2021 Season

[SpeedFlex27]

1 hour ago, Brandon said:

Maybe I'm out of the loop and correct me if I'm wrong...... but we still have not heard an official Plan A / Plan B for this season on how the league will go forward and whether they need federal support?

However Ambrosie does have the time and made sure to prioritize to the public that they are looking at the XFL?    

Does this guy have any clue?  Is he so clueless that he would get things backwards and tell the public what they would not want to hear and hold back telling any sort of news that would give the fans any sort of hope?  

Hopefully I don't get banned but Fuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuu***********************************************************************kkkkkkkkkk Ambrosie.   

A year ago I was vilified as being anti Ambrosie & even last week a couple of posters were still taking pot shots at me. Well, after today, I feel totally vindicated about everything I've said about the guy. He can't be trusted. 

[Noeller]

1 minute ago, SpeedFlex27 said:

A year ago I was vilified as being anti Ambrosie & even last week a couple of posters were still taking pot shots at me. Well, after today, I feel totally vindicated about everything I've said about the guy. He can't be trusted. 

I don't know if you can feel vindicated when nothing has actually happened yet. 

If this actually goes the way some of us fear, THEN you can feel vindicated. 

[SpeedFlex27]

37 minutes ago, Noeller said:

I don't know if you can feel vindicated when nothing has actually happened yet. 

If this actually goes the way some of us fear, THEN you can feel vindicated. 

Oh yes, I can feel vindicated... Not to worry. I've seen & heard enough from the guy. 

[TrueBlue4ever]

14 hours ago, SpeedFlex27 said:

A year ago I was vilified as being anti Ambrosie & even last week a couple of posters were still taking pot shots at me. Well, after today, I feel totally vindicated about everything I've said about the guy. He can't be trusted. 

I don’t know why you think this league was all hunky dory and thriving and Ambrosie is the sole author of its misfortune. Clearly it has been bleeding for a long time and the pandemic has just brought it to a tipping point. Ambrosie has said that the old way of doing business could not be sustained and that he was open to exploring new sources of revenue. Maybe that pisses off the purists around here who will “never watch football again if we switch to 4 downs, no Canadian players, smaller field” (news flash - for all that principled pontificating, here’s betting that given modified football or no football, lots of the traditionalists will opt to watch the new brand - and by the way the league cares more about bringing in new fans who don’t watch now than hurting the feelings of die hards who talk a good game but are probably pretty safely re-upping their tickets and don’t need to be wooed) but it seems pretty clear that new ideas, even radical ones, need to be explored or the league will collapse. Toronto can only be a black hole for so long. We’ve been talking about Atlantic expansion for 40 years now - if it was going to happen it would have already. Adapt or die, folks. Dave Naylor lays it out pretty well in this article. 
 

https://www.tsn.ca/cfl-fans-should-brace-themselves-for-a-wave-of-change-1.1605580

Edited March 11, 2021 by TrueBlue4ever

[SpeedFlex27]

1 minute ago, TrueBlue4ever said:

I don’t know why you think this league was all hunky dory and thriving and Ambrosie is the sole author of its misfortune. Clearly it has been bleeding for a long time and the pandemic has just brought it to a tipping point. Ambrosie has said that the old way of doing business could not be sustained and that he was open to exploring new sources of revenue. Maybe that pisses off the purists around here who will “never watch football again if we switch to 4 downs, no Canadian players, smaller field” (news flash - for all that principled pontificating, here’s betting that given modified football or no football, lots of the traditionalists will opt to watch the new brand - and by the way the league cards more about bringing in new fans who don’t watch now than hurting the feelings of die hards who talk a good game but are probably pretty safely re-upping their tickets and don’t need to be wooed) but it seems pretty clear that new ideas, even radical ones, need to be explored or the league will collapse. Toronto can only be a black hole for so long. We’ve been talking about Atlantic expansion for 40 years now - if it was going to happen it would have already. Adapt or die, folks. Dave Naylo lays it out pretty well in this article. 
 

https://www.tsn.ca/cfl-fans-should-brace-themselves-for-a-wave-of-change-1.1605580

No one said the league was hunky dory. We all know the league has issues so why tell us all over again? My issue with Ambrosie is he has done NOTHING to address the situation along with the Board of Governors. The CFL has allowed the situation to deteriorate over the years. Ambrosie is a weak leader. He brings nothing to the table as Commissioner. He hasn't brought any guidance to the job & he is connecting less & less with fans the longer he keep being Commissioner. You defend the guy but, can you give me one example of something positive he has done for the league since he took over. His Diversity Is Strength campaign sold a few Tee shirts 3 years ago. Big whoop. 

