The Lions & the Canucks...

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Sir Purrcival
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Seems like a reasonable hypothesis. My theory is that in life, we have levels of things that make things comfortable for us. E.G. if you have a job that keeps you talking all day, you don't feel so inclined to be chatty at home, if you drive all day, you don't go for drive for entertainment later (or are less likely to at any rate). So to it is with the sports fan. There are elements of the experience which transcend the actual game. Maybe you eat out after or before the game, you enjoy the roar of the crowds, the anticipation of the event, opportunity to hang with friends. When you have events like last year's Canucks run, for some, the extra games and experiences would have quite naturally filled the overall amounts for that kind of experience that some are comfortable with. Add in the emotional roller coaster that many fans ride when they are following a team and you can top out, emotionally, financially and physically. It is human nature 101. If the Canucks bow out early which appears very likely, then the stage will be set for a very good year for the Lions. New stadium, coming off a championship, early Canucks exit.
Tell me how long must a fan be strong? Ans. Always.
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B.C.FAN
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One Lions season ticket can be brought for roughly the price of two Canucks single-game playoff tickets. If the Canucks are eliminated early, there could be disposable money floating around in the pockets of sports fans.

A bigger issue, perhaps, is the media saturation that a deep Canucks playoff run generates. The Lions opened the preseason last year on the same night the Canucks were playing Game 7 of the Stanley Cup. That preseason game was on the road but this year's preseason opener is at home.
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David
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For an ad theme this year, I would like them to explore something along the lines of "there's nothing like being here;" the notion that, sure, you can catch games on TV, but there's no replacing the in-stadium experience for watching Lions games. Let's face it, most of us have high def. The "local blackout in effect" is an anachronism - almost a lame "TV Guide" message from the '80s when people's viewing choices were limited and viewing habits much different than today.

I'd show the inside of BC Place with the giant high def scoreboard, cup holders on every seat, hole in the roof, and have fun with it, something like "The Ultimate Man Cave."


DH :cool:
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Big Time
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My own two cents...

I'm a Canucks season ticket holder and a Lions season ticket holder. Last year I took a one year hiatus from Lions seasons tickets because I was completing my Master's degree and wasn't going to be able to go to all the games. I'm now back in the fold. Last year I dropped about a grand on playoff tickets (including games 1, 5 and 7 of the finals).

IMO the performance of the Canucks has no impact on my desire to support the Lions. The commitment to season tickets comes long before the NHL playoffs so for most people it's a sunk cost. The biggest factors for me are the time commitment and the quality of the product. Last year I made the tough call that due to lack of time and what I believed to be a rebuilding year (thankfully wrong) that it wouldn't work. Another factor is that the re-sale value for Lions tickets is non existent. With a Canucks ticket I can always sell it at a considerable profit which is why I kept my tickets to the Canucks. With the Lions, I'm lucky if I can find someone who will pay face value.

Vancouver is a big event town. That's why Grey Cup's and the Olympics were so successful. When it comes to supporting teams, the quality of the team makes the biggest difference. Canucks by and large have been one of the best NHL teams for the past decade. However many of us remember the Messier years where the Canucks were one of the worst. On those nights, they were lucky to get 12,000 fans per game. I remember turning down 2nd row tickets in the lower bowl back then because I didn't want to pay for parking. I knew there would be zero entertainment value and it wasn't worth my time. If the Canucks start losing again, you can bet that the fan support will dwindle.

I believe the Lions will be more successful this year because they will have a great team in a great new facility. The Canucks sink or swim will have no bearing on this.
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sj-roc
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Didn't think this really warranted its own thread so I just thought I'd add it to this most recent attendance-related discussion that I could find. Occasionally, disappointment is voiced here when the Lions fall short of crowd size expectations, so it might be worth noting that in this city, we're not alone in that regard:

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/art ... le2414146/

And this is from a part of the entertainment industry that measures sold out audiences in the mere *hundreds*.
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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