Sports in Canadian culture

[Acajack]

Originally Posted by Berklon

Bianca's gonna be on Jimmy Fallon tonight. Like I said - I wouldn't be surprised.

EDIT: Looks like she was on The View, Kelly & Ryan and the Today Show as well. Morning, afternoon and evening - she's getting coverage all day.

I guess I shouldn't be surprised then. After all, New York is Canada's de facto media and entertainment centre, a title jointly held with LA!

[VANRIDERFAN]

Originally Posted by esquire

^ FWIW the Raiders were prepared to play on the IG Field turf (it would have been too ironic for words if they had refused on the basis of field conditions), it was the Packers who objected strenuously.

Which leads me to wonder, what would the Packers do if they were faced with Oakland's field, would they just concede defeat? I mean, if that little patch in Winnipeg's turf was an unplayable hazard, then Oakland's combo of massive dirt infield and seams over the bases must be an absolute death trap to them.

What would have been neat to see the NFL play the game on the CFL sized field with NFL rules. This would never happen though.

[esquire]

Originally Posted by VANRIDERFAN

What would have been neat to see the NFL play the game on the CFL sized field with NFL rules. This would never happen though.

It certainly wouldn't be any worse than playing on an 80 yard field with no kickoffs. But I think ultimately the teams would be too worried about receivers and DBs bouncing off a goalpost they aren't used to dealing with in the endzone for that to happen.

[isaidso]

Originally Posted by Acajack

I guess I shouldn't be surprised then. After all, New York is Canada's de facto media and entertainment centre, a title jointly held with LA!

Although there's some truth to that, don't the New York talk shows frequently invite the winner of the US Open? Andreescu is the best storyline to hit tennis in a very long time. I would have been more surprised if they weren't interested.

[ScreamingViking]

As impressive as she's been on the court, she's matched it off court being so personable and real with the media. She's a special athlete.

[megadude]

When I wondered if there would be a rally in Mississauga I was really wondering if her schedule would allow for it. Thought she'd stay on tour and then it would be too cold by the time she's done. But she's been home for a couple of days so I guess this was inevitable.

A day after U.S. Open champion Bianca Andreescu arrived back on Canadian soil, the mayor of Mississauga announced the city will host a rally in her honour.

The event, dubbed the “She The North Rally,” will be held around 4:30 p.m. at Celebration Square, located near Burnhamthorpe Road West and Confederation Parkway.

[isaidso]

Panda Game Sells Out for 2nd Consecutive Year



Courtesy of the Ottawa Sun

The University of Ottawa defeated Carleton University 32-10 at the 51st Panda Game last Saturday. It's usually one of the biggest football games (college or pro) and this year was no different. Attendance was just shy of 25,000. Makes one wonder how big this thing could get if the stadium were bigger. Where's Pedro? On the topic of college football, Toronto is currently trailing York 14-7 (1st Quarter) at the 50th Red & Blue Bowl.

[Djeffery]

Originally Posted by isaidso

On the topic of college football, Toronto is currently trailing York 14-7 (1st Quarter) at the 50th Red & Blue Bowl.

How many hundreds are at that game?

[elly63]

Sherwood Park's Chuba Hubbard taking Heisman Trophy talk in stride
Former Bev Facey running back leads NCAA football in rushing yards
Min Dhariwal CBC News Oct 10, 2019

Sherwood Park's Chuba Hubbard is garnering Heisman Trophy talk south of the border. The Oklahoma State University running back is leading the NCAA in rushing yards.

Chuba Hubbard of the Oklahoma State Cowboys is on everyone's radar right now.

Media have been tripping over themselves to get access to the NCAA's top running back.

With six games left in the season, the Sherwood Park product is in the Heisman Trophy conversation.

'It's been a life-changing time'

"This year has been pretty crazy," Hubbard said Thursday on a conference call from Stillwater, Okla.

"It's been a life-changing time here at Oklahoma State, coming from Canada. This is hard to do. So I'm blessed and thankful to be in the position that I'm in."

Hubbard is in his second year under Cowboys head coach Mike Gundy.

He was "red-shirted" as a freshman last season and played in a few games. He amassed 106 carries for 595 yards and six touchdowns.

In the first game this season against Oregon State, the 20-year-old carried the ball 26 times for 221 yards and scored three touchdowns. He racked up 256 yards against Tulsa and another 296 against Kansas State.

'That's just unheard of at that age'

He currently leads the NCAA with 1,094 yards rushing and 13 touchdowns.

J.K. Dobbins from Ohio State is next with 826 yards and six touchdowns.

