Sports in Canadian culture

[GreaterMontréal]

more than 80,000 tickets sold for the Jays games at the Big O.

[Berklon]

Originally Posted by elly63

Seriously, why do you still live in Canada when you love America so. Why don't you just move there, stop trolling things Canadian and save the rest of us the grief of responding to your pro Americanism. Just wondering seeing as it's your only "contribution" and you only appear when someone else trolls something pro Canada.

Your stubborn "all or nothing" patriotism is annoying.
You can like some aspects of your country and hate other aspects - the same with other countries.

You responded to something that wasn't pro/anti anything - and you get your panties in a bunch over it. I think it's time to get over yourself.

[elly63]

Originally Posted by Berklon

Your stubborn "all or nothing" patriotism is annoying.
You can like some aspects of your country and hate other aspects - the same with other countries.

You responded to something that wasn't pro/anti anything - and you get your panties in a bunch over it. I think it's time to get over yourself.

Why then do you only come out of the woodwork at opportune times and post about Canadian things you hate. Are there any things about your beloved USA you hate? What's kept you from living there when it's so much better? I'm curious.

You took your usual CFL shot when there was no need of it, you pay the price for your constant trolling. You've never mentioned any aspects in these Canadian sports culture and stadium threads that you've liked, if you ever did you might get treated differently.

[GlassCity]

Originally Posted by rousseau

Yep. Same with the NBA. The regular season is a long grind that doesn't really mean all that much, save for getting into the post-season. You can miss any given game during that 82-game stretch, and you haven't really missed anything that matters in the end. There are just too many games.

By contrast, European football is dramatic from start to finish because every match counts, save maybe for a couple clubs stuck in the middle with no fear of relegation. Still, you can't miss a single game for the club you support, especially considering that there are just 38 matches.

I believe we had a contentious discussion in this thread about this a few years ago.

Except in European soccer, the lack of playoffs makes what should be the most exciting part of the season–the end–not worth watching. Sometimes at that point, there is already a winner decided and the last few games mean nothing. Sure the games before that mean a lot more, but the possibility always remains that the last few games become a formality.

[Berklon]

Originally Posted by elly63

Why then do you only come out of the woodwork at opportune times and post about Canadian things you hate. Are there any things about your beloved USA you hate? What's kept you from living there when it's so much better? I'm curious.

I think you're being paranoid. The only sport I've watched for a while now is football (NFL), so usually the input I provide is from a football perspective. I don't usually jump into the discussion of other sports - so if that's "coming out of the woodwork", so be it.

There are things about the US I hate - like every country. Why do you assume I feel the US is so much better? You're basing this solely on my not liking the CFL. You might not believe this, but there's more to this world than sports - so liking one country's sport/league over another doesn't define a person's like/hate towards the country as a whole. Do you ask someone who prefers an iPhone over a Blackberry "why don't you move to the US?"? That's how silly you sound.

You took your usual CFL shot when there was no need of it...

And what shot was that? I simply stated that someone who hates a league isn't going to hate it strictly due to the playoff setup - that usually isn't enough to hate a league. That goes for all leagues. As usual, you get all defensive.

Life is short - do you really want to get upset about something as trivial as sports?

[khabibulin]

Originally Posted by elly63

Why then do you only come out of the woodwork at opportune times and post about Canadian things you hate. Are there any things about your beloved USA you hate? What's kept you from living there when it's so much better? I'm curious.

You took your usual CFL shot when there was no need of it, you pay the price for your constant trolling. You've never mentioned any aspects in these Canadian sports culture and stadium threads that you've liked, if you ever did you might get treated differently.

My wish is that all posters would deal with personal gripes by exchanging pm's.

[elly63]

Originally Posted by khabibulin

My wish is that all posters would deal with personal gripes by exchanging pm's.

Not when this guy trolls, go back and see his history, I'm gonna call him out. He had a while where he stopped the trolling and I never said a word, then he went back to his old ways.

[elly63]

Originally Posted by Berklon

I'm sure most people who dismiss the CFL aren't doing it for that reason alone - it's just one reason among the many others.

Ahem.

[Dr Awesomesauce]

Originally Posted by GreaterMontréal

more than 80,000 tickets sold for the Jays games at the Big O.

Do you have a link to a story or did you hear this on the radio? I've been trying to get details on this for a couple weeks to no avail.

[GreaterMontréal]

Originally Posted by Dr Awesomesauce

Do you have a link to a story or did you hear this on the radio? I've been trying to get details on this for a couple weeks to no avail.

En effet, Simon Arseneault, gestionnaire du projet pour le groupe evenko, a annoncé mercredi que la vente de billets dépassait les 80 000 personnes. M. Arseneault a prédit que plus de 90 000 billets pourraient être vendus pour les deux rencontres, vendredi et samedi.

http://www.tvasports.ca/2014/03/26/p...billets-vendus

[Dr Awesomesauce]

^Thanks!

