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-   -   The Great Canadian Sports Attendance, Marketing and TV Ratings Thread (https://skyscraperpage.com/forum/showthread.php?t=228928)

EpicPonyTime May 1, 2019 5:25 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by suburbanite (Post 8558609)
Hell, even my comparably stuffy job in capital markets has a cooler of beers dropped off every Friday in the summer that we usually start drinking at 3pm. I think maybe the stereotypical image of the lawyer in a 3-piece suit going out for a boozy lunch is fading, but alcohol in the physical workplace is reaching new heights and I love it.

Most major law firms have installed bars into their offices, so instead of going out for a drink at lunch lawyers are encouraged to get together and drink every Friday.

At least in the legal industry, the prevalence/encouragement of drinking has become a major issue for an industry prone to substance abuse. Many firms have or are planning to stop having Friday drinks because it encourages the use of alcohol as an unhealthy coping mechanism.

It's a weird world when the ultra-conservative legal industry is looking to ditch booze while startups flock to it, but it's a weird world in general.

LakeLocker May 1, 2019 5:37 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by suburbanite (Post 8558609)
Can't say that's my experience. Startup culture and attracting millenial talent has put an emphasis on keeping people in the office with perks like alcohol. Having a beer on tap at the workplace would have been unheard of before 2000. Now it's a staple at every WeWork office and numerous legit startups. I see pictures from friends who work in tech or marketing firms who have scotch tastings every month at the office. Actually I remember walking into Ubisoft's 900 employee office in Toronto and seeing a row of a hundred or so empty whiskey bottles in the employee cafeteria from such events.

Hell, even my comparably stuffy job in capital markets has a cooler of beers dropped off every Friday in the summer that we usually start drinking at 3pm. I think maybe the stereotypical image of the lawyer in a 3-piece suit going out for a boozy lunch is fading, but alcohol in the physical workplace is reaching new heights and I love it.

Your talking about the end of a century long tradition not the beginning of a new one.

Obviously young people working together will drink together.

isaidso May 1, 2019 6:38 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by suburbanite (Post 8558609)
Can't say that's my experience. Startup culture and attracting millenial talent has put an emphasis on keeping people in the office with perks like alcohol. Having a beer on tap at the workplace would have been unheard of before 2000. Now it's a staple at every WeWork office and numerous legit startups. I see pictures from friends who work in tech or marketing firms who have scotch tastings every month at the office. Actually I remember walking into Ubisoft's 900 employee office in Toronto and seeing a row of a hundred or so empty whiskey bottles in the employee cafeteria from such events.

Hell, even my comparably stuffy job in capital markets has a cooler of beers dropped off every Friday in the summer that we usually start drinking at 3pm. I think maybe the stereotypical image of the lawyer in a 3-piece suit going out for a boozy lunch is fading, but alcohol in the physical workplace is reaching new heights and I love it.

Isn't capital markets more of a cocaine crowd though? My friend worked in currency trading and she said there was a culture of betting mixed with cocaine. They'd make friendly wagers on about 30-40 things a day (would this go up, would that go down, etc.) and do lines constantly right out in the open. Management knew but it was tolerated as long as they kept making the bank money.

suburbanite May 1, 2019 7:48 PM

I think actually doing coke in the office was an 80's thing. Adderall, vyvanse, etc. is what you use to get through a 14 hour work day. Coke is still big for partying after work and at industry/company events etc.

I work in a real estate focused capital markets role, but from what I've seen it's pretty similar in IB, sell-side equity, etc.

Now this conversation has gone way off the rails (no pun intended).

JHikka May 3, 2019 2:53 PM

NLL 2019 Regular Season final attendances, season average (over nine home games):

Team - Attendance (change from 2018 season)
Saskatchewan - 13,459 (-1,180)
Buffalo - 13,046 (-1,135)
Colorado - 12,815 (-1,262)
Calgary - 12,593 (+746)
Philadelphia - 10,905 (NEW)
Toronto - 9,476 (-224)
San Diego - 7,769 (NEW)
Vancouver - 6,833 (+3,326)*
Georgia - 6,698 (+2,261)
Rochester - 6,440 (-320)
New England - 5,526 (-31)
* Vancouver relocated from Langley to Vancouver for the 2019 season, moving from the Langley Events Centre to Rogers Arena

Halifax and New York (Uniondale) will be joining next season.

https://pointstreak.com/prostats/att...seasonid=18464

esquire May 3, 2019 4:04 PM

Are Halifax and NY expansion teams or relocations?

