Canadian Premier League

[esquire]

The team names are super cheesy for the most part... That seems to be par for the course in North American soccer, though. At least Pacific and Wanderers are decent, though.

[JHikka]

Originally Posted by megadude

I saw the final standings and this jumped out to me below. Calgary's GD was 4 after a 28 game season and they finished on top. Kind of an anamoly.

And they got bounced in the semifinals by Pacific, so probably works out in the end.

Originally Posted by zoomer

Is it just me (possible), but does anyone else hate the names of these clubs?

What would we prefer?

[Hawrylyshyn]

Originally Posted by zoomer

Is it just me (possible), but does anyone else hate the names of these clubs? Like most Canadians, I'm not a hard core CPL fan, so I have no idea where the heck Cavalry, Valour or Forge is from or is all about! Cavalry sounds like Calgary, and it's hard to get interested in rivalries against a thing you're not sure where it's even from. And do we need the FC tag? Seems like a cheap effort to sell the connection to big league soccer in Europe. I'm not sure if real soccer fans are even allowed to use the term soccer? And what's up with the flares and smoke things? Probably wouldn't get away with that in any other sport in North America, and I sure wouldn't want to be sitting next to the idiot who was holding one of those thinking he was cool or badass.

Phew, ok, got that grumpiness out of my system, lol - Let's Go Pacific FC!

This is common for soccer around the world - I could be wrong, but in NA at least the use of these are restricted to the hardcore fan club areas where people expect it and know what they're getting into.

[JHikka]

Originally Posted by Hawrylyshyn

This is common for soccer around the world - I could be wrong, but in NA at least the use of these are restricted to the hardcore fan club areas where people expect it and know what they're getting into.

Yes they're heavily scrutinized in NA. TFC's inebriatti set Ottawa's stadium on fire a few years ago because they didn't know what they were doing and were subsequently banned from all further matches.

[esquire]

I don't get the flares/smoke stuff. At Valour FC matches there are signs indicating that they are banned unless approved by the club or something to that effect (what difference does it make if the club approves them?). But honestly... there are entire sections that are empty. Who cares if people light one up?

I was at a match against Pacific earlier in the season and there were some guys rooting for the away squad. I presume they were buddies of Marco Bustos who is from Winnipeg. Anyway, they lit one of those smoke bombs or whatever the hell they're called and were promptly ejected from the stadium. It seemed dumb to me because it didn't look as though it caused any harm or inconvenience to anyone.

[megadude]

It used to happen at TFC games in the supporters section along with the streamers. Streamers were eventually banned and I assume flares were too. One of my proudest moments (lol) was when I nailed a DC player in the head with a streamer and got props from the people around me. The guy didn't flinch of course because it was like getting hit in the head by a feather. I was just following the tradition of showering the corner with streamers. Mine just happened to hit the guy.

But I've also seen Powerade bottles and beer cans thrown at Freddie Ljunberg and Becks. And also at Gerry and Craig doing commentary when they set up in the stands behind the goal at the Dome vs. Galaxy and Becks.

This kind of thing had to stop, even for the streamers, if it's going to be large crowds. Because if streamers are allowed then punks and drunkards start to think they can throw any object. It could happen regardless, but can definitely be more frequent if streamers are allowed.

The flares thing can lead to who knows what. I was at a Juve vs. Fiorentina friendly at the Dome and dumbasses were setting off fireworks at the end of the game while Juve players were walking through the tunnel. It actually startled some of them. Of course, they chose the end of the game so they could just book it out of the stadium without consequences.

I and my coworker, whose father has season tickets, have traded stories about some of the absolute scumbags we've encountered in the ultras sections at BMO. These are the kind of guys that will think they have licence to do whatever the f*ck they want. Those are the guys that will do dumb shit on purpose and then you have immature guys who will think they're doing something funny but then it turns out to be reckless. The fire in Ottawa could be from either of those types.

Anyway, that Juve Fiorentina game I went to was memorable. My cousin caught a ball that was a wayward strike from Amauri. And as is tradition in Italy after some big moments after the game, they started to pretend they were Chippendales, including Del Piero:

[megadude]

Anyone going to the championship game at THF? It's Dec. 5th. I guess it's two weeks since the Ti-Cats are hosting this coming Sunday.

