2021 Season

[Noeller]

 

[17to85]

And he waited until Feb 18 to make that clear because? 

[TrueBlue4ever]

1 hour ago, 17to85 said:

And he waited until Feb 18 to make that clear because? 

And not knowing this last week caused you personally to suffer because?

[17to85]

54 minutes ago, TrueBlue4ever said:

And not knowing this last week caused you personally to suffer because?

because the world revolves around me. Get with the program. 

Fact is that the CFL ****** things up last year and Ambrosie has not been a good commissioner in his time. Guy has not earned the benefit of the doubt and the fact that it took this long to put out a fire is just another mark against him. I worry about the CFL under his "leadership" 

[Noeller]

My hope is that Wade Miller is secretly pulling the strings behind the scenes. He gets **** done... Period. 

[Bigblue204]

10 hours ago, 17to85 said:

because the world revolves around me. Get with the program. 

Fact is that the CFL ****** things up last year and Ambrosie has not been a good commissioner (according to me) in his time. Guy has not earned the benefit of the doubt and the fact that it took this long to put out a fire is just another mark against him. I worry about the CFL under his "leadership" 

Ftfy

[blue_gold_84]

While I disagree entirely with the opinion Ambrosie is singlehandedly at fault for all that's gone wrong since the pandemic began, that his "leadership" is bad, or that he's some scarf-sporting bogeyman, he is the commissioner of the CFL. To that end, he's effectively the "face" of the league* from the standpoint of its business operations. The same way he wears its successes, he's the one who wears its failures, even if neither are his solely his to bear. 

I think the issue that rubs many fans the wrong way has less to do with the current commissioner and more to do with how the CFL operates as an organization. Despite being a professional sports league, finances are often shrouded in secrecy and we're left to speculate on player contracts, team's SMS figures, profits and losses, etc. This culture has been around decades when it comes to the league's overall operational landscape, so it's not unreasonable as a fan to be put off by this. More openness wouldn't be a bad thing, IMO.

We're all fans of the CFL and want there to be a 2021 season. 2020 sucked enough as it is without a CFL season, especially because our team couldn't defend its title, as well as the whole Atlantic expansion being shelved. Another lost season would be disastrous, so I hope whatever is taking place behind the scenes is progressing well.

* it's no different when fans **** on Bettman or Goodell.

[JCon]

4 minutes ago, blue_gold_84 said:

While I disagree entirely with the opinion Ambrosie is singlehandedly at fault for all that's gone wrong since the pandemic began, that his "leadership" is bad, or that he's some scarf-sporting bogeyman, he is the commissioner of the CFL. To that end, he's effectively the "face" of the league* from the standpoint of its business operations. The same way he wears its successes, he's the one who wears its failures, even if neither are his solely his to bear. 

I think the issue that rubs many fans the wrong way has less to do with the current commissioner and more to do with how the CFL operates as an organization. Despite being a professional sports league, finances are often shrouded in secrecy and we're left to speculate on player contracts, team's SMS figures, profits and losses, etc. This culture has been around decades when it comes to the league's overall operational landscape, so it's not unreasonable as a fan to be put off by this. More openness wouldn't be a bad thing, IMO.

We're all fans of the CFL and want there to be a 2021 season. 2020 sucked enough as it is without a CFL season, especially because our team couldn't defend its title, as well as the whole Atlantic expansion being shelved. Another lost season would be disastrous, so I hope whatever is taking place behind the scenes is progressing well.

* it's no different when fans **** on Bettman or Goodell.

One thing that I believe differentiates the CFL from other major leagues is that they always sold this as our game. Several are community owned, which puts emotional attachment/ownership to them. And, those that are privately owned, we understand it's done so with personal risk and little chance for a financial gain. 

I feel no such connection to the Jets, although I recognize that some do. The players, yes, Chipman/Thomson, no. And, when the NHL left us, we had IHL/AHL and other leagues to watch. I love the CFL and it can't be replaced. 

Openness would go a long way. The Gov't said the same thing last year. Come back, with open books and a plan. 

 

Let's get this done. I think that there is enough public support to get all levels of gov't behind this. We know that the MB Gov't is ready to support the Bombers. 

[Jpan85]

If the board of governors want to play last year they would have played its simple as that. Its the board that runs this league always has.