[rousseau]

Hearing a solid contingent of fans shouting "Let's Go Raptors" at the game against Minnesota tonight, along with cheers for Raptors' scores and a loud chorus of "Lou-ooo-oooo-ooo" every time Lou Williams picks up the ball (just like at the Air Canada Centre).

That's gotta mean there are Raptors' fans in Winnipeg, right?

Interestingly, the hometown commentators in Minnesota haven't mentioned it at all. They're "homers," so the idea of the other team's fans invading the home turf doesn't fit in the script.

Which is rather unique about North American sports, when you think about it. The teams travel great distances here, so fans don't travel to see away games. Except for Toronto basketball and football/soccer fans, who are travelling to nearby away games.

Edit: Oh gawd, the commentators just mentioned that there are a lot of Toronto fans at the game, and followed that with: "Look at a map. Toronto isn't all that far from Minnesota."

Nope, only 1,500 km from Toronto to Minneapolis. Not that far at all.

The idiocy never stops. It should be called the "American disease," because you simply do not hear this kind of brain-dead ignorance anywhere else.

Edit the second: They got called out for their stupidity by someone (social media?), and said that they figured that the fans were coming from Thunder Bay, Winnipeg and Regina (pronounced Reg-EEna). They then explained that they didn't know much about Canadian geography outside of Toronto and Montreal, and the one guy then confessed, unbelievably, that he "thinks" he knows where Winnipeg is.

Christ.

[esquire]

^ Definitely a solid contingent of NBA fans in Winnipeg... not many of them would have been cheering for the Raptors 5 years ago, but they are kind of the team du jour now.

I wouldn't be surprised if a couple hundred Winnipeggers started a long weekend trip down to Minneapolis early to catch the game... you can get tickets to a Timberwolves game dirt cheap, so it's an attractive proposition for basketball fans.

[rousseau]

Originally Posted by GlassCity

Except in European soccer, the lack of playoffs makes what should be the most exciting part of the season–the end–not worth watching. Sometimes at that point, there is already a winner decided and the last few games mean nothing. Sure the games before that mean a lot more, but the possibility always remains that the last few games become a formality.

So the heightened drama in football occurs on that particular weekend that might seal the deal for the best club in the league, instead of on the very last day of the playoffs as in North American sports.

The choice is between the potential for a few remaining games meaning nothing against dozens and dozens of games during the season meaning nothing. What North Americans don't understand is how cheap the whole ordeal seems here when looked at from a global perspective. Four rounds of playoffs to determine the champion in the NBA or NHL is just ridiculous.

It really takes two months of playoffs, coming after a mostly meaningless regular season, to determine who's the best? Really? And fans are supposed to care about games in December? No wonder the fan experience is so weak-sauce here compared to European football.

Even so, what's brilliant about football in Europe is that you have the Champion's League running concurrently with the national league seasons. It's a bit complicated how they figure out who qualifies, but it's essentially like a World Cup for European club football that lasts about ten months, with one or two matches per month. So you get double the drama during the season if you're playing to win your national league while contending for the Champion's League Cup at the same time.

Another problem with the NBA and the NHL is summed up by this NBA saying: "It's not who you play, it's when you play them." With crazy road schedules, where teams will sometimes play four games in five nights, you'll often get a well-rested lesser team beating an exhausted top-ranked team, and it just feels cheap and unworthy. It's not a fair match-up. It's not a true competitive test.

Sometimes you struggle to care about individual games, and I say this as a long-time NBA fan who loves the game of basketball.

[middeljohn]

Also a lot of Canadians who only "think" they know where Winnipeg is though.

[GlassCity]

Originally Posted by rousseau

So the heightened drama in football occurs on that particular weekend that might seal the deal for the best club in the league, instead of on the very last day of the playoffs as in North American sports.

The choice is between the potential for a few remaining games meaning nothing against dozens and dozens of games during the season meaning nothing. What North Americans don't understand is how cheap the whole ordeal seems here when looked at from a global perspective. Four rounds of playoffs to determine the champion in the NBA or NHL is just ridiculous.

It really takes two months of playoffs, coming after a mostly meaningless regular season, to determine who's the best? Really? And fans are supposed to care about games in December? No wonder the fan experience is so weak-sauce here compared to European football.

Even so, what's brilliant about football in Europe is that you have the Champion's League running concurrently with the national league seasons. It's a bit complicated how they figure out who qualifies, but it's essentially like a World Cup for European club football that lasts about ten months, with one or two matches per month. So you get double the drama during the season if you're playing to win your national league while contending for the Champion's League Cup at the same time.

Another problem with the NBA and the NHL is summed up by this NBA saying: "It's not who you play, it's when you play them." With crazy road schedules, where teams will sometimes play four games in five nights, you'll often get a well-rested lesser team beating an exhausted top-ranked team, and it just feels cheap and unworthy. It's not a fair match-up. It's not a true competitive test.

