Sports in Canadian culture

[elly63]

Originally Posted by HomeInMyShoes

^I completely agree. Football/soccer culture in Canada is just not there yet. I would be happy if Canada could at least get to the last bit of World Cup qualifying and have a few nice spots to see friendlies across the country. It sounds like the new stadium in Regina might be FIFA-approved so it might be able to host a friendly. I'd love to see a game, especially if Canada was a solid 40-60 in the World so we are at least reasonably competitive on any given night against all but the superpowers.

Almost every stadium in Canada is "FIFA approved" There's no great mystery to "FIFA approval", any modern stadium could pass muster.

I read through the UEFA stadium building guide and there's nothing special in there. FIFA looks for areas to be set aside for press, drug testing, etc and the artificial turf must be two star rated. You can play WC qualifiers on two star rated artificial turf and almost every CFL stadium passes that qualification (not sure about Toronto and Regina at this time). Regina will have a two star rated surface with the new stadium.

[Mister F]

A Toronto World Cup stadium would likely be built with temporary seating, leaving behind a smaller permanent stadium after the tournament. The same has been done in a lot of World Cups (and Olympics) in the past.

All this breathless talk of Toronto's NFL team as if it's the city's destiny is hilarious. It ain't happening.

[esquire]

I highly doubt the results of this study, but here it is for what it's worth: A Saskatchewan-based market research company has released the results of a survey which reveals that the Montreal Canadiens are the most respected sports brand in Canada.

Here are the key stats:

Most Respected

1.Montreal Canadiens – 22.6%
2.Saskatchewan Roughriders – 12.2%
3.Toronto Blue Jays – 9.1%
4.Montreal Alouettes – 7.5%

Perception of Popularity

1.Montreal Canadiens – 20.8%
2.Saskatchewan Roughriders – 16.5%
3.Toronto Maple Leafs – 15.0%
4.Montreal Alouettes – 7.2%

Perception Most Loyal Fans

1.Montreal Canadiens – 22.5%
2.Saskatchewan Roughriders – 22.1%
3.Toronto Maple Leafs – 19.9%
4.Toronto Raptors – 6.7%

Perception of Best Stadium/Arena Atmosphere

1.Montreal Canadiens – 24.4%
2.Saskatchewan Roughriders – 16.2%
3.Toronto Maple Leafs – 10.5%
4.Toronto Raptors (Tie) – 6.9%
Montreal Alouettes (Tie) – 6.9%

First Brand that Comes to Mind

1.Toronto Blue Jays – 19.2%
2.Montreal Canadiens – 18.5%
3.Toronto Maple Leafs – 14.8%
4.Toronto Raptors – 12.3%

Canadian Professional Sports Brand Ranking (Based on combined weighted results)

First: Montreal Canadiens
Second: Toronto Maple Leafs
Third: Saskatchewan Roughriders
Fourth: Toronto Blue Jays

http://www.newswire.ca/en/story/1394...rand-in-canada

What makes it weird are two things:

1) the high prominence of the Saskatchewan Roughriders, which was a mickey mouse team until about 7 or 8 years ago, and which has virtually no fans who aren't either living in Sask or are Sask ex-pats, and

2) the absence of all Canadian NHL teams other than the Leafs and Habs. You seriously mean to tell me that people consider the Alouettes more popular than the Canucks?

[Acajack]

Originally Posted by esquire

I highly doubt the results of this study, but here it is for what it's worth: A Saskatchewan-based market research company has released the results of a survey which reveals that the Montreal Canadiens are the most respected sports brand in Canada.

Here are the key stats:



http://www.newswire.ca/en/story/1394...rand-in-canada

What makes it weird are two things:

1) the high prominence of the Saskatchewan Roughriders, which was a mickey mouse team until about 7 or 8 years ago, and which has virtually no fans who aren't either living in Sask or are Sask ex-pats, and

2) the absence of all Canadian NHL teams other than the Leafs and Habs. You seriously mean to tell me that people consider the Alouettes more popular than the Canucks?

Could it be that the block of respondents from Quebec (a quarter of the total approx.) could be skewing things? Somehow I doubt that most people in Quebec pay attention to non-Montreal sports team, so it could be that, pressed to name a team in addition to the Habs, that a huge block of them named the Alouettes as that's the only other team that comes to mind spontaneously.

