CFL Week 2 Takeaways

[17to85]

8 minutes ago, TBURGESS said:

One more thing... TSN's coverage sucks. Spent 20 minutes hanging off every word that Ricky Ray said, while the game went on in the background, often in a split screen so we could watch Ricky Ray. Too much yammering about Hotdogs, Burgers and drinking from a shoe. Tell me about the freaking game. Tell me which players are coming in and going out. You know actual football stuff.

You just know that some suit had the bright idea that they need to be more entertaining in the booth to draw people's interest. That **** annoys the hell out of me. The game is the entertainment, the talking heads are there only to supplement and compliment that. Who ever decided commentators were the stars of the show has made sports really hard to watch.

[Stickem]

4 minutes ago, TBURGESS said:

One more thing... TSN's coverage sucks. Spent 20 minutes hanging off every word that Ricky Ray said, while the game went on in the background, often in a split screen so we could watch Ricky Ray. Too much yammering about Hotdogs, Burgers and drinking from a shoe. Tell me about the freaking game. Tell me which players are coming in and going out. You know actual football stuff.

Totally agree....In their attempt to hype the game (see MR hype in our first outing) the broadcast crew lost the plot.....It's becoming a real problem when the actual game takes a back seat to hamburgers and Ricky R...Too much fluff and no meat ( and no not that damned burger) and it's turning people off ... TSN better get back on track or we'll continue to see a dwindling fan base

[Mr Dee]

The in-show interview that TSN deems to be a special part of their coverage has, to me, always been a huge distraction. Can’t stand them. I wouldn’t mind so much if they hit the high points they’re trying to make, and then move forward, but no, they carry on like a run-on sentence. They’re fillers and have no purpose during a sports game.

This year, they’ve also added helpings of stadium food offerings. Fine, show us what’s available, but don’t shove it down our throats. The gags are on us I guess..

Then again, who ever said TSN pushes quality over quantity. 

[Floyd]

Outrageous.

[Bigblue204]

35 minutes ago, Mr Dee said:

The in-show interview that TSN deems to be a special part of their coverage has, to me, always been a huge distraction. Can’t stand them. I wouldn’t mind so much if they hit the high points they’re trying to make, and then move forward, but no, they carry on like a run-on sentence. They’re fillers and have no purpose during a sports game.

This year, they’ve also added helpings of stadium food offerings. Fine, show us what’s available, but don’t shove it down our throats. The gags are on us I guess..

Then again, who ever said TSN pushes quality over quantity. 

I don't mind the interviews during the game...would be nice if they kept talking about the game when it made sense though...like when a big play happens etc. During the argos game they didn't even show the field while talking to RR...in fact they completely missed an entire "drive" by the argos while watching Ricky Ray yammer on. So strange.

[Guest J5V]

37 minutes ago, Bigblue204 said:

I don't mind the interviews during the game...would be nice if they kept talking about the game when it made sense though...like when a big play happens etc. During the argos game they didn't even show the field while talking to RR...in fact they completely missed an entire "drive" by the argos while watching Ricky Ray yammer on. So strange.

So much this. For chrissakes what's happening in the game, you morons? Drives me insane. 

[Firekid]

Don't underestimate the impact that a lot of the younger generation are not subscribing to cable or sat anymore. They stream their TV / Movies via Netflix et al and live sports is not offered on these types of apps. If they want to watch a game they gather with friends at a local drinking hole and watch from there.

In Toronto, if it is not a part of the US mainstream sports like NBA, NHL and why Toronto so badly wants the Bills to relocate there (We are the biggest and best city in Canada and we are better than being Canadian) they don't care. CFL is too small time for Toronto now.

MTL has no fans because they are a terrible team that had terrible owners and terrible management so who the hell wants to support that? They are not diehards like Winnipeg has.

BC is in the middle of those two if you ask me. A city that is on the point of getting too big to care for Canadian sports and the team hasn't been very good for awhile now. They figured it was because they had a QB issue and went out and spent too much to fix that but flattened the rest of the team in doing that. If they are not winning, the fans don't follow them.

