Rivalries, Late Starts, & Game Days - Attendance

[Mr Dee]

Four things the league should change coming into 2019:

1) The Thursday night games are a dud in the stadiums. They may have provided a small bump in TV ratings, but Thursday nights don’t work anywhere when it comes to ticket sales and even worse, it makes things difficult for football ops with so many quick four or five day turnarounds between games.

2) Begin the season with divisional rivals. Seeing Saskatchewan in Hamilton or Montreal in Edmonton does nothing to get fans excited to come to the stadium. Always begin and end the season with rival games. Give the fans the best games to begin the season.

3) End the 8pm starts in the West. It’s difficult to bring families to the game when the final gun goes at 11pm at the earliest and it’s two-hours later in the eastern time zone so no one is watching.

4) Finally, play Sunday games until the NFL starts on Labour Day. Sundays are for pro football, let’s keep it that way.

http://rodpedersen.com/out-of-the-tunnel-wild-times-in-the-cfl/

👁‍🗨I agree that these points are relevant and do affect attendance to a large degree. I don’t know who all came up with these thoughts, but Odd Rod has put them out there to think about. 

The League should think about it..

[Jpan85]

I like a evening game on a Thursday and Friday. Sports have become a TV based and less so attendance wise. TV demands will always go before ticket sales.

[Noeller]

5 minutes ago, Jpan85 said:

I like a evening game on a Thursday and Friday. Sports have become a TV based and less so attendance wise. TV demands will always go before ticket sales.

I personally love watching games on a Thursday night, as well....don't care who it is. Last week I was really jazzed about Edmonton BC on Thursday night and I really don't give two shits about either of those teams.

[Atomic]

Yep I like the Thursday nighters. One fewer evening without football.

[SpeedFlex27]

1 hour ago, Jpan85 said:

I like a evening game on a Thursday and Friday. Sports have become a TV based and less so attendance wise. TV demands will always go before ticket sales.

The problem is tv sports are driven by advertising so if these games don't attract the numbers or demographics advertisers want, they won't sponsor so less revenue for TSN means less revenue ultimately for the CFL.

Edited July 15, 2019 by SpeedFlex27

[Arnold_Palmer]

Love the Thursday games. They need to stay. 

[Jpan85]

2 minutes ago, SpeedFlex27 said:

The problem is tv sports are driven by advertising so if these games don't attract the numbers or demographics advertisers want, they won't sponsor so less revenue for TSN means less revenue ultimately for the CFL.

Yes and the TV numbers have been good. I would imagine TSN will be paying more than the 40 million they did in the last deal.

[SpeedFlex27]

Just now, Jpan85 said:

Yes and the TV numbers have been good. I would imagine TSN will be paying more than the 40 million they did in the last deal.

I've heard ratings are down.  You may be right & I hope you are.

[Mr Dee]

Personally, I love watching the CFL on TSN. on any night. I just hope the ratings numbers aren’t sliding like the attendance. A new TV deal, with a small bump from global markets, and we're good. 

More teams have to take the initiative like Edmonton did to get the younger fans into the stadium. I know that’s how I got hooked.

[Booch]

times are changing now where teams are going to be...or some have been offering different/lower price points for tickets and concessions...you have to

Before, going to the game was the basic only way to cheer for your team as it happened, and slowly with cable..then premium channels...lifting of black-outs and now online streaming..pirated feeds...super advanced tv's....you have to adjust.

Teams now have to promote and focus on reclaiming the young generation and family's and should start doing joint promotions and events that will help draw the casual/curious fan in..and hook em

 

[TBURGESS]

I like Thursday games too. I'd like to see a Thursday, Friday, Saturday and Sunday game till the NFL starts. Better than double headers IMO.

I'd like to see a more balanced schedule. I don't like this 5 in a row against eastern teams that we have this year.

Biggest problem this year seems to be is the discrepancy between the good and the bad teams which equals too many one sided games.