[17to85]

Yeah I never bought into the idea ambrosie was a good commissioner. He never brought anything positive to the league. He seems to have delusions of grandeur and is more interested in new markets than fixing existing markets.

[SpeedFlex27]

2 minutes ago, 17to85 said:

Yeah I never bought into the idea ambrosie was a good commissioner. He never brought anything positive to the league. He seems to have delusions of grandeur and is more interested in new markets than fixing existing markets.

How signing an agreement with mens league football in all these different countries would bring revenues into the CFL always escaped me. That's like walking Ambrosie into the pub after a Men's touch league games & getting a couple of guys to buy season tickets. It's smaller than miniscule. It's nothing. And it never will be more than nothing. That's the kind of shitty leadership he brings to the table. 

[SpeedFlex27]

5 minutes ago, SpeedFlex27 said:

How signing an agreement with mens league football in all these different countries would bring revenues into the CFL always escaped me. That's like  Ambrosie  walking into the pub after a Men's touch league games & getting a couple of guys to buy season tickets. It's smaller than miniscule. It's nothing. And it never will be more than nothing. That's the kind of shitty leadership he brings to the table. 

 

[SpeedFlex27]

2 hours ago, bluto said:

1) MLS&E has yet to show even a quantum of the commitment to being successful on a CFL field that they have in any of their other properties. I seriously doubt that if I strolled thru their offices that I'd see any indication of their even owning the world's oldest pro football franchise.

 

2)I hope you're right. But most new Head Coaches have a successful pedigree at the coordinator level first. Desperately hoping this won't be a harsh lesson about The Peter Principle.

Depends how big Dinwiddie's ego is & if he is a good delegator. The last qb HC I remember with no coordinator experience was Matt Dunigan in Calgary & he ended up not only being the GM & HC but also the OC & qb coach. He fired his OC, qb coach & STC all in just one season. Naturally, it was a disaster. 

Edited March 11, 2021 by SpeedFlex27

[Brandon]

Wasn't Dinwiddie the temp OC at Montreal ?

1 hour ago, SpeedFlex27 said:

 

I'd be much more impressed if he would of brought in some new major sponsors instead....

[TBURGESS]

12 hours ago, SpeedFlex27 said:

How can anyone trust Ambrosie? He hasn't earned any trust. The guy is a disaster as a Commissioner.

He's definitely been a disaster on the business side of the business, but he did fix the rules side early on, so he's not a complete disaster.

[TrueBlue4ever]

11 hours ago, SpeedFlex27 said:

No one said the league was hunky dory. We all know the league has issues so why tell us all over again? My issue with Ambrosie is he has done NOTHING to address the situation along with the Board of Governors. The CFL has allowed the situation to deteriorate over the years. Ambrosie is a weak leader. He brings nothing to the table as Commissioner. He hasn't brought any guidance to the job & he is connecting less & less with fans the longer he keep being Commissioner. You defend the guy but, can you give me one example of something positive he has done for the league since he took over. His Diversity Is Strength campaign sold a few Tee shirts 3 years ago. Big whoop. 

Doing NOTHING is different than doing things that you don’t like. I question the wisdom of the global initiative, and I heard him talk at length about it. The past US expansion did not go well, so absolutely I have reservations. 
My problem with your take is that you have been predisposed to hate him from the word go and never given him any chance. You complain that he doesn’t communicate with fans, so here he is communicating and you still aren’t happy. And there are many valid reasons to question his approach, but I have always asked if it is more than that for you, since going after his scarf wearing and vague complainants about his silence and then ignoring your own criticism when he isn’t silent just paints you as not credible and having some axe to grind on any take. Your own noise has drowned out any coherent argument, at least to me. So that is what I defend him against - the unsubstantiated attack. If you want to argue the merits of a US plan, which you did on part, I am all for that debate and frankly agree with almost all your concerns. But the pandemic was not his fault. And the response of not playing, as sucky as it was, was necessary because in this league playing would have bankrupted the league entirely. 
I am waking up to the seemingly obvious issue that the league is broken financially, that trying to stabilize franchises that cannot be stabilized (Toronto) is something that is not going to happen in the short term. Ambrosie is doing no worse than every commish before him for 40 years, but his approach is different, look outside of Canada for new revenue. Desperate perhaps, but maybe we are in desperate times and no one wants to face that reality. And he has overseen the sale of the Alouettes, brought in the global initiative, and looked to partner with the XFL, so that is your list of things he has done. Will any of them work, you and I cannot say right now, you choose to give him no benefit of time to see if it will, and I do. We can judge him at the end of his tenure or once these plans have taken hold in my mind. You want to just jump on him right away. So tell me what he could do better? Communicate with fans? Well here he is doing just that, and yet you still pounce. So excuse me if it is hard to look objectively at your complaints when it is your default mode. 
https://www.tsn.ca/cfl/video/ambrosie-reveals-more-details-of-cfl-xfl-collaboration~2157583

[Mark F]

cfl has serious  problems...... 

probably more seahawks thanLions fans in B.C.

