Can we now get rid of The Jugglers along with Bellefool and his Merry Band of Court Jester Assistants? Oh yeah and don't forget the long time Caretaker of This Annual Circus who is now in Year 8 of his Five Year Plan! What a never ending mess from another laughable training camp to more non evaluated exhibition games to yet one more can't seem to accomplish anything season?? Can anyone here in Steeltown coach football or better yet finally figure out that most deadly of brain teaser plays - 3rd And One??? 0-20 could seriously be coming up this time round for the Once Great Cats and remember you heard it here first!! The Roar Is Long Gone And Sponge Pants Rules!!! Report this comment![/i]
This was one pre-season game... relax! We played our 2nd and 3rd string QB's while the Argo-Nots played their 1a and 1b QB's. Pre-Season... relax.
A fairly typical "Stox" post.
Scuffles onto HTC related internet when there's losses then slinks back into silence when they win. Some people's creative energies are only generated by negativity.
Part of me just wants to dismiss this, but part of me is also confused. I don't recall the Cats getting stuffed on 3rd and one at all yesterday. I know it's but a small part of a ridiculously hyperbolic statement, but if you are going to criticize, at least do so based on some semblance of fact.
I think this guy just wanted to see a sock-it-to-them game and hates to lose to the Argos. You have to admit TSN posting 4 Argo "look how great we played" videos can't make any TiCat fan happy preseason or not. Having said that, I think we need to keep things in perspective they played a lot of their vets, we didn't. I'm glad we gave our young players an opportunity to show what they can do. There is no greater disappointment for a player then to come to training camp, work you butt off and only get a two minute chance to show your stuff on the playing field.
No, he’s not.
He’s a classic troll with a history of posts like this.
An odd trend in here when losses bring out the 0-20 posts over two years (or more) usernames, like “August” for example, but in “Stox” case its a simple case of a troll with an agenda.
I didn't get a chance to listen to the game, was dissappointed when the score was posted, watched the replays on TV, and then when through the game thread to get a feel for the game.
As many have said, a lot of rookies on the field getting evaluated in this one, so the onesided loss on the scoreboard is probably not too much of a concern.
Watching the replays I noticed we gave up a number of deep passes in man coverage, a number of passes to Durie out of the backfield, and a lot of YAC yards. Makes me a little concerned about our defense, but I think this was mostly due to inexperience. The replays sure left me wondering how the Cats played, all I saw were positive Argo plays except for our running back hurdling the Argo DB. Thanks TSN and Sportsnet for covering the Argo game, but what about the Ti-Cat game. Nothing new here I guess.
The other thing that I still don't like about the pre-season is the fact that there are only 2 games. We are going to have one game to evaluate, and a second game to prepare for the regular season. It's just not enough to give the team a chance to fully evaluate players and prepare for the regular season. They really need to add a third game so they can use a game or two to evaluate, and a game or two to prepare. Unfortunately this results in teams guessing who the best players are, and playing poorling the first few weeks.
But seriously, the biggest concern for Toronto and the CFL must be the crowd size and lack of interest, how long can Braley and the CFL put up with this in the biggest market in Canada. I really don't think the Argos belong in the dome or downtown, they should be out in the suburbs. Obviously no one wants to go downtown and see CFL football. Can't blame the transportation system - you can get to the dome by subway, GO train, VIA train, Greyhound, streetcar, busses, you can drive and there's even an airport on the island.
"Only a fraction of the seats were filled in the cavernous domed stadium. Announced attendance was 12,851"
And the heaviest populated section was what could be deemed “the Ti-Cats section.” There were more Argo fans overall, but the highest amount of fans in one area were congregated behind the Ti-Cats bench, with 99% of them wearing Black & Gold. If the opponent had been someone else, I wonder what the attendance would have been. Maybe under 10,000.
Toronto needs to make some big changes soon or as crazy as this may sound, the team should be moved.
This reminds me of the Thrashers in Atlanta. A huge metro area with a nice arena downtown, but a serious lack of support. They get moved to Winnipeg, and their season seats for the next 5 years sell out in like 5 minutes (someone missed the price point on this one). I just wonder if something similar would happen in Quebec City or the Maritimes if they had a stadium and ownership.
I hate to say it, but it appears that the metro Toronto area is really not interested in CFL football, certainly not in the current format, while some smaller market cities would probably provide tons of support.
