Kudos to the NHL for picking New Year’s Day for their showcase outdoor hockey game at Wrigley Field. It isn’t as if there were some huge college bowl games to watch or anything. Plus after playing in every outdoor game, why not call it the Ty Conklin classic? I do love the retro Detroit jerseys though
College Football Results That Made Me Sad
- Michigan State losing to Georgia :: I grew up with Detroit cable being broadcast into Saskatoon so I tend to think of Michigan and Michigan State as the home team when it comes to college football. Good to see Michigan State as bowl eligible, sad to see them get whipped by Georgia.
College Football Results That Made Me Happy
- Nebraska beating Clemson :: I don’t care that much about either team but how hard has Nebraska fallen that we seem pleased that they win a bowl game. Great job Bill Callahan. The scary thing is that he may be a head coach in the NFL again.
- Iowa beating South Carolina :: Maybe Steve Spurrier needs to cut back on his golfing and spend more time preparing his team.
- Oregon St beating Pitt 3-0 :: What a horrible game but I am a fan of Mike Riley since he coached in Winnipeg and also I like Dave Wannestadt and I am glad Pitt had a good season for Wannestadt’s job security alone. I am also happy that I didn’t watch the game that featured three points, 20 punts and 10 sacks.
- Vanderbilt beats Boston College :: I can’t stand BC and who doesn’t like the fact that Vanderbilt won their first bowl game since 1955. “Vanderbilt won a bowl game for the first time in exactly 53 years, with Bryant Hahnfeldt kicking a 45-yard field goal with 3:26 left Wednesday for a 16-14 win over Boston College in the Music City Bowl. Vandy hadn’t even played in a bowl since 1982—the SEC’s longest drought. The victory gave the Commodores (7-6) their first winning season since that season.”
- Is this a sign of the economy or the fact that casual fans think the Minnesota Vikings are going to get beat badly by the Philadelphia Eagles and don’t want to see the carnage in person.
- Are NBA refs frazzled or just incompetant?
- Who is the least valuable NHL player based on salary? Canadian Business Online has it figured out.
- Is hockey just about dead in several American markets? The Globe seems to think so.
- How bad was is Shaq’s free throw shooting? Well if Larry Bird came out of retirement and missed his next 3,000 free throws, he would still have a higher free throwing percentage than Shaq.
Just an fyi, bill calahan is not the head coach anymore. That is why they did good.
I never said he was, he is in line to be a head coach in the NFL this year.
I just wonder how some of those struggling NHL teams would do if they relocated to Canadian cities that presently have no teams. In other words, it might take a metro population of 2 million to support a team in the US, but the same team in a Canadian metro of half a million just might be economic?
Or, maybe a Green Bay setup, where the townspeople own the team?
Oh, I see it now. I misread, my bad. But it is scary that He will be a head coach someday. I don’t know why retreads are so popular in coaching ranks. Just look at Dallas and Wade Phillips.
Mike that is the Saskatchewan Roughriders, Edmonton Eskimos, and for the longest time, the Winnipeg Bluebombers. The board of directors is made up of season ticket holders and the community and they hire the President who runs the football side. In Saskatchewan they offered up shares to buy – http://www.riderville.com/shares/overview/
I think Toronto could support a NFL franchise although the fear is that it would kill the CFL (although I don’t think it would).
Now that I think about it, I read something that said that Maple Leaf Sports and Entertainment wanted a NFL franchise (MLSE owns the Leafs, Raptors, and Toronto FC). They have an insatiable appetite to poorly manage sports teams.
That being said, the CFL is a deeply ingrained part of the Canadian consciousness. The Grey Cup is every part as big as the Superbowl and we do it in cold weather. While I love the NFL and we have a lot of access, most football fans here are CFL fans first which is one of the reasons why Tagliabue was so reluctant to move into Canada (and helped bailout the CFL years ago).
Now it may be become the Bills stink but many US writers described the Toronto fans as contemptuous, bored, and hostile to the recent game in Toronto. Again, it may be become it was a bad game but it’s not like there was a huge rush for tickets to see exhibition games in the past (although they do sell out).
The other thing is that the Vancouver Grizzlies didn’t last that long and they are in a large urban area as well. Business refused to get behind it. If it will work, it will be in Toronto and the NFL will have to subsidize the weak Canadian dollar like the NHL.
