CFL 2021 season?

[Coldrsx]

Kinda sad at the pub here in town though.

1/2 the bar was there for NFL and only a few of us there for the game.

A fair amount of people who came in didn't know that it was on, but then got into it.

[WhipperSnapper]

Originally Posted by thurmas

Its easier at stadium fans just show their vacination cards for entrance to the stadium

Good point on screening people

[MonctonRad]

Originally Posted by craner

I’m very glad to hear that the Halifax expansion is not dead

NS is about to become the next province with a million people. All other provinces with over a million people have CFL teams. Perhaps this is a sign.........

Originally Posted by MonctonRad

The population clock on StatsCan is showing 999,836 souls in NS.

We are likely within 7-10 days of Canada having it's 7th province with at least 1 million people.

[Hackslack]

Originally Posted by Coldrsx

Kinda sad at the pub here in town though.

1/2 the bar was there for NFL and only a few of us there for the game.

A fair amount of people who came in didn't know that it was on, but then got into it.

Fantasy football has that effect.

[esquire]

Originally Posted by Hackslack

Fantasy football has that effect.

I like football but I can't relate to people interested in fantasy football whether it's CFL or NFL. I tried it a couple of times and I found it totally tedious and I lost interest pretty fast. My only fantasy team year in and year out is the Winnipeg Blue Bombers!

[Acajack]

Yesterday I crossed over to Ottawa to have lunch in a restaurant and bar setting that was fairly sports-oriented. Big screen TVs all over the place.

Anyway I left way before any of the Grey Cup coverage started so I have no idea if they switched to the CFL later in the day - though I assume they may have switched at least some TV over. It seems to be a place that's proud to be Canadian, with flags and other imagery quite prominent, as such places in Ottawa often are.

When I was there all of the TVs were on NFL games, and it was interesting to see all of the guys with NFL gear watching the game. I mean, there were only a half-dozen maybe out of maybe 50 people in the whole place. Still they weren't all in one group and this was the only visible sports team gear that I saw.

And these weren't just one-offs. What I mean by that is a Baltimore Ravens cap or Miami Dolphins jacket may just be that someone liked the look. But if you're wearing a Buffalo Bills jersey and cap, or a Tennessee Titans jacket and jersey and cap, then that's a higher degree of fandom.

It reminded me that it's not something you often see in sports bars in Gatineau, unless of course you actually go to one of them on Super Bowl night and that specific team is playing. Then you'll see some.

[esquire]

I think there is more of a culture of going to a bar to watch the NFL. After all, there are never home games for NFL fans in Canada... if you want to get together with other fans to watch a game, your only option is the local sports bar. Especially if you want to keep tabs on all the games without ponying up for NFL Sunday Ticket.

I watch damn near every Bomber game but I could probably count the number of games I've watched in a bar on one hand... I'm either at the stadium or watching at home.

[Acajack]

Originally Posted by esquire

I think there is more of a culture of going to a bar to watch the NFL. After all, there are never home games for NFL fans in Canada... if you want to get together with other fans to watch a game, your only option is the local sports bar. Especially if you want to keep tabs on all the games without ponying up for NFL Sunday Ticket.

I watch damn near every Bomber game but I could probably count the number of games I've watched in a bar on one hand... I'm either at the stadium or watching at home.

That's actually a really good point.

[Acajack]

It could also have been that that place is a popular place for NFL fans to congregate in that part of town. (Though I know well enough that that's not the only place you'd see this. It's pretty common.)

It's a lot more of a thing than if you go to L'Barouf in Montreal and come away with the conclusion that all Montreal sports fans go nuts for rugby games from France on TV.

[elly63]

Originally Posted by esquire

I like football but I can't relate to people interested in fantasy football whether it's CFL or NFL. I tried it a couple of times and I found it totally tedious and I lost interest pretty fast.

I think you will see a lot of that tie into the recent agreement with Genius that was brought about with the single-game betting legalization in Canada. Apparently the CFL will be getting a part of that action.

Like esquire, I'm not into that kind of thing but a whole lotta other people are, and it can only help the league with a new revenue source.

[EpicPonyTime]

Originally Posted by elly63

I think you will see a lot of that tie into the recent agreement with Genius that was brought about with the single-game betting legalization in Canada. Apparently the CFL will be getting a part of that action.

Like esquire, I'm not into that kind of thing but a whole lotta other people are, and it can only help the league with a new revenue source.

It's strange how the League's partnership with Genius is so hush-hush, but it legitimately is a great move. Genius is a big name with experience working with the NFL, NCAA, and the Premier League. It'll be great for the CFL to tap into their knowledge.

[25grapes]

Grey Cup took it on the chin ratings wise. 2.87m viewers down 22% from 2019. 821,000 were 25 - 54 meaning a majority were 55+.I'm not sure if that includes streaming or not. 10 years ago I thought the marriage between TSN and the CFL was great, now...

[EpicPonyTime]

Originally Posted by 25grapes

Grey Cup took it on the chin ratings wise. 2.87m viewers down 22% from 2019. 821,000 were 25 - 54 meaning a majority were 55+.I'm not sure if that includes streaming or not. 10 years ago I thought the marriage between TSN and the CFL was great, now...