We're in year 2 of Braley's ownership. No one is talking about moving or folding Braley's BC Lions despite the fact they were in as bad or worse shape when he bought them in the 90s. Also this was PRESEASON. Calgary drew 8,200 for their preseason game (albeit in a rainstorm the night of Stanley Cup game 7).
Toronto is a really tough sell. This weekend downtown was the Much Music Video Awards, Taste of Little Italy Festival and the North by Northeast Music Festival.
Many things have to happen for Toronto to become authentically interested in a domestic sports competition like the CFL. More teams might help to make the league more appealing as a whole in a city that's used to attempting to compete in the 30+ team American sports leagues. The right venue, perhaps in the burbs as mentioned, would definitely change things in terms of control and revenue.
I feel as if the Argos would be more visible even if they just had more liberties with the current dome such as being able to adorn the exterior with Argo banners on game days and erecting a sightly and seamless canopy to obscure the 500 level and provide at least the illusion of a 28,000 seat venue. The banners they currently use are nice, but still reveal a quite obviously half empty 52,000 seat venue. I believe the new BC Place will employ such a canopy for regular season Lions and Whitecaps games. Its funny that a TFC ticket has a higher value and their season tickets are 'sold out' yet their stadium hosts sub-20,000 crowds consistently whereas the Argos host 20,000+ consistently while not being coveted or spoken of in the least bit among the general population.
The team averaged over 30,000 a game in the C&S years with attendances of 40,000+ for playoffs and late season games verses the Ti-Cats. While those were papered crowds, it at least showed people are willing to spend their afternoons at the dome to watch CFL football.
I agree with you about the blue teams potential as a successful team at the gate.
I think with Ottawa coming on board again, a new(old) rivalry can be gained by having another Ontario based team which will help all three Ontario teams.
The Toronto Market is the biggest but also the most competitive market.
I think David Braley will improve things and give them a better chance to thrive.
I think that Toronto needs to be in the CFL and needs to do well. Without Toronto the league would have very little media exposure and our largest market would be lost. The thing that needs to be changed the most is the SkyDome. Downtown is a great place to visit but it’s very multicultural and “chic”… generally NOT the type of people that would watch a CFL football game. Downtown is easy enough to get to but it’s still a hassle (and time consuming) for the people coming in from the 'burbs. I think that they need a 25,000 seat stadium somewhere in a residential area. Also… Make going to an Argo’s game cool again. Even as recent as yesterday my cousin was talking about how the CFL sucks and the players are a bunch of guys that couldn’t make it in the NFL. He also mentioned that an NCAA team could beat a CFL team. I know he’s wrong… but too many young (and old) people actually believe that and could care less if we even had the CFL. We need that kind of thinking to stop. Market the S*** out of the league and get this game to be “cool” again.
Rusty, no amount of marketing is going to convince people that the CFL isn't a second-rate league if that's what they want to think. Some people will watch it and enjoy it, others will not. New fans are created all the time.Don't bother trying to convince adults to change their mind; I've tried and failed. Work on the next generation.
The league is doing great things right now, so trying to cater to a fan base that doesn't want to embrace the league is a waste of time, IMO. Flashy ads aren't going to woo these people. They'll find another excuse to rag on the product. Let them live in ignorance as we enjoy some fantastic football.
The league is growing every year, and while things aren't perfect, the league is definitely trending upwards.
It so true, the CFL just isn’t cool (well to other people)
I hear it all the time in school, Id say maybe 25-35 people, truely care about the Ti-Cats in my school, and that from a population of about 1100. Teachers as well, everyone says the same thing, why would i pay or waste my time watching a bunch of second class players
The CFL needs to start making their product cool again, atleast in Ontario, I really dont think there is a problem gernerating fan support in Edm. Cal. or Sask.
I try to do my part and just talk CFL football, ALL the time, not many people buy into it though :roll:
Well, as long as this thread has changed topics...I forecast a growth in the CFL's fan base due to the economy. Money is getting tighter for the middle class. If it's a live sporting event you're looking for, the NHL is out of the question. A seat in the outfield for a Blue Jays game at Skydome is thirty bucks. For the same money you can get a better seat at a blue team home game. If you can only splurge on a couple live sporting events a year then why go to one in eighty one games for the MLB when one in ten is far more of an event. Even though they shouldn't have, the blue team had a successful post-season last year. With the added exposure TSN Radio will bring to the league I see growth on the horizon. Furthermore, a team in the Maritimes will make the league to significant a Canadian experience to ignore.