Toronto, Ontario..... not much interest there.

Montreal, Calgary.... sketchy fan support.

calgary show having a winning team doesnt solve the problem.

Edmonton.... dont know.

the only solid franchises are Wpg, Sask, and Hamilton.

 

 

 

 

 

[bearpants]

33 minutes ago, Mark F said:

cfl has serious  problems...... 

probably more seahawks thanLions fans in B.C.

Toronto, Ontario..... not much interest there.

Montreal, Calgary.... sketchy fan support.

calgary show having a winning team doesnt solve the problem.

Edmonton.... dont know.

the only solid franchises are Wpg, Sask, and Hamilton.

 

not to mention the majority of the solid fan bases in the three cities you mention are getting up there in age... 

[17to85]

51 minutes ago, Mark F said:

calgary show having a winning team doesnt solve the problem.

Calgary would get more people out to games with a price adjustment. They are charging premium priced to sit outside in Calgary where a warm day can turn cold at the drop of a hat to watch the CFL. 

Cfl badly needs to make games more affordable AND reach out to younger fans. Which is part of the affordability. Make games cheap enough for a family to go you start to get kids interested.

You're not the NHL, stop assuming people will go regardless of cost.

[Mark F]

41 minutes ago, bearpants said:

not to mention the majority of the solid fan bases in the three cities you mention are getting up there in age... 

sports betting may be affecting the league as well.

 

some people don't follow teams, just the players on their own  fantasy "team".

The NFL provides far more in that way than the CFL.

and moving to a smaller stadium turned out to be not that big a deal to fans  in Toronto and Montreal.

Edited March 11, 2021 by Mark F

[Bigblue204]

1 hour ago, TrueBlue4ever said:

Doing NOTHING is different than doing things that you don’t like. I question the wisdom of the global initiative, and I heard him talk at length about it. The past US expansion did not go well, so absolutely I have reservations. 
My problem with your take is that you have been predisposed to hate him from the word go and never given him any chance. You complain that he doesn’t communicate with fans, so here he is communicating and you still aren’t happy. And there are many valid reasons to question his approach, but I have always asked if it is more than that for you, since going after his scarf wearing and vague complainants about his silence and then ignoring your own criticism when he isn’t silent just paints you as not credible and having some axe to grind on any take. Your own noise has drowned out any coherent argument, at least to me. So that is what I defend him against - the unsubstantiated attack. If you want to argue the merits of a US plan, which you did on part, I am all for that debate and frankly agree with almost all your concerns. But the pandemic was not his fault. And the response of not playing, as sucky as it was, was necessary because in this league playing would have bankrupted the league entirely. 
I am waking up to the seemingly obvious issue that the league is broken financially, that trying to stabilize franchises that cannot be stabilized (Toronto) is something that is not going to happen in the short term. Ambrosie is doing no worse than every commish before him for 40 years, but his approach is different, look outside of Canada for new revenue. Desperate perhaps, but maybe we are in desperate times and no one wants to face that reality. And he has overseen the sale of the Alouettes, brought in the global initiative, and looked to partner with the XFL, so that is your list of things he has done. Will any of them work, you and I cannot say right now, you choose to give him no benefit of time to see if it will, and I do. We can judge him at the end of his tenure or once these plans have taken hold in my mind. You want to just jump on him right away. So tell me what he could do better? Communicate with fans? Well here he is doing just that, and yet you still pounce. So excuse me if it is hard to look objectively at your complaints when it is your default mode. 
https://www.tsn.ca/cfl/video/ambrosie-reveals-more-details-of-cfl-xfl-collaboration~2157583

Well said. It's like you took the words right out of my mouth. I honestly didn't know we have so many people on this forum who have deep knowledge of the pocket books of this league. And know exactly what the future holds for things like the global players etc. TV deals are definitely never going to come from that stuff....We've had commish after commish try to grow the league here and they've all failed. Everyone of them. Which why the league is in the state it is now. But I suppose that's Ambrosies fault too? Trying new things isn't bad, if you never try you'll never know. On top of that. The commish is not and never has been a dictator. The board of governors aren't just place holders. They absolutely have a say. But that fact never seems to hit home for people.