Luke, the big question is, how long until Rod Marinelli gets another shot
A mil and a half for a whole sports team! Down here, tht’s the going price for a house (until lately). Seriously, minor league baseball teams sell for that price; a few triple A teams fetch 15 million, but most of the 240-odd minor league teams sell between half a million and two million.
My guess is that most of the CFL teams are worth anywhere from 2 million to 20 million? With Green Bay-esque loyalty, these teams are viable in small markets – Mayfair Mudhens anyone?
CFL teams worth…
I think your $20 million figure is quite high but there are some CFL owners who would love to see it happen
The Calgary Stampeders sold for $10 million a couple of years ago to a guy who bought it so his son could play QB. The Saskatchewan Roughriders would be worth $5-$10 million but have never been sold.
When Gretzky, McNall, and John Candy bought the Toronto Argos in the early 90s, I think they paid $3 million (which was the amount that the American teams paid in the ill fated attempt to conquer the United Stattes).
Operating a CFL franchise has an annual tab of about $10 million and most teams lose money or just break even, although the numbers are only revealed publicly if there is community ownership.
With only 10 operating dates a year — this does not include a playoff game or hosting a Grey Cup — there are simply not enough opportunities to make a big profit.
Most CFL teams (sans Toronto) play in publicly owned facilities are the only tenant so they get a sweet heart rent deal from the city which makes a difference.
Like you said, there is a Green Bay type loyalty in Edmonton, Saskatchewan, Calgary, and Winnipeg to our teams. There are people I know who don’t like but drink Pilsner Beer because they are the “official beer of the Saskatchewan Roughriders”.
> Edmonton, Saskatchewan, Calgary, and Winnipeg
It’s interesting that the Roughriders go by “Saskatchewan” and not by “Regina”. Also, isn’t Saskatoon (total metro population) bigger than Regina?
Given the fan loyalty, I would envision a great market for clothing and trinkets, as well as the players doing lots of endorsements. On the civic side, the team could promote “stay in school” programs, the players could be an identity for youth (no Michael Vick stuff in Canada?) and a corporate teambuilding/seminar identity.
When you are the Dallas Cowboys, you can create an entertainment/shopping complex; can that be done with a CFL team? 10 million versus 1.5 billion is a big difference.
“Official Beer” – we run extra trains after Oakland Raider games and part of my job is to walk through the entire train and wake up anyone who has fallen asleep, etc. Naturally, each train is full of litter, including a few beer cans. I seem to remember an equal mix of Bud, Coors and Corona Bottles (heavily marketed, here). But, next year, I’ll keep statistics!
The Riders are Saskatchewan’s only major pro franchise and in many ways belong to the entire province. It’s hard to explain. It’s almost the way a state university team far transcends it’s alumni and local city at times. Everyone cheers for them and with a 30 year exodus of Saskatchewan people to Calgary, there are often as many Saskatchewan fans on the road in the west as home fans.
There is a Rider store in Saskatoon and come playoff time, it literally empties out of everything. I can’t imagine the money they made last year during the Grey Cup run. The only thing left in the store were pink Rider yoga pants. I would compare it the fan base to a Green Bay but also Cleveland (the “university” section is more out of control then the “Dawg Pound”.
The endorsement deals are limited by the fact that many of the players are American and are only here for the season. The Canadian players are often home grown lineman from the U of S and they make money doing endorsements plus several have jobs in the off season.
Speaking of Michael Vick, the previous General Manager brought in some players that didn’t hold to the values the Riders felt their players needed to have and not only were the players moved out of town but it cost Roy Shivers his job.
As far as an entertainment complex goes. The Rogers Centre is one of them but they hold the Blue Jays and the Argos and I think Winnipeg is trying to build one, the cost is approaching $200 million which is a little rich for us. I don’t know if it is ever going to happen and while Winnipeg often gets the Stones and U2, those are concerts that happen four or fives times a year either.
Most CFL stadiums are closer to the Green Bay model of a stadium in a residential neighborhood than a destination site in the burbs. It feels a little more the Wrigley (parking on a guys lawn for $10) than it does arriving at the Meadowlands.