I live half hour away. Thinking of going. I remember I could have gone to the first TFC final for about $110 but I passed. I also could have gone to the 2012 Grey Cup at the Dome with the Argos for $120 as my coworker is a STH. I also passed up on the Marlies game 7 championship win at Ricoh and Raptors 905 championship at Hershey.

For some reason I don't get all that excited about championship games. Though in my teenage years I went to three straight Vanier Cups at the Dome. Back then I'd probably go to as many big games as I could, but not many opportunities and not much money of course.

[JHikka]

Originally Posted by megadude

Anyone going to the championship game at THF? It's Dec. 5th.

Considering it if there's a hole in my schedule. Really hoping for Pacific to win so the league can get different clubs into international competition. Would be very lame to have Forge in both the 2022 Champions League and 2022 CONCACAF League if they win the CPL (again).

[Tg11]

Like look at what the 1994 FIFA World Cup did for the USA as a soccer nation...it helped them not only to grow the game of football in their country and it helped young kids become more interested but also the MLS by extension was launched and basically became popular to the point where MLS began to develop more American born players but also you had more foreign players coming to MLS to play. Because of that fast forward decades later, USA are a footballing nation. They are a powerhouse in CONCACAF. I'm just saying that if we use this same blueprint for Canada for 2026, the Canadian Premier League can grow the game in this country of Canada but also get more and more kids interested in the game. We then could also get more Canadian born players playing in that league but also have more foreign born players coming into the CanPL to play well eventually once the league grows in popularity which could happen if given a decade or two. Canada then could become a powerhouse in CONCACAF from 2026 and beyond going into the 2030s we could become a World Cup perennial because of the CPL.

[esquire]

I am on the mailing list for Valour FC from having purchased match tickets in the past. I got a letter in the mail yesterday promoting season tickets, and it was interesting that the letter signed by the club president took the somewhat heavy-handed approach of saying that the club had to attract 5,000 fans a game to remain viable. It read like an implied threat. That's not a normal season ticket pitch, it makes me wonder what the club's situation is like.

For what it's worth, Valour FC started off OK, but has been plagued by a poor on field product which has hurt them at the box office. I realize they haven't been drawing fantastically well, but I thought the numbers were still fairly respectable by CPL standards, all things considered.

[Denscity]

Originally Posted by esquire

I am on the mailing list for Valour FC from having purchased match tickets in the past. I got a letter in the mail yesterday promoting season tickets, and it was interesting that the letter signed by the club president took the somewhat heavy-handed approach of saying that the club had to attract 5,000 fans a game to remain viable. It read like an implied threat. That's not a normal season ticket pitch, it makes me wonder what the club's situation is like.

For what it's worth, Valour FC started off OK, but has been plagued by a poor on field product which has hurt them at the box office. I realize they haven't been drawing fantastically well, but I thought the numbers were still fairly respectable by CPL standards, all things considered.

Well Winnipeg couldn't sell out its own stadium for a Blue Bombers game which would've sent them to the Grey Cup so for Valour it would be way harder to attract fans unfortunately.

[blueandgoldguy]

Originally Posted by esquire

I am on the mailing list for Valour FC from having purchased match tickets in the past. I got a letter in the mail yesterday promoting season tickets, and it was interesting that the letter signed by the club president took the somewhat heavy-handed approach of saying that the club had to attract 5,000 fans a game to remain viable. It read like an implied threat. That's not a normal season ticket pitch, it makes me wonder what the club's situation is like.

For what it's worth, Valour FC started off OK, but has been plagued by a poor on field product which has hurt them at the box office. I realize they haven't been drawing fantastically well, but I thought the numbers were still fairly respectable by CPL standards, all things considered.

I'm not sure how successful pro clubs in any sport have been when issuing proclamations like this to the public in the past. I can't imagine it is very high. Trying to guilt people into buying season tickets seems pretty ill-advised.

The team was one of the founding members of the CPL along with Hamilton and they have yet to make the playoffs. Overall, they have been pretty pathetic.

Edmonton will not have a team for the 2023 season as they were unable to find new owners/investors for the team

[esquire]

^ Yeah, that's what I was getting at. Usually ultimatums are the last stop before folding/moving the franchise so I was a little taken aback by how quickly Miller pulled the trigger on that. I didn't think the situation was that dire.

