Whitecaps more popular than Lions?

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Ravi
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That is what this article argues: http://www.vancitybuzz.com/2014/11/thou ... ll-unsold/

"In addition, over the last few years, the Whitecaps FC have attained a much larger share of Vancouver’s professional sports market; they have arguably outmaneuvered the Lions to become the city’s second most-followed sports franchise."

I find this difficult to believe. Am I wrong?
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sj-roc
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Ravi wrote:That is what this article argues: http://www.vancitybuzz.com/2014/11/thou ... ll-unsold/

"In addition, over the last few years, the Whitecaps FC have attained a much larger share of Vancouver’s professional sports market; they have arguably outmaneuvered the Lions to become the city’s second most-followed sports franchise."

I find this difficult to believe. Am I wrong?
Depends on how you look at it. In terms of absolute gameday attendance and tv ratings, which to me are the strongest metrics, Lions are WELL out in front. Not even close last I checked in Chris Zelkovich's ratings blogs on Yahoo. Same with airtime on TSN 1040 radio. Canucks get the largest amount of run to be sure, but my impression is that while the Whitecaps do get some, the Lions enjoy more.

One might argue that there's more buzz in the community for the Whitecaps and you might be able to build a case for this. They like to tout sellouts @BCP, but they tarp off not only the entire upper deck but also parts of the lower bowl to set capacity around 21k. That they get sellouts and near sellouts with this tactic can create a perception of being a hot ticket. Bob Lenarduzzi even mentioned in an extended appearance on 1040 this past summer that the 'Caps are content to keep this arrangement through as late as (IIRC) 2020 and will only un-tarp as demand warrants (he cited this strategy as the main key to the off-field success of the Seattle Sounders who average ~44k to lead MLS in attendance by a wide margin over the rest of the league). This is in contrast with Skulsky who has said the Lions prefer not to turn fans away, which is evident in the varying capacities the Lions have used the last few years, even within a season. The base capacity in most of this time has been the entire lower bowl (approx 27k) plus the part of the upper deck between the goal lines behind the Lions' bench (facing principal cameras, a further 5-6k). For some games (usu Ssk, sometimes others), as demand warrants they either extend this latter area beyond the goal lines on both sides, or they open some sections behind the visitors' bench.

Whoever wrote that article (no byline, just "Vancity Buzz staff") seems to be more of an MLS than CFL follower. Not only from that slanted passage you quoted, but another tell is how they refer to next week's playoff games generically as "semi-final games". While technically true in the strictest sense, these games are NEVER referred to as such, neither by fans nor media, but rather as Eastern and Western Finals, or collectively as Divisional Finals. If they followed the league to any extent I think they would know this and not be so sloppy about it. If they were discussing the Stanley Cup playoffs they would most likely refer to the penultimate round as the Conference Finals rather than just a generic "semi-final" label, which likewise has little currency in the coverage of that league.

They may be right that the Whitecaps share of the local sports market has grown in recent years, though they seem rather vague in how they define this — in fact, they don't even appear to define it at all — but I don't agree they've surpassed the Lions, certainly not by the most concrete, bottom-line metrics.
Sports can be a peculiar thing. When partaking in fiction, like a book or movie, we adopt a "Willing Suspension of Disbelief" for enjoyment's sake. There's a similar force at work in sports: "Willing Suspension of Rationality". If you doubt this, listen to any conversation between rival team fans. You even see it among fans of the same team. Fans argue over who's the better QB or goalie, and selectively cite stats that support their views while ignoring those that don't.
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MexicoLionFan
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I think Benevides would make a great soccer coach...
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Solar Max
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Soccer is the sport of the future.

And it always will be.
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SammyGreene
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Dear Mr. Skulsky:

It's stories like these that has to make at least 4,000 or so of the remaining Grey Cup tickets magically disappear over the next few days.

Don't wait for the fans of next Sunday's winners to step up. Maybe a few will but the majority of those $240 seats in the upper deck are going to remain unsold. Reach out to some of your key major sponsors such as Coast Capital, Telus, Nissan and Bosa Properities. Make sure they stay happy and I'm sure they will find ways to distribute them to customers/employees.

Leave those seats unsold and a good chunk of the non-sports media coverage next week will be focused on how the game is not sold out or a hot ticket. You know where they visit local ticket brokers and they complain about how tough they are to sell.