My biggest fault with Ambrosie is how he's handled the CFLPA. That baffles me. Everything else is him taking a shot to change the revenue streams for the league which (as we're seeing now) has been desperately needed for some time.

 

[wbbfan]

1 hour ago, Mark F said:

sports betting may be affecting the league as well.

 

some people don't follow teams, just the players on their own  fantasy "team".

The NFL provides far more in that way than the CFL.

and moving to a smaller stadium turned out to be not that big a deal to fans  in Toronto and Montreal.

TO attendance wouldnt change if they played in a 100k seat stadium or only had 8 lawn chairs and 2 standing only spots. And montreal had good success with over charging for artificially scarce spots when they were a dynasty. Since that ended they havent been on stabile financial grounds and both teams have recently been only kept above water by the cfl. 

Im sure the bombers could make it work if we only had say 15k capacity and people paid more, Id pay 2 or 3 or what ever times more. but I dont think thatd fly in bc, to, ott and maybe mtl. 

2 hours ago, Mark F said:

sports betting may be affecting the league as well.

 

some people don't follow teams, just the players on their own  fantasy "team".

The NFL provides far more in that way than the CFL.

and moving to a smaller stadium turned out to be not that big a deal to fans  in Toronto and Montreal.

The league that really optimizes income from sports betting will be an unstoppable juggernaut for generations to come. Thats easily the biggest un tapped revenue source in all of sports. But its dangerous too. Muay thai fights in thailand have been ruined by the gamblers and corruption. 

[SpeedFlex27]

3 hours ago, TrueBlue4ever said:

Doing NOTHING is different than doing things that you don’t like. I question the wisdom of the global initiative, and I heard him talk at length about it. The past US expansion did not go well, so absolutely I have reservations. 
My problem with your take is that you have been predisposed to hate him from the word go and never given him any chance. You complain that he doesn’t communicate with fans, so here he is communicating and you still aren’t happy. And there are many valid reasons to question his approach, but I have always asked if it is more than that for you, since going after his scarf wearing and vague complainants about his silence and then ignoring your own criticism when he isn’t silent just paints you as not credible and having some axe to grind on any take. Your own noise has drowned out any coherent argument, at least to me. So that is what I defend him against - the unsubstantiated attack. If you want to argue the merits of a US plan, which you did on part, I am all for that debate and frankly agree with almost all your concerns. But the pandemic was not his fault. And the response of not playing, as sucky as it was, was necessary because in this league playing would have bankrupted the league entirely. 
I am waking up to the seemingly obvious issue that the league is broken financially, that trying to stabilize franchises that cannot be stabilized (Toronto) is something that is not going to happen in the short term. Ambrosie is doing no worse than every commish before him for 40 years, but his approach is different, look outside of Canada for new revenue. Desperate perhaps, but maybe we are in desperate times and no one wants to face that reality. And he has overseen the sale of the Alouettes, brought in the global initiative, and looked to partner with the XFL, so that is your list of things he has done. Will any of them work, you and I cannot say right now, you choose to give him no benefit of time to see if it will, and I do. We can judge him at the end of his tenure or once these plans have taken hold in my mind. You want to just jump on him right away. So tell me what he could do better? Communicate with fans? Well here he is doing just that, and yet you still pounce. So excuse me if it is hard to look objectively at your complaints when it is your default mode. 
https://www.tsn.ca/cfl/video/ambrosie-reveals-more-details-of-cfl-xfl-collaboration~2157583

Look, I appreciate you like Ambrosie. I don't. I never will. If the league is broke then he is a broken Commissioner. You can write all the thousand word essays telling me it's not his fault you like but it won't change my mind. 

[SpeedFlex27]

4 hours ago, Mark F said:

cfl has serious  problems...... 

probably more seahawks thanLions fans in B.C.

Toronto, Ontario..... not much interest there.

Montreal, Calgary.... sketchy fan support.

calgary show having a winning team doesnt solve the problem.

Edmonton.... dont know.

the only solid franchises are Wpg, Sask, and Hamilton.

 

 

 

 

 

BC: Yes, the Seahawks have penetrated the Lower Mainland market & have put a huge dent in season ticket & game day sales for the Lions.

Toronto: Lost cause. The Bills are Southern Ontario's team, especially Toronto. I remember when the Argos were routinely selling out Exhibition Stadium with 33,000 seats back in the early 70's. 

