2019 CFL Season

[elly63]

Absolutely unprecedented the number of Canadian QBs who have signed CFL contracts and are on rosters going to training camp. Where having one would have been a pleasant surprise this year there are six. Reminds me of the year when there were all the URegina grads in the NFL, more than most US colleges.

I guess this is proof that the CFL QB mentoring program (minus Bridge) is paying dividends:
Des Catellier (Manitoba) Riders
Brandon Bridge (South Alabama) Argos
Noah Picton (Regina) Argos
Michael O'Connor (UBC) Argos
Chris Merchant (Western) Alouettes
Hugo Richard (Laval) Alouettes

I just have this feeling that Montreal took Merchant to be the fall guy to keep Richard around. Would be a real shame if that happened because he and O`Connor may be the most talented of the lot. But if Richard can make it, it will be a real big deal for Montreal.

[JHikka]

Rumours of a sale of the Alouettes to Guzzo are a bit premature according to Herb Zurkowsky. Rumours floating around about a potential name change (from Montreal to Quebec) and the hopes for an all-Quebecois coaching staff....

Marinaro's original reporting was that the BoG approved the sale and Guzzo's group still had to do their due diligence which....doesn't make any sense. Usually diligence is done by the purchaser before the proposal is forwarded to BoG, not the other way around.

[le calmar]

Originally Posted by JHikka

Rumours floating around about a potential name change (from Montreal to Quebec) and the hopes for an all-Quebecois coaching staff....

That would be a bad move imo as most of their fan base is in Greater Montreal and a new "Québécois" identity is not likely to attract new fans in Baie-Comeau or Saint-Georges.

The Alouettes have never really been popular outside the Montreal area and maybe some of the surrounding cities (Sherbrooke). AFAIK Gatineau is Redblacks territory, not Alouettes. I get that they want to change that but I am very skeptical. Plus a good chunk of their fanbase is Anglo.

[esquire]

Changing to Quebec Alouettes might have made sense had they not just brought in a pretty solid new visual identity that plays up the Montreal angle. Switching it again so soon after that would be buffoonish, IMO.

I'm also not sure that forcing an all Quebec coaching staff is a great idea, because why would you want to limit yourself to such a small pool? I get having at least one or two Quebec coaches at all times is a good idea, but going all-Quebec would probably be disastrous from a football perspective.



Apart from that, it sounds like good news for the Als.

[Eau Claire]

Originally Posted by le calmar

That would be a bad move imo as most of their fan base is in Greater Montreal and a new "Québécois" identity is not likely to attract new fans in Baie-Comeau or Saint-Georges.

The Alouettes have never really been popular outside the Montreal area and maybe some of the surrounding cities (Sherbrooke). AFAIK Gatineau is Redblacks territory, not Alouettes. I get that they want to change that but I am very skeptical. Plus a good chunk of their fanbase is Anglo.

Football is very popular throughout Quebec and particularly in Quebec City, so this may be a way to make it easier for them to become fans of the Als.

[le calmar]

I think a Québécois identity and some local managers would not be a bad idea for a new Quebec City team, but implementing theses changes to an existing Montreal team, which just recently refreshed their visual identity and decided to focus their marketing efforts on the Montreal market and cather to a younger audience doesn't sound like a good move to me.

Originally Posted by Eau Claire

Football is very popular throughout Quebec and particularly in Quebec City, so this may be a way to make it easier for them to become fans of the Als.

If the idea of a new team in Quebec City is dead, then yes, maybe. But past experiences have shown that the Quebec City footballs fans care more about the Rouge and Or than the Alouettes.

[Eau Claire]

Originally Posted by esquire

Changing to Quebec Alouettes might have made sense had they not just brought in a pretty solid new visual identity that plays up the Montreal angle. Switching it again so soon after that would be buffoonish, IMO.

Meh. I think a new owner is allowed to make some big-ish changes.

I'm also not sure that forcing an all Quebec coaching staff is a great idea, because why would you want to limit yourself to such a small pool? I get having at least one or two Quebec coaches at all times is a good idea, but going all-Quebec would probably be disastrous from a football perspective.

I'm with you here. Having the upper management be locals makes sense, but on the football side I think you should be looking for the best talent you can find. I think most of the fans expect that as well.

[esquire]

Originally Posted by Eau Claire

Meh. I think a new owner is allowed to make some big-ish changes.