[esquire]

Originally Posted by Acajack

Could it be that the block of respondents from Quebec (a quarter of the total approx.) could be skewing things? Somehow I doubt that most people in Quebec pay attention to non-Montreal sports team, so it could be that, pressed to name a team in addition to the Habs, that a huge block of them named the Alouettes as that's the only other team that comes to mind spontaneously.

It appears that they did try to weigh the results by population so as to make the poll results representative:

http://insightrix.com/wp-content/upl...ds-Summary.pdf

[Berklon]

Perception Most Loyal Fans

1.Montreal Canadiens – 22.5%
2.Saskatchewan Roughriders – 22.1%
3.Toronto Maple Leafs – 19.9%
4.Toronto Raptors – 6.7%

The perception that the Leafs have only the 3rd most loyal fans is beyond me.

With the amount of loyalty Leaf fans have shown, you would think they've won a cup every few years... instead of going on a 47 year drought (not even appearing in the finals) and for a good chunk of those years have been nothing but an actual embarrassment. It's rare to see that much loyalty to a team that has given so little back.

[esquire]

Originally Posted by Berklon

The perception that the Leafs have only the 3rd most loyal fans is beyond me.

With the amount of loyalty Leaf fans have shown, you would think they've won a cup every few years... instead of going on a 47 year drought (not even appearing in the finals) and for a good chunk of those years have been nothing but an actual embarrassment. It's rare to see that much loyalty to a team that has given so little back.

I agree. Even with the dry spell that the Habs have had over the last 20 years, it has still been relatively easy to be a Habs fan. And prior to that dry spell, there were regular Stanley Cup parades in Montreal.

Contrast that with the Leafs who have offered nothing more than a constant stream of disappointment and ever more obscenely priced tickets. That pitiful return on emotional and financial investment has to factor into the loyalty equation. Leafs fans definitely take the loyalty crown IMO.

[SaskScraper]

Originally Posted by Berklon

The perception that the Leafs have only the 3rd most loyal fans is beyond me.

With the amount of loyalty Leaf fans have shown, you would think they've won a cup every few years... instead of going on a 47 year drought (not even appearing in the finals) and for a good chunk of those years have been nothing but an actual embarrassment. It's rare to see that much loyalty to a team that has given so little back.

shhhhh..
.. or the Leaf's will be called out as a mickey mouse team too

[Dr Awesomesauce]

I pray Toronto gets an NFL team SOON because I'm so bloody weary of all the mewling and puking emanating from both sides of this discussion.

Please make it stop, Mr Bon Jovi!

[Berklon]

Originally Posted by Dr Awesomesauce

I pray Toronto gets an NFL team SOON because I'm so bloody weary of all the mewling and puking emanating from both sides of this discussion.

Please make it stop, Mr Bon Jovi!

According to sources, they got shot down... so it ain't happening... no NFL team and no new stadium without the team and no hosting the World Cup. All that talk will die down soon enough.

[osmo]

Originally Posted by Berklon

According to sources, they got shot down... so it ain't happening... no NFL team and no new stadium without the team and no hosting the World Cup. All that talk will die down soon enough.

Everybody did. All the bids intial were to low. They want a Billion + and everybody went under. The Clippers have ruined sports valuations forever as that mythical value has inflated every single North American teams worth by at least 100-200 million.

The fact that Trump is even a "front runner' shows how much of a joke this bid process is as the NFL will never let him into the club for trying to kill the league back in the day with the USFL. The only real players are the Toronto group and The Sabers group, everybody else is to broke or isn't serious. They will gouge the Toronto group and they will have to weigh if its worth it tossing so much cash to keep the team on ice before they can move it.

[Henbo]

Originally Posted by Berklon

According to sources, they got shot down... so it ain't happening... no NFL team and no new stadium without the team and no hosting the World Cup. All that talk will die down soon enough.