[SpeedFlex27]

4 hours ago, Booch said:

times are changing now where teams are going to be...or some have been offering different/lower price points for tickets and concessions...you have to

Before, going to the game was the basic only way to cheer for your team as it happened, and slowly with cable..then premium channels...lifting of black-outs and now online streaming..pirated feeds...super advanced tv's....you have to adjust.

Teams now have to promote and focus on reclaiming the young generation and family's and should start doing joint promotions and events that will help draw the casual/curious fan in..and hook em

 

The death of local sports in the paper & television has a lot to do with dwindling attendance  as well. Before,  games would be set up by some talented beat writers, columnists & tv reporters in all CFL cities.  They hyped players & rivalries. You knew a home game back in the day was a big deal. Well, most of these guys are now gone having retired or laid off.  Now, all games are on television. CFL home games barely get any attention on local tv sports anymore as sportscasts are 7 minutes long. Today, local sports mean nothing to Bell & Rogers. Neither do the CFL teams.

[17to85]

10 hours ago, SpeedFlex27 said:

The death of local sports in the paper & television has a lot to do with dwindling attendance  as well. Before,  games would be set up by some talented beat writers, columnists & tv reporters in all CFL cities.  They hyped players & rivalries. You knew a home game back in the day was a big deal. Well, most of these guys are now gone having retired or laid off.  Now, all games are on television. CFL home games barely get any attention on local tv sports anymore as sportscasts are 7 minutes long. Today, local sports mean nothing to Bell & Rogers. Neither do the CFL teams.

Well that and the fact that nobody watches local news or reads newspapers anymore. It's all about the online presence. Bottom line it's become easy to watch a high quality TV feed for games these days so people view the stadium as the 2nd rate option.

[Zontar]

2 dollar beer nights.

[Booch]

or 10 cent beer night....google Cleveland 10 cent beer night promo to see how that went....crazy hahahahaha

[17to85]

37 minutes ago, Booch said:

or 10 cent beer night....google Cleveland 10 cent beer night promo to see how that went....crazy hahahahaha

Sadly too many light weights went and killed themselves after drinking cheap beer in Canada and now we got minimum prices for booze.

[Fatty Liver]

54 minutes ago, Booch said:

or 10 cent beer night....google Cleveland 10 cent beer night promo to see how that went....crazy hahahahaha

I dunno but I'd pay top dollar to witness an event of this magnitude....

Problems from the beginning[edit]

Six days after the brawl in Texas, Cleveland's Ten Cent Beer Night promotion drew 25,134 fans to Cleveland Stadium for the Tuesday night game, twice the number expected.^[8]

The Rangers quickly took a 5–1 lead. Meanwhile, throughout the game, the inebriated crowd grew more and more unruly. Early in the game, Cleveland's Leron Lee hit a line drive into the stomach of Rangers pitcher Ferguson Jenkins, after which Jenkins dropped to the ground. Fans in the upper deck of the stadium cheered, then chanted "Hit 'em again! Hit 'em again! Harder! Harder!" A woman ran out to the Indians' on-deck circle and flashed her breasts, and a naked man sprinted to second base as Grieve hit his second home run of the game. One inning later, a father-and-son pair ran onto the outfield and mooned the fans in the bleachers.

As the game progressed, more fans ran onto the field and caused problems. Ranger first baseman Mike Hargrove, who would later manage the Indians and lead them to the World Series twice in 1995 and 1997, was pelted with hot dogs and spit, and at one point was nearly struck by an empty gallon jug of Thunderbird.

The Rangers later argued a call in which Lee was called safe in a close play at third base, spiking Jenkins with his cleats in the process and forcing him to leave the game. The Rangers' angry response to this call enraged Cleveland fans, who again began throwing objects onto the field. Someone tossed lit firecrackers into the Rangers' bullpen.^[9]

In the bottom of the ninth, the Indians managed to rally, tying the game 5–5, and had Rusty Torres on second base representing the potential winning run. However, with a crowd that had been drinking heavily for nine innings, the situation finally came to a head.

