This is the only CFL jersey I've ever seen that I'd consider putting on my body. The rest are UGLY!

https://d3ham790trbkqy.cloudfront.ne...N-1600x488.png

Super Bowl numbers via CTVPR:

CTV = 2.8M
TSN = 1.2M
RDS = 983K
CTV2 = 391K
TOTAL = 5.4M

Seriously? I think the Argos and Ticats in particular are up there with the best of the NFL. Winnipeg too, and Sask's retro set.

Edit: Also, very sharp from Montreal. Both uniform and logo.

https://mir-s3-cdn-cf.behance.net/pr...493237070e.gif

Incorporates the M, Bird, and fleurdelis.

Decent numbers, but I think the numbers are down - same in the US.

Have to believe the Patriots exhaustion played a factor. Seeing them play yet again is turning off a lot of people. The Rams not having an established fan base doesn't help either.

Also, it was a rare dull game - I'm sure a lot of people turned off the game at half-time. It was close all game, but was hard to sit through. It took until late in the 3rd quarter for the pace to pick up.

Can't speak to any of the uniforms as I'm not familiar with how they look, but I think with the exception of Montreal (old and new), the logos are solid across the board.
The new Montreal logo looks like the Ultimate Warrior logo and is way too basic. They should've just refreshed their 70's logo with a tighter modern look - I've always liked it.

^ The only beefs I have with CFL colour schemes are as follows:

-Montreal should have turned up the red ever so slightly to better distinguish themselves from the Argos, now that they're moving to a more Argo-like shade of blue

-Calgary needs to revert to red and white, or at least red/white/silver. Give Ottawa back the red and black.

What the Stamps wore in the early 90s crushes the awful mess they wear now.

http://cfl.mrx.uploads.s3.amazonaws....1151610741.png

^Doug could make anything look good. :haha:

Ambrosie, AAFF issue joint statement regarding working partnership
cfl.ca February 6, 2019

TORONTO — The Canadian Football League and the Austrian American Football Federation issued a joint statement:

Following a productive day of information sharing and discussion here in Vienna, we have reached an agreement to work together to grow the game in both of our countries. We share a passion for creating opportunities for Austrian players to play at the highest levels and for Canadian players to take advantage of the fantastic opportunity that is football in Austria. With football season in Austria set to start on March 16, the top players from that country will not be able to participate this spring in the CFL’s National Combine for top Canadian prospects and players from around the gridiron football world. But we look forward to future years and all that we can achieve together.

Randy Ambrosie, Commissioner, Canadian Football League
Michael Eschlböck, President, Austrian American Football Federation
Gregor Murth, Vice President, Austrian American Football Federation

The agreement with the AAFF is the latest in what has been an list of international partnerships for Ambrosie and the CFL.

On Tuesday, The French American Football Federation was the latest group to sign onto Ambrosie’s vision to strengthen the CFL and football around the world by strengthening ties between countries where gridiron football is played.

The CFL recently reached a similar agreement with the German Football League and its governing federation. It also recently held a Combine and Draft in Mexico as part of an agreement with the Liga de Futbol Americano Profesional (LFA), the pro league in Mexico.

Ambrosie also plans to hold meetings here in Europe with football leaders from Austria, Finland, Sweden, Norway and Denmark.

He has said the international component of CFL 2.0 is designed to expand the CFL’s talent pool, give Canadian players more opportunities around the world and pave the way for international broadcast and streaming deals for the Canadian professional league.

The Forbes Business of Basketball valuation list was released and the Raptors sit 11th out of 30 teams, valued at $1.675B. A 20% increase over last season, the Raptors are fifth in total valuation growth over the past five years (+222%).

https://www.forbes.com/sites/kurtbad.../#5b26b019e667

Debt as a % of total value sits at 7% ($120M), yearly revenue sits at $275M, and operating income sits at $76M. The Raps' revenue-per-fan is $28, roughly equal to Charlotte and Detroit. Gate receipts are listed at $74M.

Toronto as a market is listed as $472M of the Raps' total valuation, sitting roughly between Philadelphia and San Antonio.

Stadium represents $384M of the valuation, sitting between Boston and Dallas in that category.

https://www.forbes.com/teams/toronto-raptors/

Total revenue has increased four years in a row and now nearly double 2015's total revenue. Player expenses are nearly double 2014. Toronto's $76M in operating income is a decade-high (and presumably all-time high).

It's definitely a case of the Big-3 in North American pro sports with the NFL, MLB and the NBA. The NHL is lagging quite a bit behind at this point due to a lack of a big US Tv deal, lack of comparable sponsorships (patches on jerseys and shoes in the NBA) both nationally and internationally.

