So Randy Ambrosie’s tenure will officially be over in a few weeks. He essentially got booted out by the owners, but I think his legacy will compare favorably to other former commissioners.
He’s often criticized that the Global initiative didn’t generate new revenue in international markets, revenues didn’t increase as much as he promised, and he promoted an overly-optimistic view of potential Atlantic expansion before pivoting to Quebec.
But what is your favorite initiative of Ambrosie’s tenure? I thought his reconciliation efforts - the Indigenous-inspired logos are total 
- were pretty good, and the strong ownership is great. And Randy’s Roadtrip was something I missed recently. And he helped us survive COVID, which is really underappreciated. But my favorite one is his “Diversity is Strength” initiative.
The CFL had already planned to launch its “Diversity is Strength” initiative in October 2017. But after the racist “Unite the Right” rally in Charlottesville in August 2017, they went into action mode and launched it immediately. It drew traction in the States, super positive, and I think we’ll be seeing subtle resonating impacts And it was a bold move early in his tenure.
But what are your thoughts? What is your favorite Ambrosie initiative? Or feel free to just shit on everything he did.
I’ll remain ambivalent on his tenure, commissioner is one of those ‘damned if you do, damned if you don’t’ jobs. It won’t be long before the new guy starts taking shots from the same crew who crap on Randy. I’m not convinced anyone else could have done a much better job.
I think he did rather well. His only fault is that he couldn’t convince the Board of Governors to do what no other Commissioner could. He also had the same problem with expansion. Nobody else could convince an owner to spend way too much to earn very little in return.
As far as the Global initiative is concerned, if the CFL made a million dollars of merch they wouldn’t report it to the media. If the new commissioner keeps the global player then it’s something that everyone realizes is benefitting the league. If they don’t keep it then at least we know that Randy was willing to try something new when others were not.
My only real issue with him is he tried to almost force eastern expansion in his last year. I think his actions caused a few potential investors to lose interest.
That’s not saying much.
He took over for Jeff Porridge and he did a much better job than when ALL JP could muster was an ill advised and completely unnecessary logo change
When all is said 'n done - Randy was one of the best “GOOD TIME CHARLIES” the CFL has ever seen. He was always full of mirth and positivity in the light of some real darkness and stank within certain elements of the league.
Global initiative forced teams and fans to consider other options. He planted a seed or two there.
Between all the DEI initiatives, ownership changes, touchdown events and expansion attempts, cfl 2.0, combating spring football and xfl negotiations. He discovered two things:
What the average football fan wants
What the average CFL fan (and investors) wants
These things have similarities and differences. But at the end of the day money talks and it appears like the board is more interested in money now as opposed to investing in a more stable future.
Money has quickly moved up the leaderboard to be the #1 motivation for league operations.
Winnipeg now the template for success. However, that slot was obviously earned by the acquisition of 3 non-playing talents.
CEO Wad Miller - a crusty personality yes, but a mastermind in configuring finances, revenues & expenses
Coach Mike O’Shea - a brutally strong force in the rebuild of a sad sack franchise; O’Shea’s brilliance as a motivator overlooks his modest technical coaching skills
GM Kyle Walters - a low-key behind the scenes presence who picked up both skills and confidence serving in various capacities leading up to his Bomber job. This guy has assembled a solid organization in coaching, player personnel, recruiting, respecting the cap and just winning games.
I suspect Miller will be here until he falls face first into a plate of food but both O’Shea and the current GM may seek greener (aka $$$) pastures if this year goes sour as some predict.
The 4th factor and now a wildcard is the old man of the rocket ship Blue - Zach Collaros. Collaros may be even more key to Bomber success than the 3 guys listed above - cuz he’s the one delivering on the field.
Every year during Grey Cup week, he was so upbeat when talking about the Halifax expansion and how they were “working behind the scenes” and talking to potential investors.
I think most fans just rolled their eyes and thought here we go again.
Also year after year it was the same thing - “we have to sell this game to young people” All talk
I liked his willingness to try new things but at the end of the day he was still confined by the powers above him.
Did he change any cfl rules to accommodate expansion (stadium wise), no
With the new era of on demand streaming, nfl in winnipeg mishap, spring competition. Did he look at any game play reforms (im not referring to just 4 vs 3 downs), not really
So things like the Thursday night concert series and grey cup week are fun but they dont really bring in fans or $$$.
I don’t think there is a solution for the CFL especially with Canadian rules. The league will just draw a certain amount of fans and we should look at downsizing overhead expenses to compensate. Thats randys legacy, making everyone realize that the cfl is a minor league and should act accordingly. This doesn’t mean we can’t see great play or have a good time in the stands but having so much red tape at the corporate level of the league is the thing that’s hurting it especially when minor league competition is hurting us in markets like Edmonton
I know Paolo from San Paolo was kidding when he touted me for commish but one idea I’d be pushing is for a pre-game concert before each CFL game before winter sets in at the outdoor places. For instance, if game-time is 7pm, the concert would begin at 6pm and run for 1 hour (either 1 decent-sized act or 2 acts). The last half hour of the concert would be televised as part payment/exposure to the artists gracing the pre-game stage. No, you’re not gonna get Tate McRae or Shania Twain but so what - lots of folks don’t like those 2 anyways.
The TSN pre-game/game-notes show could run from 7pm to 7:15 cuz its basically the same-old same old game to game. Game usually starts at 7:16 to 7:20 depending on anthem and how many presentations required to local fire-fighters, first responders, military, etc.
Worth a try? imho a resounding YES - but only if the acts get to be on TV before 500,000 to 1 million eyeballs. Perhaps the acts pull another 500 to 2000 butts to the games, too?
I just think that the CFL like the UFL has a ceiling and it’s not going to get any bigger , but I could be wrong
Beg to differ. The addition of Designated Nationalized Americans, Designated Nationals and Global Players all make expansion easier.
Now we just have to find a place for them to play
His legacy will be bringing in global players to take away jobs from Canadian born players.
Fake news.
“A Global player can only take the place of an American on the field and in the event that a team decides to dress more than their required quota of one Global athlete, they must beat an American for that roster spot.”
Im not against the global player theory because it initially allowed for potential international tv deals (which didnt work) and to give us a better player pool due to all the spring football competition.
That being said for the sake of the argument even though the global player take from the us numbers, its still taking from a prospective Canadian. Honestly with more in a few years if the ufl is around and the indoor game becomes stable i think we should refocus on Canadian talents. Especially since we dont have a sr football system in this country.
Who was responsible for bringing in TSNs CFL streaming setup? Stewart likely and who from the CFL? Don’t recall exactly when this all started.