The cure is not going to be easy and if it was we wouldn't be discussing this. Someone gets paid good dollars to figure it out and they need to work a little harder I guess.  

[rebusrankin]

TSN needs to revamp their coverage. For every good innovation, like TSN Fantasy Football you get garbage like "Eating with Forde."

[Mr Dee]

👁‍🗨This Just sounds, well, unsound...and dumb, if you ask me..

Lions head coach DeVone Claybrooks defended his decision to keep Reilly in the game, saying he had the bigger picture in mind.

“You have to look at it from the aspect of the whole season, and it’s about the makeup and the stand that you’re trying to establish on your team,” Claybrooks told TSN 1040 in Vancouver on Monday. “I’m preaching that the game’s not over until the last zero is on the clock and what kind of preaching would I be doing if I pulled my quarterback out when I’m telling my guys to fight until the final whistle?”

 

 

[do or die]

8 minutes ago, Mr Dee said:

👁‍🗨This Just sounds, well, unsound...and dumb, if you ask me..

Lions head coach DeVone Claybrooks defended his decision to keep Reilly in the game, saying he had the bigger picture in mind.

“You have to look at it from the aspect of the whole season, and it’s about the makeup and the stand that you’re trying to establish on your team,” Claybrooks told TSN 1040 in Vancouver on Monday. “I’m preaching that the game’s not over until the last zero is on the clock and what kind of preaching would I be doing if I pulled my quarterback out when I’m telling my guys to fight until the final whistle?”

 

 

Parroting what Reilly said post-game.  Who is the coach here?

[SpeedFlex27]

11 hours ago, Mr Dee said:

👁‍🗨This Just sounds, well, unsound...and dumb, if you ask me..

Lions head coach DeVone Claybrooks defended his decision to keep Reilly in the game, saying he had the bigger picture in mind.

“You have to look at it from the aspect of the whole season, and it’s about the makeup and the stand that you’re trying to establish on your team,” Claybrooks told TSN 1040 in Vancouver on Monday. “I’m preaching that the game’s not over until the last zero is on the clock and what kind of preaching would I be doing if I pulled my quarterback out when I’m telling my guys to fight until the final whistle?”

 

 

Claybrooks will be a disaster. He's just not ready. He doesn't even have nice hair.

[Eternal optimist]

 

14 hours ago, Mr Dee said:

This year, they’ve also added helpings of stadium food offerings. Fine, show us what’s available, but don’t shove it down our throats. The gags are on us I guess..

This really doesn't make sense to me... anyone that's going to buy food at the game is ... at the game, not watching it on the tube. The only way this makes sense to me would be if they were somehow earning extra revenue off it (ad revenue?), but even that's a stretch, that or food revenue is down drastically league-wide.

Unfortunately, I think like many other cable companies, TSN underestimated the drop-off as cord-cutters begin to age up and become the dominating market.

[WBBFanWest]

8 hours ago, Eternal optimist said:

 

This really doesn't make sense to me... anyone that's going to buy food at the game is ... at the game, not watching it on the tube. The only way this makes sense to me would be if they were somehow earning extra revenue off it (ad revenue?), but even that's a stretch, that or food revenue is down drastically league-wide.

Unfortunately, I think like many other cable companies, TSN underestimated the drop-off as cord-cutters begin to age up and become the dominating market.

If you are wanting to attract people who live in that particular city, but haven't been to a game in a while, or ever, wouldn't showing them some of the "stuff" you can get at the stadium be a good idea.  Marketing is marketing.

[Wideleft]

6 minutes ago, WBBFanWest said:

If you are wanting to attract people who live in that particular city, but haven't been to a game in a while, or ever, wouldn't showing them some of the "stuff" you can get at the stadium be a good idea.  Marketing is marketing.

That shouldn't be the responsibility of the TSN broadcast crew.  At most, they can show food on their intro's and extro's from commercial breaks.  Leave the marketing of stadium food to the stadium owners, please.

[JCon]

5 minutes ago, Wideleft said:

That shouldn't be the responsibility of the TSN broadcast crew.  At most, they can show food on their intro's and extro's from commercial breaks.  Leave the marketing of stadium food to the stadium owners, please.

