Fix the League

The problem is us - the fan. We are spoiled. We not only want football entertainment (sorta). We also demand perfect mgmt and winning seasons year to year. We don't appreciate the sport. We only want wins. We don't accept or tolerate the ebbs and flows of running a pro sports franchise. We want it all and we want it now.

MLS could teach us a thing or two. In the next 5 years it could eclipse CFL attendance in Canada. Why? Because soccer fans love the SPORT of soccer.

The CFL is a good product. It's us fans who are fickle. We don't love the SPORT of football. If we don't man up and quit whining - there won't be much left, while MLS takes over. This is on us, no one else.

Thanks
starts with servicing existing customers and corporate accounts !!? All nice BUT!
Ottawaand Calgary NHL teams want new publiclyfunded arenas with REDUCED seating capacity. Why ? Not sure or cateringto wealthy corporations with increased prices the average person cannotafford.
Read above comments. CFL was founded on youth, loyalty and dedication.
Yes increase user friendlinessis also a must. Very important
Make it a family event unlike NHL today.

I’ve been a fan for over 40 years, followed religiously every season and only in the last few years has the league started to lose me. I followed when my Argos were contenders and I still followed during many more years when they were pretenders.

Blaming the fans on an internet forum is more than ridiculous. The people that come here are the hardcore fans, follow every game and truly love the league and the game.

Lastly comparing the CFL to MLS is hilariously misinformed. TFC is not the model franchise and has nothing to teach us aside from the fact that this problem is not unique to the CFL. Also TFC fans can be as “fickle” as any other fans. Just look at their historical attendance as proof they can be as fair weather as in any other sport.

Blame yourself if you have a guilty conscience, but blaming fans on the fan message board shows a clear misunderstanding of your audience. ::slight_smile:

That’s a really good place to start. Let’s come to terms with that statement first. Once we fully comprehend that then the discussion can begin with some meaning.

There’s room for both. Corporate pays mainly for the premium seats, suites that help drive the much of the in stadium revenues. Have a low price point for families and people new to the game and try and get some hooked. Argos start at 20.00 and build the next generation of fans.

Not blaming myself rather trying to say it should be all for one and one for all. Montreal (as one example) has won 2 Grey Cups in the last 10 yrs (tied with only 2 other clubs) - and the fans are acting like the sky is falling. Yet their 10 yr record shows they are a leading team. All I am saying is pro sports has its ebbs and flows. If you’re a fan of the sport - you’re there. If you’re looking for an excuse to not spend the time, money, whatever - you will find it. And these ‘fans’ are finding their excuse.

Weak.

Either you’re too young to know Montreal’s history or you are just ignoring it. They are fair weather fans for everything but the Habs. When the Als stumbled in the 80s they folded…twice. I knew once Calvillo retired they would fall on lean times as the fans would not support a loser. Same thing happened with the Expos. Unless your teams name is Canadiens and you play hockey Montreal fans only care if you’re winning.

That’s just reality in Montreal.

Replace the word 'fan' with 'paying customer'.

Any paying customer who is not satisfied with price, or value for their hard earned money will either not buy until those issues are addressed or simply move on to a competitor. In Toronto, there are lots of competitors.

I'm pretty sure the big city folks need something with cachet to get excited over. Especially in Toronto where the CFL is up against celebrity ennui; TIFF is smack dab in the middle of the season, with NHL, NBA, MLB stars aplenty, and more big-name music acts in one week than many cities see in a year. The only way to compete with that is with celebrity endorsements and appearances of your own, and the league is trying to do that — it's great to see Flutie and Levy — MARV LEVY — at the games. If the league can extend that to young, fashionable idols with in-game on-site promotions it could help get people to the stadium, and maybe they'll take in a game too, especially if that ticket might mean meeting some favorite star.