The riot[edit]

After the Indians had managed to tie the game, a 19-year-old fan named Terry Yerkic^[10] ran onto the field and attempted to steal Texas outfielder Jeff Burroughs' cap.^[11] Confronting the fan, Burroughs tripped. Thinking that Burroughs had been attacked, Texas manager Billy Martin charged onto the field with his players right behind, some wielding bats. A large number of intoxicated fans – some armed with knives, chains, and portions of stadium seats that they had torn apart – surged onto the field, and others hurled bottles from the stands. Hundreds of fans surrounded the outnumbered Rangers.^[9]

Realizing that the Rangers' lives might be in danger, Cleveland manager Ken Aspromonte ordered his players to grab bats and help the Rangers, attacking the team's own fans in the process. Rioters began throwing steel folding chairs, and Cleveland relief pitcher Tom Hilgendorf was hit in the head by one of them. Hargrove, after subduing one rioter in a fistfight, had to fight another on his way back to the Texas dugout. The two teams retreated off the field through the dugouts in groups, with players protecting each other.^[9]

The bases were pulled up and stolen and many rioters threw a vast array of objects including cups, rocks, bottles, batteries from radios, hot dogs, popcorn containers, and folding chairs. As a result, umpire crew chief Nestor Chylak, realizing that order would not be restored in a timely fashion, forfeited the game to Texas. He too was a victim of the rioters, as one struck and cut his head with part of a stadium seat^[12] and his hand was cut by a thrown rock. He later called the fans "uncontrollable beasts" and stated that he'd never seen anything like what had happened, "except in a zoo".^[13]

As Joe Tait and Herb Score called the riot live on radio, Score mentioned the security guards' inability to handle the crowd. Tait said, "Aw, this is absolute tragedy." The Cleveland Police Department finally arrived to restore order.^[9]

Later, Cleveland general manager Phil Seghi blamed the umpires for losing control of the game. The Sporting News wrote that "Seghi's perspective might have been different had he been in Chylak's shoes, in the midst of knife-wielding, bottle-throwing, chair-tossing, fist-swinging drunks."^[14] American League president Lee MacPhailcommented, "There was no question that beer played a part in the riot."^[12]

 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ten_Cent_Beer_Night

Edited July 16, 2019 by Throw Long Bannatyne

[Booch]

6 minutes ago, Throw Long Bannatyne said:

I dunno but I'd pay top dollar to witness an event of this magnitude....

Problems from the beginning[edit]

Six days after the brawl in Texas, Cleveland's Ten Cent Beer Night promotion drew 25,134 fans to Cleveland Stadium for the Tuesday night game, twice the number expected.^[8]

The Rangers quickly took a 5–1 lead. Meanwhile, throughout the game, the inebriated crowd grew more and more unruly. Early in the game, Cleveland's Leron Lee hit a line drive into the stomach of Rangers pitcher Ferguson Jenkins, after which Jenkins dropped to the ground. Fans in the upper deck of the stadium cheered, then chanted "Hit 'em again! Hit 'em again! Harder! Harder!" A woman ran out to the Indians' on-deck circle and flashed her breasts, and a naked man sprinted to second base as Grieve hit his second home run of the game. One inning later, a father-and-son pair ran onto the outfield and mooned the fans in the bleachers.

As the game progressed, more fans ran onto the field and caused problems. Ranger first baseman Mike Hargrove, who would later manage the Indians and lead them to the World Series twice in 1995 and 1997, was pelted with hot dogs and spit, and at one point was nearly struck by an empty gallon jug of Thunderbird.

The Rangers later argued a call in which Lee was called safe in a close play at third base, spiking Jenkins with his cleats in the process and forcing him to leave the game. The Rangers' angry response to this call enraged Cleveland fans, who again began throwing objects onto the field. Someone tossed lit firecrackers into the Rangers' bullpen.^[9]

In the bottom of the ninth, the Indians managed to rally, tying the game 5–5, and had Rusty Torres on second base representing the potential winning run. However, with a crowd that had been drinking heavily for nine innings, the situation finally came to a head.