Montreal: If you don't win they don't support it. Except if it's the Canadiens. Lousy sports fans other than hockey.

Calgary: Stadium issues. The place is becoming a dump & people don't want to go anymore. No new stadium in the future.

Edmonton: Piss off the fanbase for such things as firing 49.75 year equipment manager, Dwayne Mandrusiak. Change the team name & take a year deciding. Then have a list of names no one likes. Paying Scott Milanovich half a million dollars to watch video only to see him quit without conducting one practice. The Edmonton GM parting words when Scotty left was. "I hope we're still friends".  The fanbase is not happy.

Edited March 11, 2021 by SpeedFlex27

[Brandon]

Where's our Monctom team ,  I thought Ambrosie was going to have it up and running by now  

I think Ottawa is a great example of how those questionable cities can learn from.  Many of the people I know who go to Redblack games go because of the gameday experience (more so then the love of the CFL).  

 

[wbbfan]

14 minutes ago, Brandon said:

Where's our Monctom team ,  I thought Ambrosie was going to have it up and running by now  

I think Ottawa is a great example of how those questionable cities can learn from.  Many of the people I know who go to Redblack games go because of the gameday experience (more so then the love of the CFL).  

 

Winning big early and giving a championship starved city a title goes a long ways. See the goldeyes.  Too many teams get stuck in rebuilding cycles instead of playing to win. 

[Brandon]

40 minutes ago, wbbfan said:

Winning big early and giving a championship starved city a title goes a long ways. See the goldeyes.  Too many teams get stuck in rebuilding cycles instead of playing to win. 

I'm not sure how that relates but my friends and some of co-workers who live in Ottawa now mainly go because it's a really fun night out.   They are far from die hard football fans.   

I had asked them about back in the day with the Renegades and I didn't realize how poor the stadium was and how terrible the owners were and what a complete crap-show it was when they had mardi gras themed events where Women were being harassed and put into really unsafe situations.      It's night and day different now from what they say.  

[TrueBlue4ever]

3 hours ago, SpeedFlex27 said:

Look, I appreciate you like Ambrosie. I don't. I never will. If the league is broke then he is a broken Commissioner. You can write all the thousand word essays telling me it's not his fault you like but it won't change my mind. 

Actually, I have never expressed a like or dislike for him. And I think he has had his share of missteps for sure. The public problems with the Als’ sale taught him to keep his cards close to his chest rather than over promise and underdeliver. And that bugs you, because you see a world where these problems are simple fixes, when they most certainly are not. But you wrongly assume that because I challenge your attacks on him that I must like him, when what I am doing is pointing out your overriding bias that removes objectivity from your arguments. And it is clear you don’t like him, that we all get in spades. I have always wanted to know why that is, and why that hate is so passionate and so pre-determined. You have said it is his secretive ways - well here he is being open and you dump on him for that too. When you say “I never will (like him)” you prove my point about hating him without justification or giving him a chance and having no objectivity to the issue at hand. So I am left to believe it is something deeper or personal. But if you don’t want to say, I can’t make you. If the league is broke, it is not all because of him. You just want a scapegoat it seems because you can’t get a saviour. Ambrosie is neither of these things. He is just a guy trying to keep a league afloat and has been dealt a brutally bad hand unlike anything another commissioner has faced in the CFL with the pandemic and Health Canada calling the shots. 

Edited March 11, 2021 by TrueBlue4ever

[SpeedFlex27]

34 minutes ago, TrueBlue4ever said:

Actually, I have never expressed a like or dislike for him. And I think he has had his share of missteps for sure. The public problems with the ALS sale taught him to keep his cards close to his chest rather than over promise and underdeliver. And that bugs you, because you see a world where these problems are simple fixes, when they lost certainly are not. But you wrongly assume that because I challenge your attacks on him that I must like him, when what I am doing is pointing out your overriding bias that removes objectivity form your arguments. And it is clear you don’t like him, that we all get in spades. I have always wanted to know why that is, and why that hate is so passionate and so pre-determined. You have said it is his secretive ways - well here he is being open and you dump on him for that too. When you say “I never will (like him)” you prove my point about hating him without justification or giving him a chance and having no objectivity to the issue at hand. So I am left to believe it is something deeper or personal. But if you don’t want to say, I can’t make you. If the league is broke, it is not all because of him. You just want a scapegoat it seems because you can’t get a saviour. Ambrosie is neither of these things. He is just a guy trying to keep a league afloat and has been dealt a brutally bad hand unlike anything another commissioner has faced in the CFL with the pandemic and Health Canada calling the shots. 

Dude, go write a book.