JHikka May 3, 2019 4:09 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by esquire (Post 8561013)
Are Halifax and NY expansion teams or relocations?

Rochester is relocating to Halifax. The Pegulas are then getting an expansion team and operating them out of Rochester. IIRC the Knighthawks trademark and branding remains in Rochester but the players and personnel are moved to Halifax.

New York is pure expansion.

So technically Rochester and NY (Uniondale) are expansions next season with Halifax getting a relocated team.

esquire May 3, 2019 4:14 PM

Interesting.

I'm not sure how it is in other provinces, but it's amazing how little coverage NLL gets in Manitoba (including via national outlets like TSN and such), especially considering that there are 4 Canadian teams that draw fairly well. I am aware of the league's existence but not really of anything else.

Contrast that with MLS which only has 3 Canadian teams and gets way more coverage... I'm not a soccer fan but even I am generally aware of how the Canadian teams are doing, partly because it's always on TV and in the papers.

TorontoDrew May 3, 2019 4:28 PM

I always forget we have the NLL. I've never been to a game but I'm going to try to a game or two.

stefanYEG May 3, 2019 4:33 PM

NLL coverage in Edmonton has completely disappeared since the Rush left for Saskatoon. When it was here, the team had some media coverage but the owner did an absolutely terrible job of selling the game. Instead of marketing the game, team and players, he spent all his marketing budget on bringing in UFC fighters and NFL cheerleaders for photo ops.

There were plenty of rumours a couple years ago of Katz wanting to buy a team—I believe he tried to buy the Rush, but it's been awfully quiet of late.

Acajack May 3, 2019 4:52 PM

I doubt most sports fans in Quebec are even aware the NLL exists. Zero visibility here.

I suppose if you asked, some would assume a league exists somewhere, like they might assume a rugby or cricket league does. Even if it is not on their radar.

suburbanite May 3, 2019 5:00 PM

The Rock draw decent attendance at the ACC. Usually get a good portion of the lower bowl filled. Problem is there's zero media coverage for the sport. It's surprising given how popular youth lacrosse is in Southern Ontario. To be fair I've always found that the sport doesn't translate to tv very well. We talk about how when watching hockey you have to anticipate where the puck is going and focusing on players and not the actual puck itself. Lacrosse takes that to another level.

The fact that even high-level players can be oblivious to where the ball is is pretty unique. I love watching this video, but it also kind of shows how it would be difficult for a casual fan to follow along.

Video Link

EpicPonyTime May 6, 2019 2:54 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by stefanYEG (Post 8561067)
NLL coverage in Edmonton has completely disappeared since the Rush left for Saskatoon. When it was here, the team had some media coverage but the owner did an absolutely terrible job of selling the game. Instead of marketing the game, team and players, he spent all his marketing budget on bringing in UFC fighters and NFL cheerleaders for photo ops.

There were plenty of rumours a couple years ago of Katz wanting to buy a team—I believe he tried to buy the Rush, but it's been awfully quiet of late.

That's really interesting, because it's been the exact opposite scenario in Saskatoon. The marketing in the first few months was really suspect (their tagline was "Hot Winter Nights" which just screams minor league) but once the season got underway they've done a fantastic job marketing the team (their weird Baby it's Cold Outside promotion notwithstanding). There is Rush branding all over the city and they get a lot of news coverage; they've definitely supplanted the Blades as the most visible team in the city.

Now that I'm here in Edmonton I find it pretty surprising that no one really seems to remember the Rush. It's not like they drew terribly or were short lived. I'm surprised Katz hasn't picked up a team to fill dates at Rogers Place, to be honest.