The riot[edit]

After the Indians had managed to tie the game, a 19-year-old fan named Terry Yerkic^[10] ran onto the field and attempted to steal Texas outfielder Jeff Burroughs' cap.^[11] Confronting the fan, Burroughs tripped. Thinking that Burroughs had been attacked, Texas manager Billy Martin charged onto the field with his players right behind, some wielding bats. A large number of intoxicated fans – some armed with knives, chains, and portions of stadium seats that they had torn apart – surged onto the field, and others hurled bottles from the stands. Hundreds of fans surrounded the outnumbered Rangers.^[9]

Realizing that the Rangers' lives might be in danger, Cleveland manager Ken Aspromonte ordered his players to grab bats and help the Rangers, attacking the team's own fans in the process. Rioters began throwing steel folding chairs, and Cleveland relief pitcher Tom Hilgendorf was hit in the head by one of them. Hargrove, after subduing one rioter in a fistfight, had to fight another on his way back to the Texas dugout. The two teams retreated off the field through the dugouts in groups, with players protecting each other.^[9]

The bases were pulled up and stolen and many rioters threw a vast array of objects including cups, rocks, bottles, batteries from radios, hot dogs, popcorn containers, and folding chairs. As a result, umpire crew chief Nestor Chylak, realizing that order would not be restored in a timely fashion, forfeited the game to Texas. He too was a victim of the rioters, as one struck and cut his head with part of a stadium seat^[12] and his hand was cut by a thrown rock. He later called the fans "uncontrollable beasts" and stated that he'd never seen anything like what had happened, "except in a zoo".^[13]

As Joe Tait and Herb Score called the riot live on radio, Score mentioned the security guards' inability to handle the crowd. Tait said, "Aw, this is absolute tragedy." The Cleveland Police Department finally arrived to restore order.^[9]

Later, Cleveland general manager Phil Seghi blamed the umpires for losing control of the game. The Sporting News wrote that "Seghi's perspective might have been different had he been in Chylak's shoes, in the midst of knife-wielding, bottle-throwing, chair-tossing, fist-swinging drunks."^[14] American League president Lee MacPhailcommented, "There was no question that beer played a part in the riot."^[12]

 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ten_Cent_Beer_Night

LOL....isn't that crazy??? Imagine witnessing that first hand

[bearpants]

1 hour ago, Booch said:

or 10 cent beer night....google Cleveland 10 cent beer night promo to see how that went....crazy hahahahaha

What a crazy story... this from Bleacher report in reference to a brawl between the Rangers and the fans:

"Ken Aspromonte, the manager of the Indians, realizing that some of the Rangers' players lives were in danger, told his players to grab bats and help them out."

[wbbfan]

Catering to the TV crowd is important. However, it hurts the quality of the game for TV as well if you dont have enough butts in the stands. I think the happy medium would be having a prestige match up on thursday, a game of the week (monday night football up north) pushing the western start times earlier, and as some one stated running sunday football untill the NFL starts up.  

[Firekid]

This story sounds a lot like a Saturday night at the Beach Hotel in Winnipeg Beach back about fifteen years ago. 

[HardCoreBlue]

I'm trying to envision the 'brainstorming' meeting that came up with this 10 cent beer masterpiece.

Only thing missing to this promo was free replica baseball bats given to the first thousand fans.

[Booch]

Yeah how this couldnt have been seen as maybe a recipe for disaster is beyond me...but man what a way to get butts in the seats tho hahaha

[Fatty Liver]

48 minutes ago, Booch said:

Yeah how this couldnt have been seen as maybe a recipe for disaster is beyond me...but man what a way to get butts in the seats tho hahaha

To put it in context this happened in 1974 when the price of a beer was around  50 cents.  Still 5 for the price of one....people are going to lose their minds.

[Uncle Bill]

On 2019-07-15 at 3:32 PM, Jpan85 said:

Yes and the TV numbers have been good. I would imagine TSN will be paying more than the 40 million they did in the last deal.

My great fear is SportsNet will win the contract and they’ll expose cfl fans to the worst collection of play-by-play and colour announcers while placing them second fiddle to nba and leaf events. 

 

"We apologize for the delay in the Winnipeg - Saskatchewan playoff game. Well return after our hourlong analysis of the horrendous Austin Matthews hangnail injury."