Stadiums and Arenas of Canada part 2

[240glt]

^ hell, the attendance for Nebraska Cornhuskers games pretty much blows attendance at any sporting event in Canada out of the water

[FFX-ME]

University sports in the US is a whole other animal though. No other country treats university sports as professional spectator sports.

[Acajack]

Originally Posted by esquire

^ Sports mecca... please. If Toronto gets a NFL team, that would put it on the same level as maybe Phoenix or Minneapolis-St. Paul. But both of those cities do a far better job supporting their university teams than Toronto ever has.

Yeah, Toronto is hardly a sports mecca. It's a shiny-object-chasing sports town. Just like Montreal, actually.

[EpicPonyTime]

Originally Posted by optimusREIM

Surely you must be joking. Toronto is ahead of all those cities in terms of population. I'd be surprised if any of them were ahead of toronto in terms of median income.

I'm no great proponent of the city of toronto but it's certainly way more important on the global stage than any of those you mentioned.

Did I not just say population is not the only factor involved?

Oakland is part of a metro area that's larger than the GTA, a market that is far more football-rabid than Toronto. I am willing to bet my left nut that your average Oakland fan will spend twice as much on their team than a Toronto fan would.

[thoughtsandrobots]

Originally Posted by esquire

^ Sports mecca... please. If Toronto gets a NFL team, that would put it on the same level as maybe Phoenix or Minneapolis-St. Paul. But both of those cities do a far better job supporting their university teams than Toronto ever has.

Huh? You're kidding...right? Do you watch sports?

Blue Jays fandom in Toronto has been...insane. Recent success aside, a whole new urban population is not going anywhere. It might be unrivaled in its demographic uniqueness in all of baseball.

Raptors fandom...they invented the outdoor square. Jurassic Park and ACC atmospherics have received praise from the world of basketball. Big and small. All over. It's top three fan base in the NBA.

Toronto FC...supporter culture changed MLS. Still a top three atmosphere to play able to attract top American talent from Europe. Why? Ask Michael Bradley. Toronto sports culture.

Toronto Maple Leafs...turn on the tv. Insane.

All these teams are tops of their respective leagues in attendance, atmosphere, social media counts, fandom. Add things I have already mentioned from local talent in basketball and soccer to the rugby emergence and a World Cup and etc...

Sports mecca. Minneapolis and Phoenix? That reaks of Toronto hate. This isn't a two pony town of NHL and CFL. Its an emerging wonderland of sports nirvana.

[esquire]

Originally Posted by thoughtsandrobots

Huh? You're kidding...right? Do you watch sports?

Blue Jays fandom in Toronto has been...insane. Recent success aside, a whole new urban population is not going anywhere. It might be unrivaled in its demographic uniqueness in all of baseball.

Raptors fandom...they invented the outdoor square. Jurassic Park and ACC atmospherics have received praise from the world of basketball. Big and small. All over. It's top three fan base in the NBA.

Toronto FC...supporter culture changed MLS. Still a top three atmosphere to play able to attract top American talent from Europe. Why? Ask Michael Bradley. Toronto sports culture.

Toronto Maple Leafs...turn on the tv. Insane.

All these teams are tops of their respective leagues in attendance, atmosphere, social media counts, fandom. Add things I have already mentioned from local talent in basketball and soccer to the rugby emergence and a World Cup and etc...

Sports mecca. Minneapolis and Phoenix? That reaks of Toronto hate. This isn't a two pony town of NHL and CFL. Its an emerging wonderland of sports nirvana.

My goodness... I really think you need to get out of Toronto at some point.

[Acajack]

Originally Posted by thoughtsandrobots

Huh? You're kidding...right? Do you watch sports?

Blue Jays fandom in Toronto has been...insane. Recent success aside, a whole new urban population is not going anywhere. It might be unrivaled in its demographic uniqueness in all of baseball.

Raptors fandom...they invented the outdoor square. Jurassic Park and ACC atmospherics have received praise from the world of basketball. Big and small. All over. It's top three fan base in the NBA.

Toronto FC...supporter culture changed MLS. Still a top three atmosphere to play able to attract top American talent from Europe. Why? Ask Michael Bradley. Toronto sports culture.

Toronto Maple Leafs...turn on the tv. Insane.

All these teams are tops of their respective leagues in attendance, atmosphere, social media counts, fandom. Add things I have already mentioned from local talent in basketball and soccer to the rugby emergence and a World Cup and etc...