"I'm just focused on winning games, and playing ball," Hubbard said, deflecting questions about having a shot at the Heisman Trophy, awarded annually to the most outstanding player in NCAA football, potentially turning pro after next spring's 2020 NFL Draft.

"To be honest, I don't know what's going to happen after this year," he said when asked if a jump to the NFL after this season is something he's thinking about. "I'm just focused on winning games. And then after that, you know, I'll figure out what I'm going to do."

It's that team-first attitude that caught the attention of high school coach Curtis Martin.

Martin said Hubbard stood out as a peewee player with the Strathcona Sabrecats.

'Generational talent'

"I remember watching the provincial final, his first year playing peewee," Martin said. "It was a 76-72 provincial final and Chuba scored every point for his team. And that's just unheard of at that age."

During his three years at Bev Facey Community High School, Hubbard rushed for 6,880 yards on 458 carries and scored 82 touchdowns.

He still returns to Sherwood Park every summer.

Martin said the young star remains connected to his roots.

'They want to be the next Chuba Hubbard'

"There's kids saying they want to wear 30 when they get to high school, they want to go to Oklahoma State, they want to be the next Chuba Hubbard," said Martin.

"It's going to be really cool to see what he does with the platform that his skills are giving him, especially if he makes it to the NFL level."

Former teammate and close friend Chase Avery has had a front-row seat for many of Hubbard's highlights. The two met during peewee football and have remained friends ever since.

"It was always amazing watching him, he could just move like no one else, he could stop on a dime," said Avery, who is currently recovering from a knee injury he suffered as a linebacker with the St. Mary's Huskies in Halifax.

Avery said he's been watching his friend on television. Next month he plans to travel to Oklahoma to watch Hubbard play in the last game of the season against the Oklahoma Sooners.

"It's always good to see friends and family and stuff like that," said Hubbard, who is expecting up to a dozen people to come down for that game.

And, no, he isn't on the hook for tickets. But that will surely change if he makes it to the NFL.

[blueandgoldguy]

If Hubbard maintains his phenomenal performance this year and wins the Heisman, Canada's athlete of the year won't be the foregone conclusion I and many others thought it was a few months ago.

Vote for Canada's first ever grand slam winner
OR
Vote for Canada's first ever Heisman winner who may potentially set all sorts of rushing records down south.

Let's not forget Atlanta Braves rookie Mike Soraka

3rd in ERA and 5th in WAR for pitchers.

It's going to be a tough call this year.

[EpicPonyTime]

^ The Heisman is an impressive feat, but just from the worldwide scale of tennis, prestige of the US Open, and Canada's relative lack of success in the sport, Andreescu's accomplishment still rings as the more impressive feat. Nevertheless, it's fantastic that we have 3/4 credible candidates for the award this year.

[megadude]

Question, does anyone here or do you know anyone who follows CIS football? I actually used to follow it in my teen years and could name a handful of QBs and RBs and slot receivers like Don Beebee. I went to three Vanier Cups in a row at the Dome. I seem to recall them being won by U of T, UWO and U of C.

That Ottawa game looks like fun. I do wonder how many of those people actually follow their team. Anyway, I don't fault anyone for joining in on the festivities even if they don't follow the team like for so many Raps fans at viewing parties. I welcome the enthusiasm.

[megadude]

Good to see Chuba doing big things in my favourite sport to follow, along with soccer.

Reminds me of Tim Biakabutuka out of Montreal at U of Michigan. Still have vivid memories when he dropped over 300 yards on unbeaten Ohio State in "The Game". Injuries did him in at the next level with Carolina.

Let's see what Chuba can do in the "Bedlam" game against OU. And let's hope he makes it to playing on Sundays too.

[megadude]

Bianca is pretty much a shoo-in.

Lots of Canadian athletes winning medals in Olympic sports but just not in the Olympics, because it's 2019.

Degrasse winning bronze and silver in the 100 and 200 were impressive. If he had won gold then he might give Bianca a run for her money.

Shapo finally won an event and maybe it'll be his turn next year if he can lock down a major.

Soraka in general has surprisingly been under the radar. If the Braves didn't get steamrolled in the first inning of their last game and actually advanced then maybe he'd be getting more attention.

[Acajack]

Originally Posted by megadude

That Ottawa game looks like fun. I do wonder how many of those people actually follow their team. Anyway, I don't fault anyone for joining in on the festivities even if they don't follow the team like for so many Raps fans at viewing parties. I welcome the enthusiasm.

I've been to a number of Panda Games in my lifetime. As someone who has been to literally hundreds (maybe even in the four figures) of sporting events around the world, I have to say that nothing matches the Panda in terms of the percentage of spectators NOT following the game at all.

