Finally, a bit of transparency !
I thought I read on the Als sub-forum, there was a deadline of June 1. If so then it makes sense this statement is made today, though the vote was done months ago.
So now the fun begins and they can continue to talk to the propsective ownership groups. I’m hoping now that the ‘cat is out of the bag’, the suitors say nothing to the media.
Now, let’s say the players take an ‘us against the world’ mentality, play above expectations, defy all odds and win the Grey Cup…does Ambroise present it to himself? 
It’s easy to cheer for a team when they are winning. Als fans were spoiled for a long time. But when the going gets tough, and it sure has since AC, you find out who the real fans are.
It seems Montreal only knows how to support a winner. Fickle fans.
Exactly. People were not attacking fans in Montreal when it became the fastest growing football market in North America. for 15 to 17 years fans packed the place often getting hosed on pricing or giving up their cherished seats at McGill so that the owners could make some money hosting playoff games at the BigO.Let’s be CLEAR!
This is a failure of ownership and management. From terrible decisions to verbally attacking beat reporters at the team’s Golf tournament, to hiring people who live in another country or and completely disappear for six months instead of engaging with the community. Maybe holding dinners with various ethnic associations, participating in fundraising efforts. It is easy to send players to hang out in schools, not much effort required by owner and management but 8-year-olds don’t buy tickets.
Sorry HTXTC Halifax. That is just plain wrong. Did I say wrong? But totally. An owner in any major league should remain behind the scene, unless extremely experienced and knowledgeable in the sports. Money talks.
You hire people to make things work. Make big-time moves to benefit your team.
Moving to McGill was a big-time mistake as I said before. Lesson learned.
Now someone but not very many have thought Halifax would be a savior of the CFL.
Or just shoot your self in the other foot. I know Randy has promoted Halifax because of the problems in Montreal. Well, so far no takers either way. Younger people want to go international to be a part of the North America scene. CFL approved NFL development league, with young up in coming superstars are needed. Otherwise 6 team league in the future.
The CFL is a “blue collar” league and teams that are doing well, cater to their core fans.
Fans in the United States have little interest in a NFL development league, why should fans in Canada? Do you think the AAF would have been more successful if it’s teams would have had teams visiting from places that many of them have probably never even heard of like Saskatchewan and Hamilton?
The league is making an effort to promote itself internationally.
And if anyone thinks a professional 4 down football league will be successful in this country, there was a team in playing in the same city of the team of this thread is based in.
How did that turn out?
Similar to other cities.
Seem to recall some empty seats in Winnipeg over the years.
Just checked the LCF board. Looks like there might be a few Als fans over there.
Looks like there are more Als fans on said website than RedBlacks 
Even in Calgary, I don’t think they had one sellout last season, even having the best team in regular season for the past 3 years. If Calgary has been as disastrous as Toronto and Montreal have been the fan support would be depleted as well.
I’d also add too that for Montreal, Manziel was the last straw for Wentenhall, that experiment completely failed, even though I thought he did alright, compromising his contract was the worst thing to happen. It’s too bad… I’m hoping they can have a bounce back season.
The CFL 2.0 project is, in essence, elevating existing foreign leagues into our own development league. The added bonus is the extra attention we’ll receive from Mexico, Europe, and other places where football has limited popularity.
I have zero interest in the NFL or any subsidiary development leagues they may establish. The college system and the XFL, in addition to what they get from the CFL, should be plenty.
Not necessarily the last straw, but CERTAINLY exposed just how broken and inept the ownership/management is. Giving up THREE years of first-round picks for a guy that, in the absolutely best-case scenario, is only going to be with you a year and a half…bad math. Bad management. Now the CFL and the fans are left to pick up the pieces and hope they can glue enough back together to find a willing buyer on Ebay.
Where in that post did he suggest that new owners should not hire quality personnel to run the team and then stay out of the limelight?
Alouettes drew well in 1996 (22,261 average) with the novelty of the team’s return but plummeted to under 10,000 in 1997 … continuing at Olympic Stadium was untenable … Molson Stadium has its issues but served the team well until Andrew took over the team … have never before heard anyone suggest moving was a mistake, let alone Big-time mistake.
A 10th team has long been the dream for the ideal CFL … additional TV market and much better scheduling … has nothing to do with the Alouettes situation.
So four down, minor-league football (why else would the NFL engage) … no thanks … besides, no “up and coming superstars” are going to be sent to AAA by a NFL team … the talent pool would be the same as it is now, perhaps slightly expanded if the NFL kiboshes the idea of Canadian content … :
BTW, if you can see the future so clearly perhaps you could share some Powerball numbers.
Makes sense. Quebec’s team.
- Ottawa - not a particularly sports market either - Check out their attendance for the CFL even when the team was good and then just starting to become mediocre
-Argos - we know the story…they lost a generation of fans with the blackouts and now the city views itself as too big for the CFL. Factor in how multicultural the city has become…people coming from other countries that have no historical interest in football and are not embracing the league now. Toronto gets a break though because they actually drew great crowds…best in the league actually… in the 60s,70s and part of the 80s when the team was mostly bad…unlike Montreal.
-Vancouver is also not a particularly good sports town. Mediocre crowds for almost all of the Grizzlies existence even when the honeymoon period should have lasted longer. Lions have had poor attendance for much of their existence, outside of a few short prosperous periods. It’s not like they have had a tonne of sports options in a city of 2.5 million either.
Not really. Q.C. and Burroughs in that region are mainly supporters of the university football team.
Nowhere near as often as Montreal. 2 times already with a 3rd right around the corner. Back in the 60s there was talk of the team nearly folding as well.
You original post knocked Montreal being a one sport team town.
Yet you failed to mention the above cities in similar boat.
I think the last straw was Ambrosie telling the Wetenhalls there would be no Grey Cup held in a decrepit, dangerous and uninsurable Olympic Stadium.
Props to Ambrosie for realizing the Wetenhall were going to take the league for a nice little ride before setting off in the sunset.
I don’t think the rest of the owners relished spending the next couple decades with Andrew Wetenhall.
The league had probably already been told by Wetenhall that they were pulling out when Ambrosie punted Manziel out of the league. I always wondered why he would do that knowing it would piss off the owners. Now we can do 2+2 and realize, they were already out, so Ambrosie excised the cancer so the league would not have to deal with the bum.