Sometimes you struggle to care about individual games, and I say this as a long-time NBA fan who loves the game of basketball.

We're not the only place that uses a playoff system. All the top rugby competitions in the world use playoffs too, though I will admit their introduction was met with a lot of criticism. And I would argue that even if the regular season appears to not mean much, even though it does since it determines who gets into the playoffs in the first place, I'd much rather have games mean more and more as the season goes on, instead of having the end of the season be literally pointless.

And I'm well aware of how the Champions League works, and I wish they did it differently. It should just be the champion of each league playing one another, instead of it being basically a whole different tournament entirely. It's difficult to follow sports when three different competitions are going on at the same time with the same teams.

This is just a question of opinion so there is no right answer, so at this point all I would say is that if it ain't broke, don't fix it. Just try moving our sports leagues to a European format and see what happens. People like what they're used to.

[elly63]

April Fool's Jokes

Bob Young to Kick Extra Points For Tiger-Cats During 2015 Preseason Game
Ticats.ca Staff 2015-04-01

The Hamilton Tiger-Cats announced today that Caretaker Bob Young will be taking his talents to the football field this preseason.

Young, unimpressed with the Canadian Football League’s new rule regarding extra points, has decided to take it upon himself to handle the Ticats kicking responsibilities after touchdowns during the team’s preseason game on Monday, June 8 against the Ottawa REDBLACKS at Tim Hortons Field.

Always a forward thinker, Young was very vocal in insisting that the rules committee come up with an exciting solution for the fans regarding the extra point. Bob was beyond disappointed after last week’s announcement that the league has ‘copped out’ and moved the ball back to the 25-yard line, ONLY resulting in a 32-yard kick.

"They've replaced a kick with a 99 percent success rate, with a kick that's got an 84 percent success rate,” remarked Young. “Why not make it a real challenge? I was proposing in the league meetings that extra points should be kicked from the 40, or even the 45-yard line. Even I can split the uprights from 32 yards.”

As per team policy, the details of Young’s contract weren’t publically announced, but The Caretaker has wasted no time selecting his jersey number and hitting the practice field.

“I used to practice kicking field goals after school just for something to do. I’ve got a surprisingly strong leg. I’ve spent the last few days training with Justin Medlock and I’ve already hit one from 35 yards!”

Medlock was unavailable for comment.

Young, and the rest of his Tiger-Cats teammates, will look to extend their home unbeaten streak to 8-0 at Tim Hortons Field when the team hosts the Toronto Argonauts on Monday, August 3 for the Black & Gold's home opener. Visit Ticats.ca to get your tickets!

[elly63]

April Fool's Jokes

Argos, Bills Agree To Exhibition Matchup
Argonauts.ca April 1st, 2015

Toronto Argonauts Accept Rex Ryan’s Challenge

Toronto – The Toronto Argonauts Football Club has thrown down the gauntlet today, announcing that the team will take part in an exhibition matchup on May 29 against the Buffalo Bills of the NFL. The game is a throwback to the cross-league matchups of the past, when NFL and AFL teams travelled to Canada for seven games against CFL squads between 1950 and 1961. This time around, the battle shifts to Ralph Wilson Stadium in Buffalo, where the teams will alternate between CFL and NFL rules each half.

“We’re extremely excited about this opportunity and we think our fans should be excited too” said Argonauts Senior Vice President David Bedford. “We first established a partnership with the Buffalo franchise through the Bills in Toronto series, and we’re excited to be taking the next logical step with a head-to-head matchup between our teams.”

The idea for a Bills - Argos matchup was first suggested in January by newly-appointed Bills Head Coach Rex Ryan, who lived in Toronto with his mother and two brothers from 1966 - 1976.

“I love Toronto,” said Ryan in an interview on Toronto radio immediately following his hiring with the Bills. “And quite honestly, if the Argos want to play us, we’ll play them too.”

Although he didn't have a chance to experience one first hand, Argos alumnus Nick Volpe fondly remembers the days when franchises from either side of the border squared off in games played purely for bragging rights.

“I think it’s a fantastic idea, and I hope it brings back what was once a great tradition for the two leagues” said Volpe, who was a placekicker and backup quarterback on the Argonauts' 1950 Grey Cup team. “I’ve even considered getting back into the weight room to see if I can suit up again,” joked the 88 year old.

[circle33]

Belated April Fool's Joke I can only hope.

Rob Ford elected to Hockey Hall of Fame Board of Directors

[MonctonRad]

Originally Posted by circle33

Belated April Fool's Joke I can only hope.

Rob Ford elected to Hockey Hall of Fame Board of Directors

Alas not a joke.

On the bright side though, they swear that he won't be allowed on the committee to select inductees.....