Seahawks' Michael Bennett Takes Jab at CFL on Media Day

[Ravi]

How wonderful that the city of Vancouver is supporting the likes of Bennett and that jerk Lynch: http://blogs.vancouversun.com/2015/01/2 ... ss-canada/

This sudden love of all things Seahawk in Vancouver reminds me very much of what happened in southern Ontario in the 1990s when the Bills were hot. That support of the Bills didn't do the CFL any favours and I hope that the Lions don't end up having to take a back seat to the Seahawks over the long-term. The reality is that the Seahawks are every bit as much competition to the Lions for the sports entertainment dollar in Vancouver as is the Canucks or Whitecaps and I see some concerning signs regarding the popularity of the Lions in Vancouver and British Columbia.

[WestCoastJoe]

These guys make these comments and for him it's just a throwaway line I am sure not realizing how it plays poorly with CFL fans and is loved by Canada's NFL wannabes - I think Dano created that term.

I have spoken to players who played both sides of the border and I posted this before. Neon Leon Bright was a guest coach at SFU when Chris Beaton was there and his locker was next to mine when I was assisting the JV soccer HC and he told me that he loved the CFL but the money allured him. Here it was more fun.

Listen to Doug Flutie - he publicly says he feels like an outsider at the NFL events despite what he did but has the opposite feeling when he comes back to Canada and anything CFL where he feels right at home.

Moon, Theismann - these guys value and treasure their CFL time and while a team mate says Joe was heading to the NFL - Joe's story was the nasty GM John Barrow of the Argos (never understood him to be GM as he was a nasty Hamilton Ti-cat) drove him out to the NFL. His team mate the day Theismann said after his broken leg was watching that on TV and laughed saying - that Joe had a plan for everything and he was not waking up with no career as that is not how he thinks. He came to Canada to get home to the NFL.

When Neil McCrae had Theissmann on as he was travelling the talk shows pumping something for ESPN IIRC - McCrae kept trying to goad him into trashing the CFL. He ignored this at first as he was sticking to his pump message as he was being paid for that until finally he got a bit ticked and put McCrae in his place.

To think these guys who make friendships on and off field and who realize that the chance they got to learn and grow as a step to the NFL they would not get of college are all of a sudden going to diss the CFL is insanity and ridiculous.

The Moj had Moon on and secretly patched in Tom Wilkinson who was trying to hide his voice and that too was funny as Wilky was saying how much good shape Wilkinson was in and Moon was trying to not to trash a former team mate until he caught on. He was posing as another announcer IIRC.

My team is better. My league is better. My country is better.

Or ... Put down the other for any reason.

Waste of breath.

NFL. CFL.

My Dad would point out what he saw as the superiority of the NFL. Size. Speed. Money. Athleticism. Media attention. Bigger pond. Promotion. Highlights.

All true. Until around the 1980s, I tended to share that view.

If you like a sport, even events beneath the level of the big pond hold interest.

The CFL is populated with dedicated professionals, playing for love of the game. They are down to earth, making reasonable money, very accessible to the fans, They are not so rich and pampered as athletes from higher profile leagues and sports.

The flavour of the CFL is unique and beautiful.

Michael Bennett? Did not really know much about him. Knew from the comment that he was ignorant.

NFL? Super Bowl? I will probably watch a bit of it.

NFL games can be good. i saw bits of the playoff games. But neither the league, nor its players, are held up all that high by this football fan. Too much hype. Too many inflated egos. Too much idolatry. Too much money. Too much glitz. Lack of dignity. Lack of class. Legal issues.

Back in the day? Sure. Sayers. Butkus. Unitas. Lombardi. On and on ...

Now ... Give me the CFL any day of the week.

A diss of the CFL by an ignoramous? Tune it out.

[David]

I couldn't agree more Ravi. I am really surprised that some Lions fans (and Wally) don't see things the same way. While the surging popularity for the NFL in general and Seattle Seahawks in particular may be good for the sport of football overall (ergo, more people will watch the Lions if they get into the sport), this could also backfire in a big way. Vancouver is a finicky, brand name town. It's a mid-sized market (on a world scale) that likes to think it's elite. This could also turn more people off the Lions/CFL in that it might not be "big league" enough after their Century Link experience (man, people in Edmonton and Regina have it made with no competition).

The good news is that in another Vancouver Sun blog, it shows that Seahawk popularity currently ranks behind the Canucks and Lions (but ahead of the Whitecaps), among whom 10% of British Columbians consider themselves "hardcore" BC Lions fans BLOG HERE.


DH

[Ravi]

I couldn't agree more Ravi. I am really surprised that some Lions fans (and Wally) don't see things the same way. While the surging popularity for the NFL in general and Seattle Seahawks in particular may be good for the sport of football overall (ergo, more people will watch the Lions if they get into the sport), this could also backfire in a big way. Vancouver is a finicky, brand name town. It's a mid-sized market (on a world scale) that likes to think it's elite. This could also turn more people off the Lions/CFL in that it might not be "big league" enough after their Century Link experience (man, people in Edmonton and Regina have it made with no competition).