Of course... Guzzo can also change the colours to pink and purple and call them the Quebec Unicorns if he wants to really put his stamp on things, but as with the Quebec Alouettes name I'm not sure that either is really in the club's best interests.

Besides, people in Quebec are used to cheering for another bleu-blanc-rouge Montreal team, so the Alouettes shouldn't be in too difficult a situation.

Anyway, I hope these are just rumours floating around due to the media interest in the team's sale...

[Calgarian]

Quebec City needs a team, football is popular there, and the second largest province in the country shouldn't have 1 team...

[esquire]

Originally Posted by Calgarian

Quebec City needs a team, football is popular there, and the second largest province in the country shouldn't have 1 team...

With the dollar the way it is these days, I would imagine that the prospects of Canada getting any more NHL teams would be fairly low for the foreseeable future. It might be an opportune time for a would-be team owner to land a franchise for Quebec City...

[blueandgoldguy]

It would be nice but you need $150 - $200 million for a football stadium to make it viable in QC.

[esquire]

Originally Posted by blueandgoldguy

It would be nice but you need $150 - $200 million for a football stadium to make it viable in QC.

It would probably a lot easier to pull something like that off in a city the size of Quebec and in a province the size of Quebec as compared to Nova Scotia.

Besides, they spent $370 million on an arena that is occupied by a QMJHL team...

[Andy6]

This “Deestroying” guy has almost a million hits on his YouTube video about trying out as the Argo kicker. This is marketing gold for the Argos ... in the top 20 trending on YouTube with a bazillion millennials cheering him on in the comments.

[Prometheus]

Originally Posted by Andy6

This “Deestroying” guy has almost a million hits on his YouTube video about trying out as the Argo kicker. This is marketing gold for the Argos ... in the top 20 trending on YouTube with a bazillion millennials cheering him on in the comments.

Yeah, this is the same guy who did what are probably the best YouTube vlogs about the game-day experience in Rider Nation, where he was invited by the CFL to attend the fan day weekend in 2017:

• Video Link

• Video Link

[elly63]

Originally Posted by Prometheus

Yeah, this is the same guy who did what are probably the best YouTube vlogs about the game-day experience in Rider Nation, where he was invited by the CFL to attend the fan day weekend in 2017

Yup, I posted about this at the time and also the USA Today backstory

[EpicPonyTime]

Guzzo has come out and said the rumours of a namechange are false.

[elly63]

Originally Posted by Andy6

This “Deestroying” guy has almost a million hits on his YouTube video about trying out as the Argo kicker. This is marketing gold for the Argos ... in the top 20 trending on YouTube with a bazillion millennials cheering him on in the comments.

He'll be in tough against Ronnie Pfeffer, Zach Medeiros and interestingly, Tyler Crapigna. I say interestingly because if you look at his video from the side lines at the Regina game, he is ignored by Crapigna walking by (he may not have heard him) and De la Hoye then says "F ya, bitch" That should make for some interesting ribbing/conversation.

[Andy6]

Originally Posted by elly63

He'll be in tough against Ronnie Pfeffer, Zach Medeiros and interestingly, Tyler Crapigna. I say interestingly because if you look at his video from the side lines at the Regina game, he is ignored by Crapigna walking by (he may not have heard him) and De la Hoye then says "F ya, bitch" That should make for some interesting ribbing/conversation.

If I were the Argos, I might be thinking about how many hundreds of thousands of people might follow his rookie season online vs. the value of having Tyler Crapigna possibly kick a little better over the year.

[elly63]

Originally Posted by Andy6

If I were the Argos, I might be thinking about how many hundreds of thousands of people might follow his rookie season online vs. the value of having Tyler Crapigna possibly kick a little better over the year.

Unless they are buying merch, social media has yet to be monetized. I certainly wouldn't be hiring a kicker for their online presence. Also this guy looks like a million bucks kicking without anybody rushing him or having been in the game for a couple of years. Also, unless they are significantly better than a Canadian kicker, he is unlikely to win the job despite what he claims in his videos.

[DavefromSt.Vital]

Originally Posted by Andy6

This “Deestroying” guy has almost a million hits on his YouTube video about trying out as the Argo kicker. This is marketing gold for the Argos ... in the top 20 trending on YouTube with a bazillion millennials cheering him on in the comments.

Actually my son, who is in Grade 8, commented a couple of days ago that "Deestroying" has a large number of followers among his classmates. Very few of them normally follow the Argos.

Whether or not he has a good shot at making the team, this is already reaching the paying fans of tomorrow in a way that is meaningful to them.