The NBA has been considerably more successful in growing the game internationally, especially in Asia, while the NHL has been spinning their wheels for as long as I can remember, with fits and starts here and there. Over half a decade ago, they were making regular trips to Europe for pre-season and regular season games and then all of a sudden they stopped going for several years...only to start up again this past year. They was also a lack of focus on bigger European countries like England, France and Germany (countries of 60 - 80 million people) with too much emphasis on minnows like Sweden and Finland. I realize the two latter countries produce a significant number of NHL players, but there are limited returns to playing most NHL overseas games there.

The NHL's next TV/media contract is rumoured to be double their current one, at least if % increase is in line with what the NBA got and what MLB got in theirs.

https://www.forbes.com/sites/bradadg.../#14ffdc724e44

Jersey patches likely happen sooner rather than later, probably after the lockout IMO.

As for footwear the NHL is at a clear disadvantage vis à vis the NBA.

Teens at the mall can't wear what NHLers wear on their feet to play the game.

Indeed. The NHL/hockey is always going to be cursed with issues that don't exist in other sports. This works the other way, as well.

Despite this, the NHL is still reaching new record-highs for sponsorships:

The NBA is probably the hottest league in the world right now.

^ No question that the NHL is on an upward trajectory, but it's still a small fish in the US sports pond and still lags way behind the other 3 major leagues.

It's funny, in Canada there is some cachet attached to the supposed big league status of having a NHL team, but when you spend some time down in the US you realize how much of an afterthought the NHL really is down there. NBCSN (formerly the Outdoor Life Network) caters to a niche hockey audience, but something mainstream like ESPN SportsCenter gives hockey games a few minutes a night at most near the end of the show.

With the boomers well into their retirement phase and gen X well on its way, I wonder if we have reached peak hockey in this country? Younger generations seem a lot less hockey-centric... basketball and soccer are a bigger deal than they used to be. And I say this as a hockey fan.

Oh no doubt, but I think the NHL has carved out a sustainable niche for itself in the US and shows signs of good improvement for the future.

The US is such a vast market that one can do pretty well by flying under the radar for a long period of time. In saying that, the NHL has good regional pull in select US regions but little-to-nothing in the others. It's growing but it's not going to be passing the big three any time soon, and I feel as if MLS is making up more ground on the NHL than the NHL is on the big three (in the US).

We've more than likely already passed peak hockey in Canada IMO. I'm guessing we reached it in the early 90s or early 00s. Basketball is taking over everywhere so it's not a Canada-centic phenomenon, and soccer is the most popular sport in the world so it makes sense for it to be making more serious inroads in this country. One could probably argue that the NBA expansion into Canada was the end of peak hockey in Canada if you're looking at things from a marketshare perspective, and if not that then the Vince Carter years.

Depends on the area of the country. I suspect areas that haven't seen their demographics change much in the last 30 years will still be at 'peak hockey' for awhile yet.

However, areas that have seen immigration will be moving away from hockey. Look at the difference in the crowd at Maple Leaf Square in Toronto when the Leafs are having a playoff game versus the Raptors. That's the future.

But, yeah, even in the classic hockey markets of the US - New York, Boston, Chicago - the NHL is a distant second fiddle to the NFL, MLB and NBA.

I hope the NHL makes hay while the sun shines.

I agree that we've passed "peak hockey", though its supremacy was so great that it's still far ahead of any other sport. The sports which are competing with it and in some cases gaining on it are dividing up the remaining share of the pie between themselves (even if that share increases in size as hockey's dominance fades).

In the future I know hockey won't be (close to) THE ONLY GAME, but I honestly can't see where in the future one single other sport will be more popular than hockey in Canada overall.

Hockey will likely conserve a kind of plurality status as the most popular sport.

After 30+ years waiting for the CFL to put out merchandise I'd consider buying I gave up. I'm actually stunned that there's something nice enough to buy. Can one wear an Alouettes jersey but support a different team? :koko:

At this point I may have to. I think I've waited long enough.

This is excellent news. Those 8 countries represent a television market 10 times larger than Canada. Even getting a small sliver market share could translate into significantly higher television audiences for the CFL. This is something the CFL should have done decades ago.

People outside of Canada/US are oblivious to the existence of the CFL and Canadian Football. Even if all this does is change that, it's a victory afaic.

It's well behind some others too: NCAA basketball, NCAA football, golf, and in a significant number of US markets NASCAR and MLS.