It was great ten years ago when the CFL was riding high and they were TSN's undisputed ratings king. Problem is TSN's presentation has not evolved with the times and the CFL's stature has diminished so they take a backseat to other sports.

[thurmas]

Tsn's presentation of the game hasn't changed at all in the past 10 years and when they don't promote the league until grey cup weekend things like this happen. Ambrosie has had to stabilize things this year hopefully in the next 1 to 2 years he can get new and broader reaching media partners on board.

[ScreamingViking]

I don't think game presentation is the issue. I don't watch a lot of NFL now (no cable since early 2020) but the game commentary and associated media seemed quite similar and I used to feel that TSN was emulating its American network neighbours. Seems to me that it's more the marketing. And the CFL and its teams need to figure that out as much as their broadcaster does.

This was a really nice read by a columnist from the Winnipeg Free Press:
https://www.winnipegfreepress.com/opinio...-a-charming-Grey-Cup-host-575908711.html
https://www.thespec.com/sports/ticats/2021/12/13/hamilton-proves-a-charming-grey-cup-host.html
https://www.stcatharinesstandard.ca/ths/...ton-proves-a-charming-grey-cup-host.html
(sorry for all the links... I couldn't actually see the writeup in the Freep but did find it elsewhere; I first read it on the Hamilton Spec site)

[WhipperSnapper]

Originally Posted by esquire

I like football but I can't relate to people interested in fantasy football whether it's CFL or NFL. I tried it a couple of times and I found it totally tedious and I lost interest pretty fast. My only fantasy team year in and year out is the Winnipeg Blue Bombers!

You have to be a massive fan for fantasy football. The office pool was an elimination pick a winner every week and can't pick the same team twice.

[DavefromSt.Vital]

Originally Posted by ScreamingViking

I don't think game presentation is the issue. I don't watch a lot of NFL now (no cable since early 2020) but the game commentary and associated media seemed quite similar and I used to feel that TSN was emulating its American network neighbours. Seems to me that it's more the marketing. And the CFL and its teams need to figure that out as much as their broadcaster does.

This was a really nice read by a columnist from the Winnipeg Free Press:
https://www.winnipegfreepress.com/opinio...-a-charming-Grey-Cup-host-575908711.html
https://www.thespec.com/sports/ticats/2021/12/13/hamilton-proves-a-charming-grey-cup-host.html
https://www.stcatharinesstandard.ca/ths/...ton-proves-a-charming-grey-cup-host.html
(sorry for all the links... I couldn't actually see the writeup in the Freep but did find it elsewhere; I first read it on the Hamilton Spec site)

I agree that marketing is the issue. You can't expect to generate national buzz by waiting until a few days before the game to do any promoting outside of TSN itself for a TSN only game.

A minor issue, but the teams themselves likely didn't help the ratings. Both have truly passionate fanbases but they are mid-size markets. On the way back from the 2019 Grey Cup in Calgary we noted to one of the TSN on-air people that there seemed to be a spike in interest in the game that year. He observed that there had been several years of variations on Calgary vs. Ottawa and people had "seen that". A re-match isn't always best for the casual fan.

BTW, every out of towner we talked to said nice things about Hamilton.

[25grapes]

^ It's down 22%from 2019 with the same two teams playing so I'm not sure if market size is the issue.

FNF isn't what it used to be IMO.

Let's not dance around the issue that CFL players / personel don't garner media, fan, and general public attention that NFL players do. The Ontario/Buffalo Bills vs the Brady's Tampa Bay Bucs is a nightmare matchup for the CFL. If the CFL is completely horrified going up against the NFL during the regular season then why do it during the playoffs? Sunday sports is an American tradition not a Canadian one, would Canadians care about a 4pm Saturday GC kickoff??

[Hackslack]

I blame COVID, specifically for 2 reasons.

1) the entire 2020 CFL season was lost, and to some, the CFL was forgotten and potentially replaced by the NFL. I personally got way more into the NFL last year almost entirely because there was no CFL. I needed the fix.

2) The Grey Cup is 2 weeks later than it’s supposed to be. The 2021 season was still not like any other, starting in August and ending 2 weeks before Christmas.


Not making excuses. The CFL definitely has its work cut out in order to get the fans back… start with lowering ticket prices, and make the game more of an “event”,

[esquire]

Originally Posted by ScreamingViking

This was a really nice read by a columnist from the Winnipeg Free Press:
https://www.winnipegfreepress.com/opinio...-a-charming-Grey-Cup-host-575908711.html
https://www.thespec.com/sports/ticats/2021/12/13/hamilton-proves-a-charming-grey-cup-host.html
https://www.stcatharinesstandard.ca/ths/...ton-proves-a-charming-grey-cup-host.html
(sorry for all the links... I couldn't actually see the writeup in the Freep but did find it elsewhere; I first read it on the Hamilton Spec site)

I enjoyed that column too. Melissa Martin is not a sportswriter per se, but she occasionally writes about sports and she does it beautifully.