I saw a short clip on this, Imagine Gala, on CP24 this morning but nothing in the print news in Toronto media, sadly at least from what I can see from searching quickly on Google News. If it was one of the “major” leaguers rather than “just” Pinball putting this on, well my guess is that there would have been more coverage but good on CP24 for showing some clips of last night’s events. Toronto Star a sponsor along with ScotiaBank, Purolator, Hamilton Tiger-Cats etc. Full list of sponsors at https://www.imaginegala.ca

[b]October 24th, 2017 | 6PM[/b] [b]The Westin Harbour Castle – 1 Harbour Sq.[/b]

We at the Pinball Clemons Foundation invite you to support our tenth annual gala benefitting under-resourced youth, locally and around the world.

The annual gala is an exceptional opportunity for the Foundation to celebrate progress made in years prior and imagine the future.


https://www.imaginegala.ca

TIFF is in September. NBA and NHL start in October. No excuse. The only competition is the Jays during the first half of the season.

Young people today are not as invested in a sport as 30 years ago. They need the extras like Edmonton’s doing with bands at halftime. And that is just an updated version of the old halftime shows. The Argos need to produce their own pre game events, incorporate them with the tailgating and move it closer to the stadium.

As someone said earlier in the thread, no one thing is going to solve the problems.

Asking people who don’t attend the games why they don’t go, and what it would take to get them to go- price, quality of product, stadium experience “extras” - would be good. And then make changes to encourage those potential customers to attend, while ensuring that they don’t turn off existing customers. A fine line to walk, to be sure.

I’m guessing, though, that the league is already doing this. I hope so, anyway. Marketing 101.

Actually they are fair weather towards the Scabs too. Just watch their attendance plummet after a one game losing streak. They are the worst fans in professional sport. They feel entitled and will bail without hesitation if they don’t get what they want or get what they expect to be theirs…

True but they will still attend the games so they can boo. They never completely abandon the Habs, unlike every other sports team in Montreal.

Kind of true kind of not… when they missed the playoffs for 3 years in a row from 99-01 they were suffering from major attendance issues. They are the worst fans in the world, very entitled and drama queens.

You can talk about ticket prices and arena promotions all you want but thats not going to fix the problem. Coming from someone who used to watch the CFL religiously when i was a kid and in my teen years and now cant stomach a game. The product on the field just isn't there anymore. There is a severe lack of talent around the league now.. Along with the combination of terrible officiating and bad rule changes, each game feels absolutley meaningless to watch. Anytime anything exciting happens, instead of appreciating the play im waiting for a flag (Which 99% of the time didn't effect the play). Don't get me started on the unwatchable tsn broadcasts. I don't know who did their market research but this goofy stuff needs to stop. Grown men constantly making a fool of themselves isnt entertaining, its embarrassing. There was a time where most people I knew loved the cfl, i dont know one person who watches now. I used to like the CFL and want it to do well but I don't see the league lasting unless they can get back the 20-30 year olds. If not it doesn't matter how many promotions you give out for kids.. if the parents aren't interested in the league why would they take their kids? Even if it is a good deal.

There is a severe lack of talent around the league now.
Talent is the best it's been in a long time IMHO, the Canadians just keep getting better all the time as well as the Americans.

Love the league and regardless of attendance, I find I’m enjoying the games more and more each season, it’s fantastic talent, awesome talent actually, and competition to see who will be Canada’s national Grey Cup champion each year.

I also love that the league tries different things like challenges on interference for example. Sure, it doesn’t always go well and now just one challenge but love how the league tries things.

You and me are on very separate pages LastToNight. But obviously you’re still a big fan otherwise you wouldn’t take the time to come onto this board and comment. Good on ya! Congrats on your first post!

CFL, best pro league on the planet IMHO and getting better all the time! The only reason I still subscribe to cable to be honest or at least the main reason. And these guys play for so little money compared with the majors, they really do play from the heart. It’s great stuff. Not a bunch of millionaire or multimillionaires who from what I see don’t put out any more effort, in some cases less effort there in the majors, than CFL players.

It’s just a treat to watch every CFL game even if not every game is close one.

Look everybody, mattsdad is back.

No disagreement with that.

Not his style. Actually, this one looks real. A response on an existing thread rather than starting a new thread, so not a blatant attempt for attention.