Borrow a page from the Canucks and how they magically made their sellout streak last until this season. The Grey Cup isn't coming back here for likely at least 6 years. There already has been enough damage inflicted on the potential fan base with the on field product this season. The perception the interest in the CFL is declining only hurts it further and in the long run out weighs the lost $1.4 million in ticket revenue.
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Lions4ever
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As I sit here at Bellingham Airport looking out at an Alaska Airlines plane painted out in full Portland Timbers colours and logos.
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notahomer
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The Whitecaps have certainly started following the Lions recent lead of 'playing down' during the big game........

purrfect e.g. how many seasons have the Whitecaps been knocking at the door for the Canadian championships but then lost the game the matters....
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JohnHenry
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The Bells drew a crowd of 17,000 late in the season...and their TV ratings averaged about 75% lower than the Lions. The only plus I can see for the soccer team is they play more home games (although the MLS season runs from Feb. to Dec.) and the Bell sponsorship was reportedly valued higher than all the Lions sponsors combined. But those huge MLS sponsorships could be a thing of the past. In Toronto, BMO is backing away from TFC in both their jersey and stadium sponsorships. It was reported TFC is expecting their new sponsor will pay only 1/4 of what they were receiving from BMO. TFC drew TV ratings as low as 22,000 this season and had several games in the 30,000 range. :2cents:
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David
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SammyGreene wrote:Dear Mr. Skulsky:

It's stories like these that has to make at least 4,000 or so of the remaining Grey Cup tickets magically disappear over the next few days.

Don't wait for the fans of next Sunday's winners to step up. Maybe a few will but the majority of those $240 seats in the upper deck are going to remain unsold. Reach out to some of your key major sponsors such as Coast Capital, Telus, Nissan and Bosa Properities. Make sure they stay happy and I'm sure they will find ways to distribute them to customers/employees.

Leave those seats unsold and a good chunk of the non-sports media coverage next week will be focused on how the game is not sold out or a hot ticket. You know where they visit local ticket brokers and they complain about how tough they are to sell.

Borrow a page from the Canucks and how they magically made their sellout streak last until this season. The Grey Cup isn't coming back here for likely at least 6 years. There already has been enough damage inflicted on the potential fan base with the on field product this season. The perception the interest in the CFL is declining only hurts it further and in the long run out weighs the lost $1.4 million in ticket revenue.
This is a POM Wonderful candidate Sammy! (post of the month)

Couldn't agree more. I suspect that they will wait 'til Tuesday to make the remaining tickets disappear, first seeing what the reaction will be from the two Division winning cities on Monday morning. But yea, the quicker they do this, the better. It's getting the perception of a bust, even thought we've already sold more tickets than most of the other host cities' capacity!


DH :cool:
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sj-roc
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Lions4ever wrote:As I sit here at Bellingham Airport looking out at an Alaska Airlines plane painted out in full Portland Timbers colours and logos.
Speaking of sports team logos on airplanes:

http://www.cfl.ca/video/index/id/106483

"Canadian North Unveils CFL-Branded Airplane — The CFL and Canadian North have jointly unveiled a custom-painted Boeing 737-300 aircraft, emblazoned with the CFL logo and the logos of all nine CFL franchise teams. This eye-catching plane will be used to fly the 102nd Grey Cup Champions home from Vancouver."
Sports can be a peculiar thing. When partaking in fiction, like a book or movie, we adopt a "Willing Suspension of Disbelief" for enjoyment's sake. There's a similar force at work in sports: "Willing Suspension of Rationality". If you doubt this, listen to any conversation between rival team fans. You even see it among fans of the same team. Fans argue over who's the better QB or goalie, and selectively cite stats that support their views while ignoring those that don't.
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Coast Mountain Lion
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Yes I saw a still of that. They should have switched around the Eskimos and Stamps logos. The Edmonton one would stand out better against the wing; the white on the Calgary one makes it fade into the wing.
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David
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Too bad the Lions logo appears first at the front of the plane.

Might cause it to nose-dive. :wink:

Image


DH :cool:
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B.C.FAN
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David wrote:Too bad the Lions logo appears first at the front of the plane.

Might cause it to nose-dive. :wink:

Image


DH :cool:
I was just thankful to see the Lions come in first.
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sj-roc
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B.C.FAN wrote:
David wrote:Too bad the Lions logo appears first at the front of the plane.

Might cause it to nose-dive. :wink:

Image


DH :cool:
I was just thankful to see the Lions come in first.
Depenns on how you look at it — some might see this as the Lion chasing after the rest of the west ahead of it.
Sports can be a peculiar thing. When partaking in fiction, like a book or movie, we adopt a "Willing Suspension of Disbelief" for enjoyment's sake. There's a similar force at work in sports: "Willing Suspension of Rationality". If you doubt this, listen to any conversation between rival team fans. You even see it among fans of the same team. Fans argue over who's the better QB or goalie, and selectively cite stats that support their views while ignoring those that don't.
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pennw
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The whitecaps may be more popular with the wannabe media , but that's about it . To most I know soccer is one of the more boring games on the planet ( sorry soccer fans ) I think it may be the media wanting to get in with all the fifa stuff and trying real hard to drum up near non-existent interest here . I myself don't know a single soccer fan in the lower mainland .
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