Outside of the Panda both the Gee-Gees and Ravens draw much, much smaller crowds (think 800-1200 people IIRC), and this is usually even true of playoff games if they make it that far.

The Ottawa media does cover the Panda Game quite a bit but a lot of the focus is on the event, the party and the spectacle, and not so much on the game itself.

This year I was actually curious about the score and while the game had been over for about an hour or two, none of the Ottawa media had posted anything about the result at that time. I finally found the result on the social media accounts of one of the two universities - can't recall if it was Ottawa or Carleton.

[Acajack]

Originally Posted by megadude

Question, does anyone here or do you know anyone who follows CIS football? I actually used to follow it in my teen years and could name a handful of QBs and RBs and slot receivers like Don Beebee. I went to three Vanier Cups in a row at the Dome. I seem to recall them being won by U of T, UWO and U of C.

.

Are you thinking of Don Beebee who played for the Buffalo Bills at one time?

[Acajack]

Originally Posted by megadude

Question, does anyone here or do you know anyone who follows CIS football? I actually used to follow it in my teen years and could name a handful of QBs and RBs and slot receivers like Don Beebee. I went to three Vanier Cups in a row at the Dome. I seem to recall them being won by U of T, UWO and U of C.

.

Aside from the Panda Game, I casually follow RSEQ football which is the Quebec division of U Sport. (There is almost zero non-Panda coverage of the U of Ottawa Gee-Gees and Carleton Ravens in the local Ottawa-Gatineau media, except maybe if they make it to final of some kind.)

So the U Sport football media coverage we get here in Gatineau is basically from the Quebec media like RDS, TVA Sports and Radio-Canada. As a result the most visible teams are Laval (Rouge et Or), Carabins (U de Montréal) and Sherbrooke (Vert et Or).

They have at least one game of the week on the sports networks and highlights of RSEQ football games are on all the Quebec national sportcasts, usually "mid-pack" - after the Habs but before some other stuff.

If you're a reasonably devout sports fan here you're definitely aware of them.

If Laval or U de Montréal are playing in the Vanier Cup (or even the Uteck Bowl or whatever to qualify for the VC) it's common for our all-news channels to have the story on regular rotation as one of the things they're following on the "morning of".

[esquire]

MB is a bit of a dead zone for university sports. Unless there is something really epic going on like the UWinnipeg Wesmen women's basketball team winning 88 in a row as they did in the early 90s, or if the UManitoba Bisons make it to the Vanier Cup, no one really pays attention to them. Which is remarkable partly because the Wesmen and the Bisons are the highest level basketball teams in town, so you'd think they'd have at least that part of the market cornered.

The funny thing is that the university teams get a decent amount of press coverage, but that doesn't translate into attendance or fan interest. Unlike in Quebec, there is no RDS equivalent regional sports channel that would expose the casual fan to university sports... you're either one of the 300 hard core uber fans paying $10 a month for the streaming service, or you aren't paying attention at all... there's really no in between.

I have to admit I haven't done much to help the cause... since I earned my final degree over a decade ago, I have attended a grand total of one Bisons football game. Although my son is interested in going to watch a Bisons basketball game, so maybe I'll go to one of those this winter.

[Acajack]

Originally Posted by esquire

Unlike in Quebec, there is no RDS equivalent regional sports channel that would expose the casual fan to university sports... .

This is a good point and underscores how Canada (probably the CRTC) doesn't really allow regional sports networks - or any other types of regional TV networks.

The only reason we have a full range of francophone networks - which basically function like national networks as there are no cross-Canada competitors above that overshadow them - is because there was no choice due to the language barrier.

[esquire]

Originally Posted by Acajack

This is a good point and underscores how Canada (probably the CRTC) doesn't really allow regional sports networks - or any other types of regional TV networks.

CTV Sportsnet (as it then was) was supposed to fill that role to some extent, but the CRTC let them get away with doing whatever they wanted. Same with TSN where AFAIK only in-market NHL games constitute "regional content".

Unlike the US, we don't really have the regional sports channels to complement the national channels (like the FSNs alongside ESPN)… RDS is really the only exception to that, mainly as a byproduct of the language barrier as you point out.

University sport gets nearly no mainstream TV coverage out here.

And to answer megadude's question, I don't know one single person who is a CIS football fan. I know guys who, like me, might have a vague idea as to how the Bisons are doing in a given year (i.e. I know they've been having a decent season and are currently ranked #10 nationally - thanks, Bisons twitter), but I can't think of anyone I know who has actually attended a game in recent years.