The good news is that in another Vancouver Sun blog, it shows that Seahawk popularity currently ranks behind the Canucks and Lions (but ahead of the Whitecaps), among whom 10% of British Columbians consider themselves "hardcore" BC Lions fans BLOG HERE.


DH

That is definitely some positive news for the Lions, David, and is consistent with the Angus Reid (IIRC) poll that came out on Grey Cup weekend. Montreal had NFL and "world-class" envy for the longest time although that eventually dissipated and the Als have carved out a nice niche in that city and province. I just don't want to see Vancouver turn into another southern Ontario where it has been an uphill battle for the "little" CFL against the almighty, "cool", "world-class" NFL for the last three decades.

[dupsdell1]

It is true playing in the cfl is like playing in front of nobody compared to playing in front of 70,000 fans every Sunday , compare that to 30,000 at bc place, it is a joke.

[B.C.FAN]

I couldn't agree more Ravi. I am really surprised that some Lions fans (and Wally) don't see things the same way. While the surging popularity for the NFL in general and Seattle Seahawks in particular may be good for the sport of football overall (ergo, more people will watch the Lions if they get into the sport), this could also backfire in a big way. Vancouver is a finicky, brand name town. It's a mid-sized market (on a world scale) that likes to think it's elite. This could also turn more people off the Lions/CFL in that it might not be "big league" enough after their Century Link experience (man, people in Edmonton and Regina have it made with no competition).

The good news is that in another Vancouver Sun blog, it shows that Seahawk popularity currently ranks behind the Canucks and Lions (but ahead of the Whitecaps), among whom 10% of British Columbians consider themselves "hardcore" BC Lions fans BLOG HERE.


DH

The questions were asked differently but support for the CFL/Lions is stronger in the current Insights West poll than in the Angus Reid poll in November, despite the fact that the Super Bowl is topical now whereas the Grey Cup was topical in November. The Lions are a strong No. 2 in this market and are not as far behind the Canucks as many people would think (30% of B.C. respondents identify themselves as hardcore or regular Lions fans, compared to 40% for the Canucks). And football fans outumber soccer fans by a wide margin.

Here are the Insights West results in a somewhat easier-to-read format:
Survey on Super Bowl XLXI in British Columbia

[TheLionKing]

Tired of all this hype about the Super Bowl. Everybody likes a winner and likes to jump on the bandwagon. Where were all the so called Seahawk fans in their lean years ?

[TheLionKing]

Here are the Insights West results in a somewhat easier-to-read format:
Survey on Super Bowl XLXI in British Columbia

Vancouver will be a hockey town again after this Sunday.

[SammyGreene]

The good news is that in another Vancouver Sun blog, it shows that Seahawk popularity currently ranks behind the Canucks and Lions (but ahead of the Whitecaps), among whom 10% of British Columbians consider themselves "hardcore" BC Lions fans BLOG HERE.


DH

WOW! Lions more than hold their own in that survey. That's a solid No. 2 in this town and not light years behind the Canucks either. I guess it reflects the Lions excellent TV numbers which suggests they have a large and growing audience that follows them now that blackouts are no longer an issue. It goes back to what we have been talking about for a while. How do you get them away from their HD TVs and into the stadium?

[KnowItAll]

The good news is that in another Vancouver Sun blog, it shows that Seahawk popularity currently ranks behind the Canucks and Lions (but ahead of the Whitecaps), among whom 10% of British Columbians consider themselves "hardcore" BC Lions fans BLOG HERE.


DH

WOW! Lions more than hold their own in that survey. That's a solid No. 2 in this town and not light years behind the Canucks either. I guess it reflects the Lions excellent TV numbers which suggests they have a large and growing audience that follows them now that blackouts are no longer an issue. It goes back to what we have been talking about for a while. How do you get them away from their HD TVs and into the stadium?

not good for the future with 53% of the 18-24 group having no interest in the lions at all.

[Hambone]

Tired of all this hype about the Super Bowl. Everybody likes a winner and likes to jump on the bandwagon. Where were all the so called Seahawk fans in their lean years ?

They've always been there but are no different than any other fans. They're noisy when things are good but when things aren't it's crickets. According to Mayenecht approximately 10% of Seahawk ST holders have Canadian passports. Even in lean years the Seahawks weren't an easy ticket to get.

I don't know if they still run them out of Vancouver but in the 80s and 90s the Seahawk Express bus charters were popular. I came over from the island a few times in those days to take those charters, usually as a weekend double dip. Lions Saturday night at BC Place then on the bus in the morning for Seattle.

[B.C.FAN]

not good for the future with 53% of the 18-24 group having no interest in the lions at all.

