CFL Schedule Change a Bad Idea

[Brendan McGuire]

Any thoughts?

http://lastwordonsports.com/2017/12/08/cfl-flirts-with-disaster-scheduling/

[SpeedFlex27]

2 minutes ago, Brendan McGuire said:

Any thoughts?

http://lastwordonsports.com/2017/12/08/cfl-flirts-with-disaster-scheduling/

Agree with the article. Leave the schedule alone. 

[ALuCsRED]

Looks like the article is an opinion piece rather than a true news article.  Is there an actual interview with Ambrosie where the commissioner actually states wanting to move the dates?

[BBlink]

Agreed with the part about the draft. I'm not super convinced about the other stuff.

I don't think anyone is going to say "oh man I wish this Grey Cup was in the snow" and not watch it. 

The writer says there is absolutely no upside. I think the fans who go to the games in the cold would disagree. Or the fans that end up not going to the games. It's hard enough getting people to come out when it's nice and warm. Do we really look forward to November football? Or are we wondering why it's not over because hockey is now on? 

The writer says that we shouldn't be pandering to the US. And I agree, but I'm still not sure how any of it takes away from the Canadian experience.

[Jesse]

I honestly don’t see a down side in moving the schedule. Cold games keeps fans away, and the conflict with baseball early in the season can’t be worse than conflict with hockey late in the season.

The notion that November football is a ‘distraction’ from the cold weather prior to the holiday season is poetic, I guess, but it’s never crossed my mind.

[TBURGESS]

There was a long thread on the other site about this. General consensus was that the draft is the biggest downside, but that GM's already know how much NFL interest that most players have. The biggest upsides would be the new money from  the NFL network, an increased US audience and less cold weather games.

Personally, I'd be happy to move the season forward a month if it does nothing but get more money for the CFL. Less months without football would be great for me. I don't watch hockey much, so I'd choose CFL over NHL playoffs (That season is too long IMO), but I understand that TSN may not like it.  I think it's better to compete with the NHL for eyes early in the season than it is to compete with the NFL late in the season.

[Mark H.]

We all know what happens in Winnipeg when cold weather comes. Even season ticket holders don’t show up - much less the walk up crowd...

[Atomic]

6 hours ago, ALuCsRED said:

Looks like the article is an opinion piece rather than a true news article.  Is there an actual interview with Ambrosie where the commissioner actually states wanting to move the dates?

Considering it.

http://www.ckom.com/syn/648/180456/180456

Quote

CFL Commissioner Randy Ambrosie gave his state of the league address on Wednesday. He personally likes the idea of moving the season up.

“Imagine playing our Grey Cup, let’s just say the third week of October when it’s beautiful everywhere and you don’t have to wear nine hundred layers of clothing,” he said.

Ambrosie said more research needs to be done and more conversations need to be had. He said he wants to consult fully with fans and the CFL board before they would make any change.

 

33 minutes ago, TBURGESS said:

General consensus was that the draft is the biggest downside, but that GM's already know how much NFL interest that most players have. 

I disagree with this... pretty strongly.  GMs don't really know.  They can make an educated guess but even now, with the NFL draft falling before the CFL draft, you have players who make it in the NFL unexpectedly.  There would be more of those cases, without question.

Now, is that enough to outweigh the benefits of moving the season up?  I'm not sure.  I don't think so.  I'd like to see them expand the season by one week so we can avoid some of the schedule ugliness from this year, and also move it up by 2 weeks. 

They could still hold the draft in early May after the NFL draft, it would just give GMs less time to sign players and get them in camp.

[DR. CFL]

Starting the schedule early was tried a number of years ago.....and it was a disaster. It was shown that for whatever reason....interest and attendance increased at or around Labour Day....fans believe football to be a true fall sport.

[Jesse]

34 minutes ago, DR. CFL said:

Starting the schedule early was tried a number of years ago.....and it was a disaster. It was shown that for whatever reason....interest and attendance increased at or around Labour Day....fans believe football to be a true fall sport.

When was this?

If you look at all the Grey Cup dates, they're all within a couple of weeks of each other.

[Noeller]

06 season... We started TC on the May Long Weekend... 

[Brandon]

I think it's a no brainer to move up the season.      The increase of attendance from fair-weather fans alone is a good enough reason to move it up.       For every 1 person who loves to watch a game in the snow...  I am sure their are a dozen people who don't even consider going because they don't want to freeze in the stands.  

[The Unknown Poster]

I've always felt it made a lot of sense to move up.  How often are those cold October games empty?  And yet the weather in June is usually beautiful, sometimes spectacular.

The idea that -25 and snow is "so Canadian" is fun and all, but wouldnt we ideally love the Playoff games to be played and won on merit and not weather?

I do think the concern of being too close to the MBL playoffs is a reasonable one though.  And on the June side, mixing with the NHL playoffs but that one is rather minor.

Im curious about the idea this would help a US TV deal.  Is it a matter of eyeballs or is there a real possibility of increased cash from a TV contract?  Pros and cons must be weighed and if money comes in and the risk is that the stars and planets align every few years to where the Jays and Argos play key games at the same time, well, is that a risk worth taking?

[Noeller]

My concern is competing with NHL playoffs....I don't want any part of that, especially when there's a Canadian team making a run...

