WEEK 2 OVERALL LEAGUE AVERAGE @ 27166 (26876 in 05)

CFL Talk
1

The overall week two league average is up thanks to the great fans in Edmonton. This despite the pathetic turnout in Saskatchewan. What is up with that and are we looking at the weekest link this year for so called Rider Pride? Hopefully with a win the fans will turn out.
Week 2 is listed below with figures in brackets for the teams 05 comparison.

WEEK 2

Winnipeg 26,524 (22,087)
Hamilton 27,911 (29,032)
Edmonton 40,491 (36,912)
Sask 21,082 (23,067)

League Ave. 27,166 (26,876)

I also find it interesting that Hamiltons figure is down 1121, while on the positive Winnipeg is up a whopping 4437.

2

well…if they wouldnt have had the hay ride in Regina that weekend the average would have been even better…

3

Not to make excuses, but a lot of it has to do with the start time, etc.

Edmonton had a good crowd because it was Saturday night, Calgary was in town, and the weather was gorgeous.

In Regina, the game was on a Sunday night and their team is the Riders...

4

I agree with EskJebus. I came down from Saskatoon, but I can see why a lot of out of towners didn't make the trip. I didn't get home until after 11pm, which is not that late as far as going to sleep is concerned, but driving makes me sleepy on a good day and the trip home was adventerous to say the least. A balance between don't fall asleep while driving, make sure to keep your eyes on the road and uncrossed, and "DEER!!", that was close. The fairweather fans who couldn't be bothered because of last week's game however was pathetic. Lame, lame, LAME!! But they missed one of the more exciting endings to a football game in recent memory, so good riddance to them. And the University section being removed hurt attendance in that corner a lot. I think by next season it may return. The extra roudiness may be worth the extra revenue in beer sales alone.

Go Riders!!

5

Cleatus’s combine broke down and his cousins came to help, that may account for a few thousand fans.

C’mon Rider fans! 21K?!?!?! PATHETIC!!!

6

Lets see here 21,000 out of approx city population of 210,000 that is 10%. Now on the other hand 40,000 out of a population of almost a million is 4%. Now that's pathetic.

7

210,000? Uhhhh... you may want to re-check your figures buddy. Last time I checked Sask had a population of 993,000.

According to some Rider fans, most fans are from out of town yet you're only counting the city of Regina??

I think I'm starting to understand the Rider attendance issue as seen from a Rider fan living in Regina...

1- Most Rider fans don't live in Regina.
2- There are more Rider fans showing up to games in other cities then in Regina.
3- Sask residents are busy farming and have no time for football.
4- When it's convenient Rider fans are only from Regina, and at times Rider fans are mostly from out of town.

Maybe Regina is not the best fit for this team? I bet the team would sell more seats if they were based in the maritimes.

8

or Saskatoon. and Alberta has more the a million, and Edmonton has just about a million, 210,000 is a better number for Regina's population.

But well done WPG, keep it up!

9

BTW, NFLE on Ave. draws less than 20,000 a game.

10

Please lets not get into NFL Europe, its a joke. No wonder Europeans will never like american football.

11

it's dying a slow and painful death, but I like playing the 6 teams in Madden on a tournament.

but the point is that the CFL if perfectly healthy at 28,000 a game, while below that is death, like the NFLE is facing.

12

210,000? Uhhhh... you may want to re-check your figures buddy. Last time I checked Sask had a population of 993,000.

Not all of those 993,000 live close enough to Regina to make it to a Sunday game at 5 and make it back to work for Monday morning with enough sleep.

According to some Rider fans, most fans are from out of town yet you're only counting the city of Regina??

I think I'm starting to understand the Rider attendance issue as seen from a Rider fan living in Regina...

1- Most Rider fans don't live in Regina.

Some Rider fans are from Regina and some do come from out of town.

2- There are more Rider fans showing up to games in other cities then in Regina.

Last year in Calgary there was probably around 12000 Rider fans, how many Eskimo fans make the trip to Calgary. In B.C. (for the first game) my friends from Regina, who were at the game, said there was around 2000 Rider fans.

3- Sask residents are busy farming and have no time for football.

Work usually comes before football for a lot of fans.

4- When it's convenient Rider fans are only from Regina, and at times Rider fans are mostly from out of town.

It's a mixture of both

Maybe Regina is not the best fit for this team? I bet the team would sell more seats if they were based in the maritimes.

We've had a team for many years and have supported our team quite well over the lean years and will continue to support our team

After saying all that, 21000 was low and I'd hope to have at least 25000+ for next game.

13

and you say your the best fans....pffft,

14

No, I say you are a tool who is not too good at fractions and logical reasoning. Even if you consider the entire province, 2% showed up. Now consider the time of the game, 5pm Sunday. And the average distance travelled if you consider all corners of Saskatchewan, since that is in fact what you want us to do. How many Edmonton fans would drive 3-4 hours to a game on Sunday night so that they could get home well after midnight on a Sunday so they could wake up at 5am to start their farming… since we all know that everyone in Saskatchewan is a farmer, or is that dirt. Either way, use what small amount of neural tissue that exists between your ears before you say something stupid. By all means continue saying stupid things, as I know that is the only form of conversation you are capable of, just try at least a little to think before you do.

Go Riders!!

15

OUCH!! That’s gonna leave a mark!

16

And BTW Argotom, thanks for keeping us updated on the attendance. It’s very interesting (to me anyway) to see how it pans out each week.

17

Dr. Rise exscuses, exscuses, exscuses

18

I remember playoff games in the last decade held in Winnipeg, Calgary and Edm that drew less than 20K. Weather (cold and snow) was usually cited as a factor.

Argos before current ownership struggled to get 15-20K.

Alouettes/Concordes of 1980s drew less than 10K for some games.

Lions after Flutie left saw mass erosion in fan base.

Hamilton in waning days of MacDonald-Grant ownership ('03) couldn't get more than about 15K and that was after having been to 2 GCs within five years.

So before any one casts stones, there are plenty of examples of teams who have drawn poorly from around the League.

Having said that, I suspect reason that Rider fans are taking it on the chin is their self-proclaimed status as CFL's greatest fans."

Sunday at 5 may not be best start time.

But among excuses I heard were that it was big weekend for graduations (on Sundays?) as if no other city has graduations, that local media had been too hard on team before and after opening game and others who said outright that they were mad because game was blacked out on TV.

Even Jim Hopson expressed his disappointment with number.

Bottom line is that Rider Pride has to translate into "bums in the seats."

19

You guys all need to calm down. This was a little bit of a small crowd yes but this is in no way out of the ordinary. Here are the numbers from the last few home openers

July 5, 2002 - Calgary vs Riders: 21,968
June 28, 2003 - BC vs Riders: 22,155
July 2, 2004 - BC vs Riders: 21,605
June 25, 2005 -Winnipeg vs Riders: 23,067
June 25, 2006 - BC vs Riders: 21,028

Theres no need to overreact about this. This happens every year and every year we recover. We will be fine, we will not need assistance like we have given so many of your teams. Calm Down

20

Its good to see that the league is back on track after a shaky start. Still think hockey playoffs were to blame in week one.(don't get me started on hockey in late June). I too wonder why Sask. couldn't draw more for the home opener. Ive been there and can't imagine what else there is to do