Yes, that age group seems to be interested mainly in the Canucks. I think that's a national phenomenon. Mark Cohon referenced that issue in his commissioner's address in November. It's essential to the growth of the league. By contrast, the over-55 age group (I'm one of those) is solidly behind the Lions, with 36% being hardcore or regular fans, compared to 38% who are fans of the Canucks. When occasional followers are added in the 55-plus age group, support rises to 61% for the Canucks and 57% for the Lions.

[SammyGreene]

Nice to see the Lions promote the survey. Hopefully they sent it to those idiots at CTV Vancouver.

As I said earlier, the Lions challenge now, and for that matter a lot of sports franchises, is convincing their fans to come to the games instead of loyally following them on TV.

KEEN INTEREST IN FOOTBALL CONTINUES TO GROW IN BC

On the heels of hosting a very successful 102nd Grey Cup in Vancouver last November and the upcoming Super Bowl featuring the Seattle Seahawks, football is getting a lot of coverage in the media and enjoying growing popularity in British Columbia.

According to a new, independent study from the marketing research firm Insights West, British Columbians love their football and most notably the BC Lions. The study showed 30% of respondents indicate they are “hardcore” or “regular” fans of the Leos and an additional 21% responded with the same sentiments when asked about our NFL neighbors to the south.

“The results don’t come as a surprise to us,” admits team President and CEO Dennis Skulsky. “Our own research has revealed similar results but it’s encouraging that an outside firm has come up with similar data. We have very loyal fans across the province and we value their support tremendously. We love our position in this market and we are going to continue to do everything we can to keep growing our brand and our sport.”

What is perhaps most interesting about the study though is that football has taken top spot in our region. With a combined 51% of residents responding as “hardcore” or “regular” fans of the Lions and Seahawks, compared to 40% for the NHL’s Vancouver Canucks and 15% for the Vancouver Whitecaps of the MLS.

“The market for football in our province is alive and well, and growing,“ said Skulsky. “Through our continued support of amateur football programs throughout BC, this great game will continue to thrive.”
Thank you for your outstanding support as a BC Lions season ticket holder!

[JohnHenry]

The timing of the survey, three days before the Seahawks play in the Super Bowl might tend to boost their following. If a poll was done three days before the Lions played in the Grey Cup, I'd bet their popularity would soar.

Angus Reid (no relation) released a national sports survey on November 21st, 2013 which showed the percentage of Canadian's who followed each sport closely or fairly closely:

Nov. 2013..NHL CFL NFL MLB MLS NBA
Nationally...46 - 26 - 21 - 20 - 9 - 8
B.C. only....56 - 32 - 16 - 19 - 8 - 6

http://www.reginaldbibby.com/images/PRO ... 1_2013.pdf

Another consideration is why people are following a sport? It was reported a few years ago that up to 50% of NFL fans follow the games mainly due to gambling. I know in Canada many people are into NFL pools and Sportsline spreads, which might account for many of the people who follow the NFL closely. Gambling has much less impact on the CFL with most fans enjoying the games for the action and excitement it delivers.

[sj-roc]

How wonderful that the city of Vancouver is supporting the likes of Bennett and that jerk Lynch: http://blogs.vancouversun.com/2015/01/2 ... ss-canada/

This sudden love of all things Seahawk in Vancouver reminds me very much of what happened in southern Ontario in the 1990s when the Bills were hot. That support of the Bills didn't do the CFL any favours and I hope that the Lions don't end up having to take a back seat to the Seahawks over the long-term. The reality is that the Seahawks are every bit as much competition to the Lions for the sports entertainment dollar in Vancouver as is the Canucks or Whitecaps and I see some concerning signs regarding the popularity of the Lions in Vancouver and British Columbia.

Flying Seahawk flags at gov't buildings in Vancouver (city hall) and Victoria (prov parl)?

Now don't get me wrong, I'm not saying let's *bash* the Seahawks. And if people here (as private individuals) want to cheer for them, well, whatever. It's not my bag, but that's fine by me. But to fly team flags at *government buildings* for a team from *somewhere else*?

On the surface of it, it seems a bit... I dunno... obsequious? It just doesn't strike me as an act that one would ascribe to a place of local civic pride. It's as if we have nothing of our own of which to be proud, and this has forced us to engage in an act of cultural appropriation.

And this has nothing to do with a sense that the Lions are being snubbed. I'd still feel the same way if it were the Mariners.

I could understand if there were a player from this area on the team, a la Regina city hall flying a flag in support of favoured son/punter Jon Ryan, but to my knowledge this isn't the case, or if it were done by a private place of business like the Library Pub last year (where they were broadcasting the game), or perhaps even under the aegis of the Lions. Maybe this is being done to return the favour after the City of Seattle or State of Washington made a previous, similar public gesture toward us before? I suppose that would make it a neighbourly thing for us to do.

Did we fly similar flags for Larry Walker when he was in the World Series, for Steve Nash when he was in the NBA playoffs, or for Mike Pyke of Victoria when he played in Australia's AFL Grand Final? That would strike me a more appropriate flag-flying occasion.

Were any public funds spent on this? Were other flags of greater local significance displaced for these team flags? I really hope not.