[blueingreenland]

Grey Cup was on November 19th in 2006. That's not early.

I would like to see them start at least 2 weeks earlier to start with. 

[JCon]

I would like it moved up a month. I think it would encourage increased attendance.

[JCon]

1 minute ago, Noeller said:

My concern is competing with NHL playoffs....I don't want any part of that, especially when there's a Canadian team making a run...

We're talking about June, so we're safe there.

[blueingreenland]

Doesn't the Stanley Cup usually end in early June (way too late IMO)?

They could still start the regular season, say, in the 2nd week of June and not conflict, right? Open camp in early May.

Edited December 8, 2017 by blueingreenland

[The Unknown Poster]

4 minutes ago, Noeller said:

My concern is competing with NHL playoffs....I don't want any part of that, especially when there's a Canadian team making a run...

The NHL usually (by my very casual checking) ends by the second week of June.  lets even say June 15th.  Moving the CFL schedule up just two weeks doesnt overlap and allows two normally poorly attended late season games to be played in June instead where they very likely sell a lot more tickets.

Plus, you might have teams more likely to be open to weekend games in June since most kids are still in school (or finishing up) as opposed to July/August when everyone is off and at the lake.

Even if there is one weekend of overlaps between the NHL and CFL, for it to be a real negative, it has to be a Canadian team in the final and even then for it to be a real problem it has to be a Canadian team in a CFL market.  It might be possible for the CFL to anticipate the schedule (ie. does the NHL always play the Cup final in the evening and can the CFL schedule some saturday/Sunday afternoon games instead).

There is an inherent draw in the first games of the CFL season that would not be impacted by the Lightening vs the Coyotes Cup final (or something of that ilk).

[Wideleft]

3 hours ago, BBlink said:

Agreed with the part about the draft. I'm not super convinced about the other stuff.

I don't think anyone is going to say "oh man I wish this Grey Cup was in the snow" and not watch it. 

The writer says there is absolutely no upside. I think the fans who go to the games in the cold would disagree. Or the fans that end up not going to the games. It's hard enough getting people to come out when it's nice and warm. Do we really look forward to November football? Or are we wondering why it's not over because hockey is now on? 

The writer says that we shouldn't be pandering to the US. And I agree, but I'm still not sure how any of it takes away from the Canadian experience.

Took the words out of my mouth.  I've always thought that starting the regular season in June would be a good idea (weather-related reasons), but I hadn't thought about the draft.

 

[JCon]

I've now read that article. That's a few minutes of my life I will never get back.

It makes a whole lot of assumptions and assertions about "real" fans and attracting the US audience.

[JCon]

Alright let's address the blog systematically...

October Grey Cup a Bad Idea

I don't see how or why moving the GC to October would make anyone in the US more or less likely to watch the game? There's an assumption that this is to appease a US audience but with no rationale as to why or how it would do this.

I would like it earlier, but not until the first Sunday in November. I'm not risking a Halloween Grey Cup.

Pandering to Americans Not the Answer

Cohon was NEVER pandering to the NFL or US audience, he was responding to CFL fans who wanted to watch both leagues. Tried, tested, moved on. If he was pandering, they would have stuck with it.

Core Fans Still Matter

Some "core" fans want the change, so stop pretending that you speak for everyone. Provide an argument or rationale as to why it makes sense to keep it at the end of November, without trying illicit an anti-American reaction. It has nothing to do with the US market.

Screws Up the Draft

The fans matter, not sure why you don't think they would. And no, the front offices will figure out the draft. There are always plenty of unknowns going in. The better GMs will figure it out.

Leave CFL Schedule Alone

Too much change too fast? I have no idea what big changes you've seen. Adding a team is not a big change to the league, it's growing it. Moving the season up a few weeks does not change the product.

And that is what's most important. Maintaining the product, growing the fan base and the market.

[Jesse]

4 minutes ago, JCon said:

Alright let's address the blog systematically...

October Grey Cup a Bad Idea

I don't see how or why moving the GC to October would make anyone in the US more or less likely to watch the game? There's an assumption that this is to appease a US audience but with no rationale as to why or how it would do this.

 

I don't see the schedule change as expecting more Americans to watch the Grey Cup, I think it's more about getting them to watch the CFL in June, when there's no NFL games.

And perhaps getting revenue from an NFL network deal.

Edited December 8, 2017 by Jesse

[Mr Dee]

Randy Ambrosie has already proven to be a Commissioner who is going to make things happen. He doesn’t stay in his office and ‘hear’ about the league, he is out in each city finding out what is happening. 

This latest idea scares some people and titilates others, but fundamentally, he is right, the League should start earlier. It’s our League, let’s do it the way we Canadians want it.

We shouldn’t worry about what other leagues are doing (hockey, baseball) we should just make this League the centrepiece, and let other leagues worry about us. 

Missing out on that beautiful June weather is a waste, and for what? Tradition? Let’s start a new tradition. 

The men behind this idea and their CFL counterparts (Gms, Coaches front office) are smart enough to iron out the details and figure this out in time for 2018?

Let the CFL emerge once again and display its uniqueness. Earlier.

It’s about time...

[Marshall]

I don't see a downside. If the Grey Cup was a few weeks earlier, it would have been a nice cool fall day instead of snow storm. Besides, I'm missing football already and would like it to start sooner next year...