Perhaps, by magic, Vancouver will be the city that gets the Bills, a new/expanded BC Place (LOL), and then hosts the world cup final

The Aquilini family has signed a non-disclosure agreement with the Bills

http://bills.buffalonews.com/2014/08...niffing-around

[DavefromSt.Vital]

Investors Group Field sold out for tonight's Bombers/Roughriders game

http://cfl.ca/

[SignalHillHiker]

Team Newfoundland wins ball hockey championship with one hour of practice

Despite only having practised for one hour, Team Newfoundland won the gold medal for under-15 Boys Canadian Ball Hockey Association Junior National championships in Winnipeg last weekend.

...

"Practice time wasn't always available when geographically getting there was a challenge," said Fred Simms, one of the team's coaches. He thinks the team members were already physically fit from playing ice hockey, soccer or from swimming.

With the lack of practice, Team Newfoundland didn't have high expectations for the tournament.

"We went with the mindset that it was going to be a learning experience," said Simms. "We went in with the feeling that we weren't sure if we were going to score a goal let alone win a game."

Simms and Bartlett didn't initially know all of the team members.

...


Fred Simms believes interest in ball hockey will grow especially since St. John's will host the tournament next year.

"The fact that these boys won brought a lot of attention to it (ball hockey) and the sport of ball hockey will grow," said Simms.

http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/newfou...tice-1.2730441

[elly63]

Inman and Law: From CFL to San Diego
It's a small world. The story connecting Dontrelle Inman and Cordarro Law (and Mike McCoy) is proof.

Can WR Dontrelle Inman's Success Carry Over?
The CFL star receiver has impressed teammates and coaches so far this offseason

[elly63]

The Excellent CFL Engraved on a Nation Series
Awful website to navigate (courtesy TSN) so I included the direct video links

The 13th Man
Stone Thrower the Chuck Ealey Story
The Kid from La Puente
Playing a Dangerous Game
The Crash
The Photograph
Western Swagger
The Greatest Team That Never Won

[Chadillaccc]

A lot of amazing Rugby going on in Calgary this past week. The Canadian U18 Championships have been underway since Monday, finishing today. My partner has been reffing many of these games. Yesterday, we went to watch the opening game of the Canadian National Mens Championships (not affiliated with the U18 Championships) between the Prairie Wolfpack (most players from AB, 2 from SK, none from MB) and the BC Bears. The Wolfpack won 31 to 10.



WolfPack Takes the Lineout by Chadillaccc, on Flickr

Hard Tackle by Chadillaccc, on Flickr

Busy by Chadillaccc, on Flickr

Overlooking the Scrum by Chadillaccc, on Flickr

Wide View by Chadillaccc, on Flickr

Packed Stadium by Chadillaccc, on Flickr

Prairies kicking ass! by Chadillaccc, on Flickr

[logan5]

Metro Vancouver representing Canada at the Little League World Series for the 9th time in 10 years. Lately though Ontario has most of the best young (college eligible) prospects.

http://www.theprovince.com/South+Van...417/story.html

[esquire]

Interesting blurb in Rod Pedersen's sports blog (he's a radio guy and the voice of the Roughriders on CKRM in Regina):

One CFL executive noted to me that the Saskatchewan Roughriders' franchise worth is pegged at $100-million. That's staggering considering the team was $3-million in debt when I began with the team in 1999.

That's pretty remarkable. I'd imagine that the Riders have a higher value than any other team given that unlike all of the other CFL teams, they basically have a monopoly on what is now a substantial sports market. But if the Riders have a value of around $100M (not that surprising considering rapidly increasing box office, TV and merchandising revenues), then the other teams in the league have to be up there too. I'd imagine that other western teams like the Bombers, Stamps, Lions, etc. would have to be at least half that?

In a world where the LA Clippers are being sold for $2B, that may not seem like very much, but we do seem to be getting to a point where the high end CFL teams are starting to approach the lower end NHL teams in terms of their value.

[isaidso]

Originally Posted by esquire

In a world where the LA Clippers are being sold for $2B, that may not seem like very much, but we do seem to be getting to a point where the high end CFL teams are starting to approach the lower end NHL teams in terms of their value.

It's an encouraging sign. Let's not forget that the league hit an all time low around 2000 so it's only been climbing out of it for about 15 years. Another 15 years like the last 15 and the league and franchises will be in very good shape.

With a booming economy, growing population, and their new stadium it's not inconceivable that the Riders could one day be worth more than some NHL teams.