Atlantic Schooners

[Coast Mountain Lion]

Farhan said the potential new team is looking to hire a football type guy - and in my view, the rabbit in that department was OTT hiring the Als Desjardin as GM.

Those outside of the area might not know the schooner name, I'm guessing that the locals including kids do know.

Is there a worse name than RedBlacks and a worse symbol than the saw blade and the lumberjack shirts?

For me, no but fans etc don't seem to much care as their team has got out of the gate playing well.

For me the RedBlacks name is crazy and signifies nothing but an odd colour mix.

IF the RBs score and there is a TV shot of the crowd, the immediate image that comes to my mind and leads to a laugh goes to the Monty Python and "I'm a lumberjack and I'm okay...."

They should have called them the Raftsmen. They could have kept the R, had a name with historical significance, and a ready made fight song (in both official languages).

[louharris74]

Note that Seattle's WNBA team is called the Storm ... so it's not surprising that that name was not used.

[Robbie]

Note that Seattle's WNBA team is called the Storm ... so it's not surprising that that name was not used.

I think one reason that nickname was used was there was some alliteration with the city name and the team name, along with Seattle Seahawks, Seattle Sounders, and previously Seattle SuperSonics and Seattle SeaDogs.

[CardiacKid]

I have been to a few of the recent Schooner Kitchen Parties and I agree that if any other name besides Schooners was chosen, the air would have been sucked out of the room.
I have become quite fond of the Schooner’s story and the efforts of that small but intrepid band of volunteers who have kept the dream alive all these years.

That in itself is publicity gold.

Now that back story won’t go away if another name was chosen but anything other than Schooners would have risked alienating a valuable group of supporters.

I am personally glad it was Schooners as the name has the back story and it truly evokes the Maritimes. But ultimately a name is what the fans and team make of it.

[Hambone]

I have been to a few of the recent Schooner Kitchen Parties and I agree that if any other name besides Schooners was chosen, the air would have been sucked out of the room.
I have become quite fond of the Schooner’s story and the efforts of that small but intrepid band of volunteers who have kept the dream alive all these years.

That in itself is publicity gold.

Now that back story won’t go away if another name was chosen but anything other than Schooners would have risked alienating a valuable group of supporters.

I am personally glad it was Schooners as the name has the back story and it truly evokes the Maritimes. But ultimately a name is what the fans and team make of it.

This year's Kitchen Party was no doubt the best yet. If there was an award for First Prize for team parties they won it hands down. They had the biggest venue and it was full with lineups both days almost from opening to closing. I was surprised how full it was when I got there Friday assuming the team name announcement fueled that and it would be much thinner on Saturday. Boy was I wrong. It was just as busy Saturday as it was Friday. It may have surpassed the Spirit of Edmonton as THE must-do Grey Cup party. Spirit of Edmonton did have it's usual long lineups than the Kitchen Party but it was also held in a venue about half the size of the Kitchen Party.

[David]

So what is a kitchen party? Or is that just a folksy name for a big bash? Did they feature Maritime music like fiddlers and stuff? How was the Lions Den this year?


DH

[Toppy Vann]

I have been to a few of the recent Schooner Kitchen Parties and I agree that if any other name besides Schooners was chosen, the air would have been sucked out of the room.
I have become quite fond of the Schooner’s story and the efforts of that small but intrepid band of volunteers who have kept the dream alive all these years.

That in itself is publicity gold.

Now that back story won’t go away if another name was chosen but anything other than Schooners would have risked alienating a valuable group of supporters.

I am personally glad it was Schooners as the name has the back story and it truly evokes the Maritimes. But ultimately a name is what the fans and team make of it.

Schooner is the Maritimes - yes. Whether we know the history or not, when you hear that name, you know it's a ship of some sort associated with the Maritimes historically.

Given the reception there - where the name is important - it's no doubt as you said - the right name.

I had to look this up:

Bluenose was a fishing and racing gaff rig schooner built in 1921 in Nova Scotia, Canada. A celebrated racing ship and fishing vessel, Bluenose under the command of Angus Walters became a provincial icon for Nova Scotia and an important Canadian symbol in the 1930s, serving as a working vessel until she was wrecked in 1946. Nicknamed the "Queen of the North Atlantic",[1] she was later commemorated by a replica, Bluenose II, built in 1963. The name Bluenose originated as a nickname for Nova Scotians from as early as the late 18th century.[2]

[Hambone]

So what is a kitchen party? Or is that just a folksy name for a big bash? Did they feature Maritime music like fiddlers and stuff? How was the Lions Den this year?


DH

That pretty much sums it up David. The complete name is Atlantic Schooners Down East Kitchen Party. It's usually a mix of Maritime music and Celtic Rock. Sometimes there is a fiddle player in the band but not always. They also offer Lobster rolls which go over very well. I often overhear people talking that they have to go to the Kitchen Party to get some Lobster rolls.

This year bands were Eclectic Revival, The Tilted Kilts Band and Derina Harvey Band. They kept rolling them over one band playing a set then short break to changeover and the next band would take over. Third band would play and back to the first one. They kept doing that all party long. Only thing that was missing this year from past Kitchen Parties is I didn't see them Screech anybody in. They traditionally have done them in groups of 4 every couple set breaks.

