe it's more the fact that they have a dump ofa stadium and extremely poor advertising.

[thurmas]

Originally Posted by Highwayman

I agree it does need more tv presence as you need to get people involved . Those people will eventually go to a game of two.

But the CFL needs more teams. It's simple as that. 9 teams is not enough . Back in the 70's the NFL was the sad sack league and they turned it around. Back then the CFL was in its heyday. NHL was ok with the original teams but they needed to expand. We don't need big stadium's like the NFL. But new teams should be able to support at least 20k fans per game.

I also don't buy the Toronto excuses of too many pro sports to chose from. Let's be real here. It has the largest pool of people to pull fans from. Literally 1/6 of Canada FFS. Yet they can only muster 17k and that's a GOOD night lol. Then little cities like Regina or Winnipeg can muster 30k ? Maybe it's more the fact that they have a dump ofa stadium and extremely poor advertising.

Nfl was very successful in the 70s and has been growing in popularity since the 50s. Toronto issues are due to owners running team on a minor league baseball level budget. Getting stadiums built these days sounds easy but when the starting rate for a bare bones tim hortons field style stadium is 250 to 300 million and climbing cities can't afford that on their own. The other major issue is things like Commonwealth and pan am games bids got stadiums built in this country. But because those games cost billions now canada and other countries pull out due to the absurd costs and lack of revenue return.

[Atrial78]

My experience has been that outside of Manitoba and Saskatchewan, Canadians don't care that much about the CFL or the NFL. Hockey is definitely up top and I could easily see soccer becoming number two very soon. It would be great to see some more MLS teams in Canada - easier to fill the stadiums too. Sorry, probably the unpopular opinion in this thread!