Sad commentary on the BC Lions marketing - or lack thereof. At a recent large youth football event several kids were asked - "who is the BC Lions quarterback?" Not one of them knew. When asked who is the Seattle Seahawk quarterback, everyone knew it is Russell Wilson.
When further asked how many kids actually watched the CFL , five hands went up.
To say that the Lions and the CFL in general have a generation would be an understatement.
4 Likes
It’s a combination of the Lions not winning consistently, lack of a community presence since the sudden death of Bob Ackles and a consequence of a generation or two of lost fans because of games getting blacked out locally.
Hopefully things do change and change soon.
2 Likes
Also popularity of the Seahawks has grown quite a bit. Someone from the Lions should do the Podcast circuit on YouTube etc. I haven’t heard a peep out of them and it doesn’t cost any money for them.
1 Like
The lions probobly could've gotten off to a better start by opening up the upper bowl and having more tickets so they don't have to be $150 for a 50 yard seat, the league will soon take over the team team find other owners
1 Like
Well let’s see what this new new owner brings to the table. He’s talking the talk now let’s see if he can walk the walk! Maybe I’m being over optimistic but I have a good feeling about this season and the new owner.
1 Like
yes i have a good feeling about him too.
3 Likes
Ownership should help but I've come to think that while the CFL has an outstanding game with it's open field, 3 downs, waggle, kicking and returning.. it lacks a compelling league format.
9 teams with 2 divisions just hampers the number of important games and playoff scenarios. There's less opportunity to build hype.
Maybe a single table in a league that spans the continent and 4 time zones isn't feasible either. It doesn't solve the inherent advantage western teams have in hosting eastern opponents later the the latter's circadian cycle with the former often acclimatized to higher elevation.
So the league has to find a way to get bigger for the overall competition to be more compelling.
2 Likes
Not sure where you live Joey, but I think the Lions in past years have done a good job in promotion to a degree but they seem to get to the 75% mark and leave it there so it falls out of sight. The orange shirt next weekend I think is a good starting point and I know it has a lot of people talking. The other issue with BC is geography is not kind to us. On the prairies you have the Edmonton/Calgary and Regina/Winnipeg rivalries whereas BC is just an orphan out here with us against the rest of the league one game at a time. Matt Baker of the Lions promo folks, brought up an interesting point in 2019 where he suggested a great rivalry for BC would be The Schooners. He suggested a labour day game being dubbed as the coast to coast game. Albeit on the other side of the country maybe that’s the team the Lions need to be connected with to have a rivalry. I also think COVID in hindsight might be the renaissance of the CFL as I seem to see (me included) more people talking CFL.
1 Like
A geographic rival would be better with Seattle or Portland. Either of those teams would be the newest CFL expansion, if the league is to grow in the near future
1 Like
Well you know as long as the Seahawks are in Seattle that’s not going to happen. Not sure about Portland but I wouldn’t rule it out. I’m still on the fence about an American division of the CFL.
I think Seattle could work if they started the season in May. Worked the season schedule so it was front end loaded with home games. That way it would only be one home game in September and have a bye in there somewhere. I’d like to hear your “cons” though for American expansion. Having said that I would rather have an expansion team in upstate NY or Michigan to test the waters first before exploring the west.
1 Like
The Seahawks don’t own Lumen Stadium. It’s owned by the Washington State Public Stadium Authority. The Seahawks team won’t have a say on who can’t share the facility with them. And if the CFL season started in mid May, it can be done.
Once the CFL gets that 10th team in Halifax, I think there will be US expansion. Six to eight teams for proper growth of the league
1 Like
I think that’s interesting. I’m assuming 3 or 4 in the west and 3 or 4 in the east. I just don’t know where you would put them though lol
1 Like
Again why this idea of a May start is still being talked about.
A November Grey Cup and Vanier Cup pairing still should be a priority.
Interesting theory on Seattle. Way back when and I mean way back when the Lions use to have seasons ticket holders in Seattle. I’m not against American expansion but I doubt plunking down a team here or there would work. We went through this in the 90’s and the only success story was Baltimore. The US is so into NFL ball I kinda doubt any other league could make a go of it. If a CFL top teams league game and NFL worst teams game were on at the same time I think the NFL tv audience would definitely out rate the cfl game. If they did want to try a US expansion I agree with you we would need cities close to the border where people can relate to each city.
The Grey Cup and Vanier Cup pairing I have thought for years what a great idea. But, I think it might be only us two who think that way.
The 2011 and 2012 pairings garnered the highest ratings on TSN in terms of the Vanier Cup.
Notice both pairings took place in indoor stadiums.
That should be considered in the future.
I wasn’t meaning the stadium but the interest of CFL football when they have NFL football.
I think there are plenty of fans out there who like the idea. Perhaps not many prioritize as much as mahalcflers, but a lot of folks would like to see it. It would be nice to see the stakeholders involved in such an undertaking try to work it out.
I agree I think all involved have to come up with a better system then what’s in place now. What I would like to see is a “Canadian” Football weekend showcasing the Grey Cup and the Vanier Cup. I would also like to see the varsity football teams having at least one game of the week on some national tv platform ( TSN, CBC platforms, Bell media and/or Rogers media). Let’s face it a lot of the nfl players are already household names before they arrive in the nfl because of their college exposure on tv. We don’t see that much up here.
2 Likes