[Noeller]

Naylor's take: 

https://www.tsn.ca/dave-naylor-the-cfl-isn-t-going-to-play-without-fans-in-the-stands-1.1595551

Nearly a year after the COVID-19 pandemic ground the sports world to a halt, we’re still left to guess when the Canadian Football League will play its first game since the Winnipeg Blue Bombers walked off the field as Grey Cup champions back in November of 2019. 

Commissioner Randy Ambrosie said this week that the league is “committed” to playing the 2021 season without saying what that would look like, or assuring fans that a full 18-game schedule would start on time.

All of which is highly frustrating for CFL fans who’ve watched other leagues – bigger and smaller – manage to play through the pandemic. And at this point – unlike last summer – there is no doubt that it can be done, the way having been shown both in the NFL and American college football. 

So what’s the difference? Why can’t the CFL just come out and commit to a full season starting in June?

The answer is because that commitment doesn’t exist from all of the teams. If it did, the league would be screaming it from the mountain tops. 

The reason it doesn’t exist has to do with the core problem the pandemic has presented to the CFL from the beginning: its business model cannot function without fans in the stands. 

That hasn’t changed in a year for a league where as much as 60 per cent of all team revenue is tied in some way to home game activity. There is no alternative business plan for this league. Fans can wish for it all they want. It doesn’t exist.

The only way the 2021 CFL season can start on time is if fans are allowed back in stadiums to a meaningful degree by the middle of June, or if governments guarantee that decision is on the way (although nothing is really guaranteed in a pandemic).

Can that happen? A lot depends on the efficiency of the vaccine rollout over the next four months and the degree to which the virus is otherwise kept under control, especially when it comes to new variants. 

Governments in Canada have been extremely conservative when to comes to opening venues for thousands of people to gather. 

Consider that strip clubs were open last summer in Ontario but places where one could sit outside watching sports, socially distancing and wearing a mask, were not. Logic would tell anyone that sitting outdoors in a stadium is safer than attending movie theaters, restaurants, bars, gyms, or a whole lot of other businesses that were allowed to open at points over the past year.

Expect the CFL to be part of lobbying efforts to get stadiums open this spring and summer. But ultimately, it’s a matter that lies beyond the league’s control. Which brings us back to why the league won’t commit to starting its full schedule on time. 

Are there teams that would play a season without fans? Certainly not a full one. 

So the question becomes: What’s the threshold upon which you can get all nine teams to agree? Is it 10 per cent of stadiums open, 25 per cent, 50 per cent? Would all nine teams agree to start the season with empty stands if there was a high probability that capacity could ramp up during the season?

Those are the very questions the league is sorting through right now.

The strong hunch from all directions is that the league will open training camps in mid-summer and be playing by Labour Day, by which time it’s anticipated that significant percentages of the stadiums will be opened. 

This scenario, besides allowing teams to avoid the risk of having to open the season without fans in the stands, would shorten the schedule by roughly half. That would drastically reduce teams’ loses for this season, which would suit the owners just fine.

Missing the start of the season would surely be met with howls of outrage from fans and those in the media who will point at other leagues and incredulously ask “Why not us?”

But the fact is that this league is never going to play without fans in the stands. Not last year, not this year, not ever.

Edited February 19, 2021 by Noeller

[Stickem]

Fans in the stands for sure....but how many would make it work....Do we have to sell out or can we exist like some American teams with a smattering of fans scattered through a venue obeying the covid protocol???

Some good news today from Pfizzer, where they are stating that their vaccine doesn't have to be stored at minus 70 degrees rather more like 40 degrees....Why that matters is that it will allow for quicker disbursement of the shots because companies like Drug stores etc. can keep it in their refrigeration and issue vaccines accordingly....Big time saver which means more people will have access to being immunized quicker...In the end that could result in fans being ready to attend games sooner than expected...The hitch is will we get enough vaccine to pull it off??

[Noeller]

I truly think we'll have the doses in Canada, but as 17to85 had mentioned before, I don't necessarily trust the provinces to get it in people's arms efficiently...

[Stickem]

1 hour ago, Noeller said:

I truly think we'll have the doses in Canada, but as 17to85 had mentioned before, I don't necessarily trust the provinces to get it in people's arms efficiently...