Past favourites that I recall were the Mudmen and having seen them a few times at Clancy's Pub when I was doing work out of Brandon 10 years ago, The Dust Rhinos who are out of Winnipeg. I've always been a fan of hard rock and never had any sort of taste for Celtic rock until seeing the Rhinos at Clancy's which I adopted as my regular watering hole for those 6 months in Brandon.





I only went into the Lions Den for about an hour on Friday night. It was right across the hall from the Kitchen Party. It was very cramped quarters. I'm guessing there were about 200 people stuffed into the room and stuffy it was. I had a beer and since the beer tickets were the same as the ones in the Kitchen Party I left and went back there where at least I could move around.

According to the Shaw Conference Centre's website the Lions Den was in a 3860 square foot room. Looking at the floor plan that probably includes the area where they have tables set up for selling food as well as the band space and cashier/bar. Probably down to not much more than 2500 sq ft for partiers. The 5 salons used for Riderville totalled 15690 square feet while Hall D housing the Kitchen Party is 23600 square feet.

[CardiacKid]

Hey Hambone, did you take in the Schooner's jersey auction on Saturday? I was thinking they would go for a pretty penny.

I have been coveting a Schooner's jersey a while now but never had the good fortune to be at the party while they were on sale.

During the Friday night party they managed to dig a number of them out from some hidden stash, I would say roughly 10-12 of them. But they just said "Atlantic" on the front with "Schooner" omitted so I gave them a pass. About 15-20 minutes later I got to having 2nd thoughts and went back to the merch table. Lo and behold they were all gone at $125 a pop.

[Hambone]

Hey Hambone, did you take in the Schooner's jersey auction on Saturday? I was thinking they would go for a pretty penny.

I have been coveting a Schooner's jersey a while now but never had the good fortune to be at the party while they were on sale.

During the Friday night party they managed to dig a number of them out from some hidden stash, I would say roughly 10-12 of them. But they just said "Atlantic" on the front with "Schooner" omitted so I gave them a pass. About 15-20 minutes later I got to having 2nd thoughts and went back to the merch table. Lo and behold they were all gone at $125 a pop.

I missed that auction Cardiac. I didn't get in there until I think around 7:30 on Saturday. But I was thinking the same thing about them going for a good price if they still had some. They were starting to go for up around $200 or more the last couple of years. With the number of people in there when they made the announcement I bet they would have gone for double that if John had some of those numbered ones they had in previous years.

[cromartie]

This was the Tampa Bay Storm helmet/logo from the Arena Football League. They're defunct. It's really the only football reference to Storm I could remember.

Storm is a respectable nickname and under normal circumstances I think it would have been great for the franchise.

However, these circumstances aren't normal. You have, at this point, 30 plus years of that name and wordmark behind putting a team in the Maritimes. It's a brand with a pretty good degree of equity. I'm glad they're using it and I can't honestly imagine a team in the Maritimes without it.

And yes, I look forward to the coast to coast Labor Day rivalry.

[Huge Talent]

Good on Ambrosie for making this a league priority. Imo it gives the CFL a degree of legitimacy. Balancing the schedule is a bonus. 10 teams seems so much better than 9. No more confusing (for casuals) crossover. A truly Canadian league, coast to coast.

It's teams like Green Bay that enhance the NFL. I see the schooners doing the same.

[B.C.FAN]

Good on Ambrosie for making this a league priority. Imo it gives the CFL a degree of legitimacy. Balancing the schedule is a bonus. 10 teams seems so much better than 9. No more confusing (for casuals) crossover. A truly Canadian league, coast to coast.

It's teams like Green Bay that enhance the NFL. I see the schooners doing the same.

I’m not sure that having two five-team divisions would necessarily spell the end of the crossover. There seems to be a lot of sentiment for having the best six teams make the playoffs.

The Schooners may not be competitive for several years. The fourth place team in the West could still finish with a better record than the third place team in the East. Also, the crossover format could work either way, with an Eastern team crossing over to the West. That would be more likely to occur in the future with balanced divisions.

[Huge Talent]

It's possible they keep it, or just call it the top six make it in.. but I'm willing to bet that with 2 5-team divisions, they just go with top 3 of each.

Maybe they get really crazy and go with 4 teams each? More games = more money. I wouldn't be in favor of this, as it would dilute the value of season games... But, much better chance of home playoff game. Hmmm.

[David]

This was the Tampa Bay Storm helmet/logo from the Arena Football League. They're defunct. It's really the only football reference to Storm I could remember.

Storm is a respectable nickname and under normal circumstances I think it would have been great for the franchise.

However, these circumstances aren't normal. You have, at this point, 30 plus years of that name and wordmark behind putting a team in the Maritimes. It's a brand with a pretty good degree of equity. I'm glad they're using it and I can't honestly imagine a team in the Maritimes without it.

And yes, I look forward to the coast to coast Labor Day rivalry.

That is actually a pretty sweet logo. Notice the football in the center? They could have done something similar with a cyclone forming a small letter 'a' in the "eye" or middle, for 'Atlantic.'

I am fine with Schooners due to its history, but it's a bit of a mouthful. It seems about right for its time (when did this first come up, sometime in the '70s?). The Storm though seems a bit more current and functional. Either way, I am fine and won't lose sleep over Schooners.


DH