With all the rules that the CFL could look at along with other improvement directives, the powers that be need to focus on the priority items and not waste time on areas that do not even need attention.
For those of you who have followed the CFL for as many years as I have, you will know this.
The designated home team for the Grey Cup has always alternated.
One year the East Champ is the home team the next the West Champ is the home team. Regardless of where the game was played.
It was alternated that way up until 2008.
In 2008 the CFL Board decided if the Grey cup was in an East stadium the East Champ would be the home team. If it is in a West stadium the West Champ would be the home team.
Other than myself , I do not think anyone would care.
It just seemed like such a stupid thing for time to be spent debating and deciding.
Many of you might reply with " as much of a waste of time with this thread "
I just wanted to make the point that hey need to spend time on things that matter.
Well, it does matter. Players have actually made a fuss over this in the past, so it does need some level of attention. As for what is priority...well, they have time to talk about lots of stuff. Sure, there is here and now priority, but it is also always important to talk about smaller matters as it can be
A - low hanging fruit
B - touched on to get people thinking about it for down the road
What is a small issue today can be a major topic tomorrow, and can often be managed easily if taken on early.
TDB, what is a priority ? I will list those in a different post as it will spark a debate that would get off topic to this post.
But as a quick example, when rotating the Grey Cup.
If the CFL insists on having the Grey Cup in late November outdoors, it should not be started at 6 pm EST.
It gets even colder. Sucks for players and fans. They would be better starting at 4 pm EST.
CFL says ratings are better at that start time.
No, I do not believe it.
They do it because they charge advertisers more in prime time. It is all about money.
Depopulation, players have raised a fuss ? Really ? At a neutral site what difference does it make as to who gets the home jersey ? You have to pack up and fly regardless .
This year was not a home game for either Calgary or Hamilton , so how is it that Calgary had an advantage wearing red ?
I am not disputing your statement. If you say they raised a fuss , then fine. I am just wondering what aspect did the players find so important ?
It’s not about the jersey. The home team dressing room is usually much nicer than the road team’s. It might seem like a small thing to some, but you would much rather have the home team dressing room than the road team’s.
While it may not be the most important issue, you do need to have a policy on such things. It doesn’t mean that the league believes this is THE most important issue but they have to still deal with it. There had to be some good reason why they needed to make this change.
I also believe that the late start time is also to squeeze one more night for the hosting city. One night hotel, one night meals, etc. Back in the day a person attending the game could catch a flight home the night of the game and avoid having to take another day off work. It was even better when the Grey Cup was held on Saturday, but that has already been discussed.
The simple fact is that the Grey Cup and the festival is set up the way it is to appeal to the TV audience and not the seats in the seats. Money is and always will be the prime motivator.
No, the 6:30 PM EST start is the “prime time for TV” - the Super Bowl has the same kick off time. Both games have their big half time shows around 8PM EST. Sunday night is the big night for TV viewers. These days it’s the broadcaster that decides the start time and TSN pays the CFL the big bucks to air the game when they want to air it.
I do remember the Grey Cup with a 3PM EST start but that was back in the 80s when I went to a BC/Hamilton GC.
Primarily because the home team gets first hotel booking and the home locker room. That may sound trivial, but it can be a big deal. Often, one hotel ends up having much better excise facilities or perhaps has in-house spas / massages (or something next door), or has a poor location. In smaller markets (yes, even Calgary and Edmonton), that can be significant. The locker rooms…well, home team locker rooms are better. The Esks, for example, have stunning facilities…for the home team.
And actually...if you care to dig it up (shouldn't be hard) there were MASSIVE complaints by Als player about this in 2009/10. This stuff generally doesn't get out, but a couple guys went very public on it with the media.
League might have to re-look at this now that we are back to nine teams. Seems to me the west has an advantage here with five teams in the division and rotating game through all markets should mean they will have home team more often then east
Or is this the new math and i am getting caught out again? :oops: :lol:
It wasn’t all that long ago that Toronto got the Grey Cup 4 out of five years, the West played 5 play-off games compared to the easts 3 and the West played a longer season. Now times have changed, sucks to be in the east.
I’m not positive, but the stadium has always looked like it could be expanded to ~37k with temporary seating. If they hosted the Vanier Cup and the Grey Cup in the same season, that could be a viable option. Realistically, both Hamilton (who’s stadium is smaller) and Winnipeg would have to do the same thing. That is a little small, but acceptable IMO. Plus, as it stands, Olympic stadium can host 46k