LakeLocker May 6, 2019 12:16 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by suburbanite (Post 8561112)
The Rock draw decent attendance at the ACC. Usually get a good portion of the lower bowl filled. Problem is there's zero media coverage for the sport. It's surprising given how popular youth lacrosse is in Southern Ontario. To be fair I've always found that the sport doesn't translate to tv very well. We talk about how when watching hockey you have to anticipate where the puck is going and focusing on players and not the actual puck itself. Lacrosse takes that to another level.

The fact that even high-level players can be oblivious to where the ball is is pretty unique. I love watching this video, but it also kind of shows how it would be difficult for a casual fan to follow along.

Video Link

As an outside observer they just get certain aspect of things wrong. Those shorts look hideous in contrast to those jerseys. It's so asymmetrical and looks like a hockey player couldn't afford pants. Pretty much every other sport gets that you need highly stylized gear as a basic.

At the same time they aren't taking advantage of the exoticism of the sport. You need to sell the sport as if "this is what the Incas/Aztecs played" this is a sport that was entirely developed in the Americas. Having team names like "Rush" just makes it sound like they are a knockoff of North American Sports.

At the very least the sport needs the visible involvement of aboriginal communities.

JHikka May 6, 2019 12:28 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by LakeLocker (Post 8563444)
At the very least the sport needs the visible involvement of aboriginal communities.

The Iroquois have their own national team and compete separately from Canada/US.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2018_W...e_Championship

LakeLocker May 6, 2019 12:30 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by JHikka (Post 8563452)
The Iroquois have their own national team and compete separately from Canada/US.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2018_W...e_Championship

That's fine but that's not translating to the NLL I just watched.

SaskScraper May 6, 2019 1:17 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by stefanYEG
NLL coverage in Edmonton has completely disappeared since the Rush left for Saskatoon. When it was here, the team had some media coverage but the owner did an absolutely terrible job of selling the game. Instead of marketing the game, team and players, he spent all his marketing budget on bringing in UFC fighters and NFL cheerleaders for photo ops.
He still does the same in Saskatoon, bringing Dallas Cowboys, Seattle Seahawks & Minnesota Viking Cheerleaders etc to add to the game day appeal of Rush games at SaskTel Centre.

https://saskatoon.ctvnews.ca/video?clipId=1338809

Quote:

Originally Posted by LakeLocker (Post 8563444)
As an outside observer they just get certain aspect of things wrong. Those shorts look hideous in contrast to those jerseys. It's so asymmetrical and looks like a hockey player couldn't afford pants. Pretty much every other sport gets that you need highly stylized gear as a basic.

At the same time they aren't taking advantage of the exoticism of the sport. You need to sell the sport as if "this is what the Incas/Aztecs played" this is a sport that was entirely developed in the Americas. Having team names like "Rush" just makes it sound like they are a knockoff of North American Sports.

At the very least the sport needs the visible involvement of aboriginal communities.

From what i've seen with the Rush in Saskatoon, nobody really cares how stylized the gear is for garnering spectator excitement, most people are just interested in the speed and agility of the players & fast paced action of the game.

'Rush' was a good fit for the team in Saskatchewan, the other two pro sports teams in the province, Riders and Rattlers are also names with the letter R and green for the main colour make for consistent sports exposure in the province cross promoting each sport even in the off season, plus no one can say the names are expropriation of aboriginal culture.

Acajack May 6, 2019 1:23 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by LakeLocker (Post 8563444)
You need to sell the sport as if "this is what the Incas/Aztecs played" this is a sport that was entirely developed in the Americas..

I assume this was just an example of a potential marketing angle, and that you know that Incas and Aztecs did not play lacrosse?

LakeLocker May 6, 2019 1:51 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Acajack (Post 8563494)
I assume this was just an example of a potential marketing angle, and that you know that Incas and Aztecs did not play lacrosse?

Yes, I just think its the logical choice. Marketing new sports is tough.

Soccer has the whole world sport thinger.

Hockey is just a crazy ass idea.

Basketball is cheap and everyone plays it.

Football is an intense spectacle.

Baseball has over a century of history/statistics.

Lacrosse has hyper organic origins.

Acajack May 6, 2019 2:05 PM

Yes, I agree that lacrosse has lots of potential. And it's not really been marketed that well so far.


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