I agree for the most part. When it becomes a distraction to calling the ACTUAL game, it's a problem. 

I am not opposed to TSN highlighting some of the non-football event attractions. Like, when they talk about tailgating, the Rum Hut, the Pilsner Zone, the kids events and everything else that adds to the entertainment value of attending live games. 

But, it needs to be measured. It shouldn't interfere with the game. TSN is not very good at balance. It's like Black and Forde were bored and uninterested in the play. 

[TBURGESS]

My problem isn't with TSN showing food or interviewing folks. It's that they do it when the game is going on in the background.

[JCon]

4 minutes ago, TBURGESS said:

My problem isn't with TSN showing food or interviewing folks. It's that they do it when the game is going on in the background.

The game is secondary on TSN. They seem so uninterested in the play. 

[Mark F]

20 hours ago, do or die said:

Parroting what Reilly said post-game.  Who is the coach here?

O'Shea does the same thing. Did this with Wilie, and said "he's a tough guy"

Rember Mike calling a time out at the end of a game, where they had been soundly thrashed?

I'm sure lots of coaches think this way.

Doesn't make sense to me, but that''s how they do it.

 

I also think Reily's way of playing, always looking for the fifty yard pass, never running, makes it very tough on the O line.

Reily seems to want to be the tough guy hero, and acts like nobody else on the team can do anything.

He got pounded in Edmonton last season, now with Harris, and a different style of offence, suddenly the O line is doing much better.

Glad we don't have Reilly.

Edited June 25, 2019 by Mark F

[WBBFanWest]

28 minutes ago, Wideleft said:

That shouldn't be the responsibility of the TSN broadcast crew.  At most, they can show food on their intro's and extro's from commercial breaks.  Leave the marketing of stadium food to the stadium owners, please.

And how exactly, do the stadium owners market their wares during a CFL broadcast?  I'm quite sure that TSN did not do that stuff for free.

[Pete Catan's Ghost]

8 hours ago, SpeedFlex27 said:

Claybrooks will be a disaster. He's just not ready. He doesn't even have nice hair.

Somewhere; Bart Andrus smiles. 

[Bigblue204]

1 hour ago, TBURGESS said:

My problem isn't with TSN showing food or interviewing folks. It's that they do it when the game is going on in the background.

This! I'm all for them showing off what the stadiums have to offer. But that's a side act, the game is why people are watching. The other stuff is just a nice add on - if done correctly.

[Wideleft]

1 hour ago, WBBFanWest said:

And how exactly, do the stadium owners market their wares during a CFL broadcast?  I'm quite sure that TSN did not do that stuff for free.

I'm no longer in the ad business, but through actual paid commercials or product placement.  Product placement is generally more subtle and if TSN offered product placement time during actual play-by-play, the person in charge should be fired.  Why would anyone pay for that kind of placement when the viewer is distracted by the actual game?  I truly believe that the Outrageous Burger fiasco is more due to Rod Black's ineptitude and a bad director who should have directed him to focus on the game.

[Guest J5V]

2 hours ago, Mark F said:

O'Shea does the same thing. Did this with Wilie, and said "he's a tough guy"

Rember Mike calling a time out at the end of a game, where they had been soundly thrashed?

I'm sure lots of coaches think this way.

Doesn't make sense to me, but that''s how they do it.

 

I also think Reily's way of playing, always looking for the fifty yard pass, never running, makes it very tough on the O line.

Reily seems to want to be the tough guy hero, and acts like nobody else on the team can do anything.

He got pounded in Edmonton last season, now with Harris, and a different style of offence, suddenly the O line is doing much better.

Glad we don't have Reilly.

Yeah but the guy is a warrior and before this season is done he'll have them playing like warriors or they'll be gone. They may still suck, but they won't be Toronto. 

[17to85]

Remember, TSN is a partner of the league, they do try and get asses into the seats any way they can, which is 2hy you get burgers and hot dogs.

[USABomberfan]

9 minutes ago, 17to85 said:

Remember, TSN is a partner of the league, they do try and get asses into the seats any way they can, which is 2hy you get burgers and hot dogs.

I wonder how much of that comes out of Rod Black's salary?