It depends largely on the delivery of the various vaccine's ....Each province has it' own delivery mechanism ...and you're right Noeller....will they carry it out expeditiously or flounder around wasting time ...It has to be done right....don't get me wrong...but timing of the delivery of these shots mean lives...that's paramount...Getting us 'some' certainty out of this, with our up coming CFL season, wouldn't hurt either.....

[17to85]

If they limit it to 25% capacity is that an attendance increase in Toronto?

[SpeedFlex27]

7 hours ago, 17to85 said:

If they limit it to 25% capacity is that an attendance increase in Toronto?

If a tree falls in a forest will anybody hear?

 

Edited February 20, 2021 by SpeedFlex27

[Blueandgold]

On 2021-02-18 at 5:18 PM, Noeller said:

 

Man I know the CFL didn’t have a good plan last year. But at the same time, the federal government has been pissing money away left and right. Yet, they couldn’t spare to help the CFL? Seems crazy. 

[HardCoreBlue]

Just spitballing now that the morning caffeine has kicked in and knowing I'm way out of my area of expertise here, if we can't get bums in the seats can we not do a pay per view approach like the fighting leagues do? An average CFL fan wouldn't pay for that?

I know, take a seat rookie.

[Goldkobra]

34 minutes ago, HardCoreBlue said:

Just spitballing now that the morning caffeine has kicked in and knowing I'm way out of my area of expertise here, if we can't get bums in the seats can we not do a pay per view approach like the fighting leagues do? An average CFL fan wouldn't pay for that?

I know, take a seat rookie.

No. Tsn bought the rights to the games. What they could do is a pay per view for post game press conferences, interviews and maybe something like coaches breaking down certain plays on film. Tsn owns the rights for the games but nothing else outside of the game.  So they are looking at monetizing other aspects. The problem is these kinds of things cost money to produce and its unknown what the appetite would be. 

[Super Duper Negatron]

Not sure why there hasn't been a watch from home ticket drive.  I would pay full season ticket price to have a season, personally. I cant be the only one.

Im not talking pay per view either. I am talking sell "tickets", shares, whatever you want to call them  we sell enough league wide, we have a season.

Edited February 20, 2021 by Super Duper Negatron

[bryan35]

36 minutes ago, Super Duper Negatron said:

Not sure why there hasn't been a watch from home ticket drive.  I would pay full season ticket price to have a season, personally. I cant be the only one.

Im not talking pay per view either. I am talking sell "tickets", shares, whatever you want to call them  we sell enough league wide, we have a season.

Like a donation?

[HardCoreBlue]

On 2021-02-18 at 8:49 PM, 17to85 said:

because the world revolves around me. Get with the program. 

Fact is that the CFL ****** things up last year and Ambrosie has not been a good commissioner in his time. Guy has not earned the benefit of the doubt and the fact that it took this long to put out a fire is just another mark against him. I worry about the CFL under his "leadership" 

I think some people are confusing our worry for the CFL as some sort of entitlement.

[Eternal optimist]

56 minutes ago, Super Duper Negatron said:

Not sure why there hasn't been a watch from home ticket drive.  I would pay full season ticket price to have a season, personally. I cant be the only one.

Im not talking pay per view either. I am talking sell "tickets", shares, whatever you want to call them  we sell enough league wide, we have a season.

You mean like, how my wife and I prepaid our 2020 season tickets (and parking pass) in December 2019, then rolled forward the balance to the 2021 season? They've had close to $1,500 cash from us for close to 15 months without providing any service. I think that is more than adequate and I'm sure I'm not the only one in that boat.

[Super Duper Negatron]

23 minutes ago, bryan35 said:

Like a donation?

I guess? I mean, you get entertainment in return, so not really.

[Noeller]

1 hour ago, Super Duper Negatron said:

I guess? I mean, you get entertainment in return, so not really.

But I'm already paying for that with my cable subscription.....? I mean I don't hate what you're saying... But I'm not sure you really thought it through all the way. 

[Super Duper Negatron]

Just now, Noeller said:

But I'm already paying for that with my cable subscription.....? I mean I don't hate what you're saying... But I'm not sure you really thought it through all the way. 

What I thought was "am I willing to pay over and above what I am already paying for cable to have a CFL season?".

Also the CFL is far from the only reason I pay for cable.