Sports mecca. Minneapolis and Phoenix? That reaks of Toronto hate. This isn't a two pony town of NHL and CFL. Its an emerging wonderland of sports nirvana.

You should start reading on this page. http://forum.skyscraperpage.com/showthread.php?p=7704033&highlight=cougars#post7704033

Toronto pales in comparison to American cities like... Denver.

[HomeInMyShoes]

I have this strange feeling of déjà vu.

[thoughtsandrobots]

Yeah but that was not a rebuke. I presented facts. They can't really be disputed. Few cities come close. And certainly NOT Minneapolis or Phoenix. It's a sports mecca. At least with the NFL. Perhaps without.

I don't think Toronto is any more special or important than Montreal or Vancouver. I could live in any of the three. Spend a lot of time in the US. Love Toronto love elsewhere. However, sometimes the Prairie vision here regarding sports spurs me to get involved. I would suggest some of those people come here to experience the sports scene (if that's their thing) to see. It's quite special.

[esquire]

^ Toronto sports fans are just the best. Who else brags about their team's social media footprint?

[esquire]

Originally Posted by thoughtsandrobots

I would suggest some of those people come here to experience the sports scene (if that's their thing) to see. It's quite special.

I have. It's a bit like Phoenix.

[thoughtsandrobots]

Fine. It's like Phoenix. Go Suns.

Social media is just a fun metric to see how involved people are with a particular sport or team. Fun. Like these debates. Aren't you having fun?

Next tell me that our skyline, high rises, and street level urban fabric feels like...Dallas! Or Tuscaloosa with them Crimson Tide!

[Acajack]

Originally Posted by esquire

I have. It's a bit like Phoenix.

I have too. It's quite fun admittedly but there is always the subtle sense of being a guest at someone else's party. (And by this I don't mean anything related to being a non-Torontonian.)

[esquire]

Originally Posted by thoughtsandrobots

Next tell me that our skyline, high rises, and street level urban fabric feels like...Dallas! Or Tuscaloosa with them Crimson Tide!

No, Toronto is definitely head and shoulders above those places when it comes to skyline and urban fabric.

[thoughtsandrobots]

^
You should go to Phoenix then. I hear outside of their half empty arena during Coyotes playoff games there are HUNDREDS of thousands of people gathered to watch on a big screen. And this playoffs, the Suns have a multicultural mosaic representing their city doing the same in the HUNDREDS of thousands for away games. Both make Maple Leaf square look rather empty. The MLS team? Crazy fans! The Diamondbacks? LOUDEST. 100 times as many as Blue Jays boosters. Go. I hear its hot.

None of that is true except the hot part. Go Blue Bombers!

[EpicPonyTime]

Are you working on a Trump impersonation by any chance? Your writing style is a pretty good imitation.

[Acajack]

One of the big reasons Americans are so big on sports is because of the rivalries. You tease your neighbour from Alabama who is an Auburn fan and you're a Clemson fan. And it goes crazy from there.

A lot of Canadian sports fandom (including much of the NHL scene) is very unsatisfying in this respect because of the absence of rivalries. We're often playing cities we don't know or care about.

I mean, right now the Raptors are playing... Milwaukee.

Do any of you guys even know anyone from Milwaukee?

[esquire]

Originally Posted by thoughtsandrobots

None of that is true except the hot part. Go Blue Bombers!

The funny thing about that remark is that football fans here have a home team to get excited about.

[SaskScraper]

Originally posted by thoughtsandrobots

..sometimes the Prairie vision here regarding sports spurs me to get involved. I would suggest some of those people come here to experience the sports scene (if that's their thing) to see. It's quite special.

I've never been to a Toronto teams game, maybe i'm really missing something then..

I've only been to Dodgers, Chase, Wrigley, & Fenway for MLB,
Saddledome, Rexall, Staples, & Gila River and soon T-mobile for NHL,
BC place for MLS, NBA at Talking Stick, Staples..

Football is where I've been to the most stadiums though but I'm sure these all pale in comparison to what Toronto could offer especially when comparing to the likes of Darrell K Royal-Texas Memorial Stadium with a capacity crowd last time I was there.. tailgating in Austin is at a whole nother level.

[240glt]

^^^ the other thing I've observed about Americans is that they're far more likey to cheer for sports teams based on their alma matter or individual players. I work for an American company and I find it fascinating how many Americans' favourite teams are not the teams in the cities they live in, unlike Canada where support for sports teams is largely regional