Lions vs. Eskimos and Game Day Thread, August 9, 2018

[TheLionKing]

Please no soft zone

[Sir Purrcival]

And how much better would a 9 point lead be?

[swervynmerv]

Yay good guys!!

[Sir Purrcival]

Thank Gawd.

[aklawitter]

good time for a miscue from the Schmos D

[Toppy Vann]

If the Lions had simply gone for 1 pt convert and made it 28-20 then the Ty Long screw up for 1 point late in the game would have made it a 9 pt lead not 8 pts and changed the entire situation for the Esks.

[Toppy Vann]

Lulay did a good job overall given how porous his O line and how anemic their run game tends to be as well as how it takes Mark W. to the half to change things up and get some pressure on Reilly.

Lulay and Wally when TL tossed it out of bounds late in the game got into it and Wally was wrong there. Just be safe.

Lulay was showing frustration earlier in the game as he went to the sidelines and I suspect it's a combination of players not stepping up to do their jobs.

[yukonlion]

i agree with the 2 pt convert attempt, as it would have made it a 2 score game at that point,,, bobbled pass should have been caught as was elliots at the end to score a TD... jekyll and hyde defence, is that the third home game in a row where they havent allowed a TD in the 2nd half? why cnt they play like that all game and on the road... weird... but kudos for a tough win

[KnowItAll]

Yo what's with all the empty seats?? It's such a nice afternoon, purrfect for football, and man the Felions look great. Shame that more people aren't coming to the game

wonder how many bc football fans were at the seahawks game...grrrr

[B.C.FAN]

The official attendance of 17,745 (there were probably about 15,000 in the building) was pretty good considering it was a sweltering hot weekday game in mid-summer and the Lions went into the game in last place and on a 2-game losing streak.

B.C. fans prefer Saturday night games in the fall, and the schedule is pretty favourable this year, but all teams have to step up and host a Thursday night game for the TV audience and it turned out to be a great game with a decent halftime concert. That should help future attendance.

[David]

If the Leos win and play entertaining football next Saturday in Toronto, then they should be well-positioned for the following Saturday here against the Riders. With both clubs close in the standings, and it being a Saturday night game, I would expect a crowd in the 22,000-24,000 range. But they have to win next weekend!

At least Ambrosie was here to witness the game, so he can see first-hand what people here think of Thursday night football and the challenges of a 2-4 team playing summer football in a Turkish sauna.


DH

[ZLions]

If the Leos win and play entertaining football next Saturday in Toronto, then they should be well-positioned for the following Saturday here against the Riders. With both clubs close in the standings, and it being a Saturday night game, I would expect a crowd in the 22,000-24,000 range. But they have to win next weekend!

At least Ambrosie was here to witness the game, so he can see first-hand what people here think of Thursday night football and the challenges of a 2-4 team playing summer football in a Turkish sauna.


DH

Yeah, hopefully the Saskatchewan game draws in a lot of people, maybe even close to 30k (which was completely normal for all home games just 4-5 years ago). Maybe they’ll even open up new sections in the upper deck, that would be great. It’s always fun when the Riders come to town.

[David]

If the Leos win and play entertaining football next Saturday in Toronto, then they should be well-positioned for the following Saturday here against the Riders. With both clubs close in the standings, and it being a Saturday night game, I would expect a crowd in the 22,000-24,000 range. But they have to win next weekend!

At least Ambrosie was here to witness the game, so he can see first-hand what people here think of Thursday night football and the challenges of a 2-4 team playing summer football in a Turkish sauna.


DH

Yeah, hopefully the Saskatchewan game draws in a lot of people, maybe even close to 30k (which was completely normal for all home games just 4-5 years ago). Maybe they’ll even open up new sections in the upper deck, that would be great. It’s always fun when the Riders come to town.

Sorry to burst your bubble Z, but there is no way in hell we're drawing close to 30K. First, the lower bowl only holds 27K and management would be happy to put a "SOLD OUT" sign on their windows instead of selling the upper bowl. We are a long way off from even selling out the lower bowl.

That is basically selling 10K more tickets than the last game. No way there is that kind of demand, even for the Riders. That is over a 50% increase based on what, a 2-game win streak and a popular divisional rival? No way that is happening. I predict that if we beat Toronto, that attendance will be closer to 22,000 than the 24,000 mark I proposed above. There has just been too much apathy in the market and rot within the franchise for it to change anytime soon. I would love to be wrong though, but it is still summer after all.


DH

[ZLions]

If the Leos win and play entertaining football next Saturday in Toronto, then they should be well-positioned for the following Saturday here against the Riders. With both clubs close in the standings, and it being a Saturday night game, I would expect a crowd in the 22,000-24,000 range. But they have to win next weekend!

At least Ambrosie was here to witness the game, so he can see first-hand what people here think of Thursday night football and the challenges of a 2-4 team playing summer football in a Turkish sauna.


DH

Yeah, hopefully the Saskatchewan game draws in a lot of people, maybe even close to 30k (which was completely normal for all home games just 4-5 years ago). Maybe they’ll even open up new sections in the upper deck, that would be great. It’s always fun when the Riders come to town.

Sorry to burst your bubble Z, but there is no way in hell we're drawing close to 30K. First, the lower bowl only holds 27K and management would be happy to put a "SOLD OUT" sign on their windows instead of selling the upper bowl. We are a long way off from even selling out the lower bowl.

That is basically selling 10K more tickets than the last game. No way there is that kind of demand, even for the Riders. That is over a 50% increase based on what, a 2-game win streak and a popular divisional rival? No way that is happening. I predict that if we beat Toronto, that attendance will be closer to 22,000 than the 24,000 mark I proposed above. There has just been too much apathy in the market and rot within the franchise for it to change anytime soon. I would love to be wrong though, but it is still summer after all.


DH

Hey - let a man dream :P
I really hope that this is as low as it would ever get for attendance in Vancouver and Toronto, because with attendance numbers dwindling every year I honestly doubt sometimes if the Lions and Argos would be able to sustain themselves in their respective cities for the next ~5-10 years...that's a whole other discussion though

[David]

I may be biased, but we are a long way from what's happening in Toronto. Our attendance last game was 17,745. Obviously not good, but that was a low watermark based on a losing streak and a Thursday night game in the dead of summer. The Argos, even in that gorgeous, intimate outdoor stadium of theirs, would kill for that number in October against Hamilton.

If there is a parallel in the CFL it's probably Montreal, but I believe our ceiling is higher than theirs. For example, in a buzz/event town like Vancouver, I could almost guarantee that a Manziel debut in a BC Lions uniform would attract more than 18,576 fans. Probably more like the 23,000-24,000 range, minimum. Montreal seems to consistently draw in the 18,000 - 20,000 range, but I think we're capable of going a bit higher (as we'll hopefully see on 8/25 against the Riders).


DH