Snow and the "Big Owe"

Hosting a Grey Cup will be soon

[url=http://montrealgazette.com/sports/soccer/mls/montreal-impact/stu-cowan-impact-playoff-at-olympic-stadium-is-going-to-be-special]http://montrealgazette.com/sports/socce ... be-special[/url]

What a bloody mess with that fiasco of a stadium and all the corruption swirling around it!

Nonetheless, they are expecting a crowd in excess of 60,000 tonight to cheer on the Impact.

Since any possibility of "Go Als Go" is long gone, Go Impact!

Just tuned into TSN and, there is 60 000 avid fans there enjoying the soccer game. The game was delayed for an hour as, the grounds crew needed to paint the lines on the field. It's the first time I have watched a pro soccer game and, these guys are pretty good. I'd like to know more about the heating system on the roof on the Big O. Maybe those on the staff of the Big O have come up with new system, which was hereto unknown. There is more than one way to skin a cat. Its great to see the Big O filled to capacity although, watching the crowd, I'm hoping the roof doesn't give way sending anxiety/death to those great soccer fans. Maybe there is hope for a huge turnout again, possibly for an Als East playoff in 2017. Later, maybe a Grey Cup in Montreal with the Als playing a Western team.

Ever heard of the expression "watching the paint dry"? That usually means a person is bored. Well, 61,004 fans did just that for 30 minutes before the game last night!

What? They didn't know the proper dimensions of the penalty area? They never had a soccer game in the Big Owe before? Bush! That, plus the ongoing kerfuffles about F1, what the 2017 edition of the Als will look like, don't give me a lot of confidence in the management of professional sports in this city.

I watched the soccer game, too. It was nonetheless exciting and the fans got great entertainment. I can't say it enough - you can't beat the ambiance you will find in a large stadium packed to the rafters with thousands of cheering fans. This is my continuing hope, not only for the Als, but for every CFL team. Not sure I will ever see that before I die, but it remains my wish.

Als/CFL own the record and top crowds at the Big O. This team was almost as loved as the Habs for some time and management had tunnel vision and ruined it all.

Amen to that!

In 1977, the Als were averaging 59,000 a game which rivaled NFL attendances at the time. That also meant that Montreal was attracting new football fans. For once, the team ended in the black and all was looking great for the future of football in Montreal. The Bergers seemed to be managing things well and we had an exciting team.

Then, they started cranking up ticket prices. I’m not sure what prompted that - operational costs, the RIO, or greed! Average attendance fell. The following year, it fell again. So, what happened?

Football in Montreal has been an on-again/off-again affair. Good management, publicity, a competitive team…are all ingredients that bring out thousands of fans. I sincerely hope that they will get their act together in the off-season to put a good product on the field. I would love nothing more than to see at least one or two games in the Big Owe with a sellout crowd cheering on their team!

For what it is worth, a run down of the highest attendance figures over the years since it's inception :

Olympic Games Opening Ceremonie
73,286
Olympic Games Closing Ceremonie
74,223
Pink Floyd concert (July 6, 1977)
78,322
Emerson Lake & Palmer concert (August 26, 1977)
73,898
Olympic Soccer Tournament Final (July 31, 1976)
71,617
Alouettes versus Argonauts (September 6, 1977)
69,083
Grey Cup (November 27, 1977)
68,318
Grey Cup (November 23, 2008)
66,308
Grey Cup (November 25, 2001)
65,255
Rolling Stones concert (December 14, 1989)
64,664
U2 concert (October 1, 1987)
63,504
Pink Floyd concert (May 22, 23 and 24, 1994)
62,689 every night
Motocross (June 19, 1985)
61,290
CONCACAF Champions League final (April 29 avril, 2015)
61,004
Verdi’s opera Aïda (June 16 and 18, 1988)
60,000 every night

After 1977, '78 was a big drop (8-7-1), '79 bounced back (11-4-1) but '80 (8-8) slipped back, '81 (3-13) was bad and they never got better than 8-8 before the team folded.

1976-81 also happens to coincide with the Montreal Expos attendance skyrocketing

…Ave/Gm
1976 Parc Jarry 7,984
1977 Stade Olympique 17,701
1978 Stade Olympique 17,617
1979 Stade Olympique 26,277
1980 Stade Olympique 27,261
1981 Stade Olympique 28,418
1982 Stade Olympique 28,621
1983 Stade Olympique 28,650