I think there is still a lot of goodwill towards Valour, the growing soccer community values the continued existence of the franchise. It wouldn't look good on Winnipeg to have the CPL growing and us not part of it. So I think they will rally to the occasion. The question is whether the general population, the casual fans and what not will be interested.

[esquire]

Just out of curiosity, are there any rankings of soccer leagues that includes where CanPL sits relative to rest of the world?

I googled some lists but none of the ones I could find included it.

[esquire]

The owners of York United have handed the keys back to the league...

https://northerntribune.ca/baldassar...united-to-csb/

[Hawrylyshyn]

I don't think this league will survive past the World Cup here --my take is it only existed because Soccer Canada pumps a bunch of money into it to meet the requirement of having a pro league to host the WC. After that the funding will stop, ultimately leading to the death of the league as it's shown it doesn't have the popularity to be financially viable.

[esquire]

Originally Posted by Hawrylyshyn

I don't think this league will survive past the World Cup here --my take is it only existed because Soccer Canada pumps a bunch of money into it to meet the requirement of having a pro league to host the WC. After that the funding will stop, ultimately leading to the death of the league as it's shown it doesn't have the popularity to be financially viable.

I'm convinced they can still make it work, but they have to give up on the larger markets... the CanPL will never find traction in Toronto and Vancouver, and it's going to be a tough slog in other markets with NHL/CFL teams.

It's pretty clear that the CanPL's best bet is in cities with few other high profile sports teams to compete against. Halifax and Victoria are two places where the league is doing well... so the league should focus on other places like that. Quebec, London, Kitchener, Saskatoon, etc.

It's not like the CanPL has some lucrative TV contract and needs those large markets to stay afloat...

[Hawrylyshyn]

That's a good point!

[ericmacm]

It is a tough pill to swallow, but after seeing how it has been operating these past few years, CanPL is not exactly what I would consider sustainable. One of the biggest challenges for these small leagues (which we have seen emerge over and over again) is how spread out our country is and how frequently they have to travel long distances to play. If your team is a lower-revenue team, those travel costs are going to eat up a significant portion of your revenue. There is a massive gulf between the teams that draw high numbers and the teams that draw low numbers. Professional sports is a business, money needs to be made, and people need to be invested and interested in the product for it to be sustainable long-term.

At the very least, what I would like to believe is that the emergence of the CanPL has shown that there is indeed significant sports interest in our mid-sized or underserved markets that the larger leagues have not yet wanted to capitalize on. I know that the MLS does not plan to expand into Canada anymore, but I genuinely believe that Calgary, Edmonton, Ottawa, and maybe Hamilton are more palatable and sustainable (not anywhere near the top of the pack though) as host cities for teams than they were 10 years ago. If CanPL does ever end up failing, I would hope that MLS would be interested in coming in to pick up some of the pieces, but not until they have nailed down more high-value American markets like Detroit, Phoenix, Las Vegas, San Diego, Tampa Bay, and Raleigh.

[bridgeoftea]

Originally Posted by esquire

I'm convinced they can still make it work, but they have to give up on the larger markets... the CanPL will never find traction in Toronto and Vancouver, and it's going to be a tough slog in other markets with NHL/CFL teams.

It's pretty clear that the CanPL's best bet is in cities with few other high profile sports teams to compete against. Halifax and Victoria are two places where the league is doing well... so the league should focus on other places like that. Quebec, London, Kitchener, Saskatoon, etc.

It's not like the CanPL has some lucrative TV contract and needs those large markets to stay afloat...

I think I mentioned it in a different thread but my take on CPL needs to be more community focused vs big city draws. Canada already has 3 MLS teams in their 3 biggest cities.

If they wanted to follow the American sports model splitting the country in half and having the winners of west / east play for the final trophy.

Something like

Victoria
Langley (call them Langley not Vancouver, don't need another Vancouver of Langley Giants)
Kamloops
Prince George
Regina
Edmonton
Red Deer
Winnipeg

Halifax
Moncton
Charlottetown
Quebec City
Laval
London
Kitchener
Gatineau

But the issue that a lot of owners these days are realizing that 90% of sports teams lose money every year. Unless you have that tight revenue sharing or global brands like Bayern Munich, Arsenal, Juventus etc. I feel like the sport that naturally grew form grassroots communities playing against each other, needs to find a way to embrace that and have owners that understand it's not likely to make big money.