Does this p*ss anyone else off?

[bobmac44]

Yes sir, it sure does.

Hey I'm from Oakville, Ontario...near the big smoke. Hey leafs haven't won a Stanely Cup since 1967 but they still get more press than the Argos. Leafs didn't even make the playoffs this year (again) but TO was full of revelers when the almost made it!

Our papers are full of Raptors, Jays and Leafs. We even get more coverage for the NFL. The CFL...hardly a word. As a BC fan out here I have to log on to the Liuonbackers to get any info.

OK, so in about 69 the NFL out-smarted the CFL with television rights etc. The CFL blundered it's PR for decades, but, c'mon folks this is your league. I do believe it is the oldest professional league of any sport in North America.

Hockey ain't the only sport in town!

[sj-roc]

To get back to the original thrust of this thread, I have some news that will warm David's heart:

This afternoon I spotted a 98 B-Line bus on Granville with a "Go Lions Go" message on the front.

[David]

:lol: Thanks sj-roc. That's awesome.

And last night, I was listening to CKNW after the game when a guy called up to commiserate with Dan Russell and said "You're not going to agree Dan but at least we have the Lions to look forward to." (to which numbnuts replied ".....or the Vancouver Giants. ).

The guy even concluded the call by saying "I hope Rob Murphy can protect Dave Dickenson again and bring another Cup back to B.C."

DH 8)

[TheLionKing]

Even mid-range guys can be a gamble -- just look at how Montreal crapped out with Samsonov, a guy who most people, myself included, thought would be a good pick-up for them.

He parlayed a good playoff run to a $3.5 million contract. He's a defensive liability and is a perimeter player. I think the Habs are going to buy out his contract if he doesn't get traded first.

[Ravi]

Calgary Flames practically shutdown the entire City when they make a run at Lord Stanley. Will I admire your dedication to strive for more from the Lions, you will never in your lifetime see the equivalent level of celebration for the Lions that you see for the Canucks. I accept that, the sooner you do the less stressed out about a situation that you cannot control will help you as well.

Agreed. I remember the days when the Lions were the media darlings, drawing huge crowds to BC Place and the Canucks were lucky to get 11,000 at the Pacific Coliseum. It wasn't a lifetime ago yet we're not likely to ever see that again. Still, don't you think the pendulum has swung a little too far in the opposite direction?

A first-round NHL playoff series was exciting and all back then, and the city was fully behind its hockey team but, good God, it never reached the absurd proportions of civic boosterism of today when City Councillors wear Canucks jerseys - with their names stitched on the back no less - and wave white towels in the council chambers, the daily newspapers try to outdo each other with local stories on the biggest Canucks fans, the city's only newsradio station breaks into programming with every goal scored.....all for.....Round One.

Sorry to sound like a killjoy. I am happy to for the team and the city. Just upset with the disparity in interest that's all. Our Leos play their butts off, work tirelessly in the community, represent the city and province well and frankly, deserve more.


DH 8)

I have noticed the same things in Toronto over the last quarter century, David. I truly believe that the advent of all-sports radio as well as Sportsnet and, to a lesser extent, The Score, have all boosted hockey fanaticism in this country to a ridiculous level. Twenty years ago, the gap between the CFL and the NHL regarding media coverage wasn't anywhere near what it is today. We weren't bombarded on a daily basis, 365 days per year, with hockey talk as we are today. I truly believe that is why we see the differences that you are talking about today compared to twenty years ago.

[Ravi]

Being born into a family of Canuck STH (at one point, six aunts/uncles/cousins), and seeing family dinners being re-scheduled to accomodate Canucks hockey, makes you a Canuck fan by default. That's not to say I'm any less of a Lions fan, as my parents had season tickets in the high rent district from before I was born up until 1992.

The Canucks history of mediocrity and questionable goaltending has been well-documented and beaten better than most government mules. Needless to say, when Luongo put this team on his back and carried them to the Northwest Division crown, people were definitely geeked up. Then, to see him carry this team past Dallas, was unbelievable. Unfortunately, for us Canuck fans, the only thing Roberto couldn't do was score goals.

The Western Conference is getting so competitive, 100pts would've put you in the 8th and final playoff position, and a date with the Detroit Red Wings in the 1st round. On the flipside, 100pts in the Eastern Conference would've won you the Southeast Division (and the 3rd seed) or in 6th, facing the winner of Southeast Division.

Sure, I got geeked up when the Canucks got by Dallas, but realized after Detroit had beaten Calgary, that the Canucks run was probably gonna end in Rd 2.

Having said all that, the Canucks had an unbelievable year, only to face a clearly superior team in the 2nd round. Now, it's time to turn everyone's attention to the Giants until the Lions start up..........

100 points in the NHL today doesn't have the same meaning as it did 10 or 20 years ago. The NHL gives out points like candy these days.

[OV - 54:40]

Calgary Flames practically shutdown the entire City when they make a run at Lord Stanley. Will I admire your dedication to strive for more from the Lions, you will never in your lifetime see the equivalent level of celebration for the Lions that you see for the Canucks. I accept that, the sooner you do the less stressed out about a situation that you cannot control will help you as well.

Agreed. I remember the days when the Lions were the media darlings, drawing huge crowds to BC Place and the Canucks were lucky to get 11,000 at the Pacific Coliseum. It wasn't a lifetime ago yet we're not likely to ever see that again. Still, don't you think the pendulum has swung a little too far in the opposite direction?

A first-round NHL playoff series was exciting and all back then, and the city was fully behind its hockey team but, good God, it never reached the absurd proportions of civic boosterism of today when City Councillors wear Canucks jerseys - with their names stitched on the back no less - and wave white towels in the council chambers, the daily newspapers try to outdo each other with local stories on the biggest Canucks fans, the city's only newsradio station breaks into programming with every goal scored.....all for.....Round One.

Sorry to sound like a killjoy. I am happy to for the team and the city. Just upset with the disparity in interest that's all. Our Leos play their butts off, work tirelessly in the community, represent the city and province well and frankly, deserve more.


DH 8)

I have noticed the same things in Toronto over the last quarter century, David. I truly believe that the advent of all-sports radio as well as Sportsnet and, to a lesser extent, The Score, have all boosted hockey fanaticism in this country to a ridiculous level. Twenty years ago, the gap between the CFL and the NHL regarding media coverage wasn't anywhere near what it is today. We weren't bombarded on a daily basis, 365 days per year, with hockey talk as we are today. I truly believe that is why we see the differences that you are talking about today compared to twenty years ago.

Bang on Ravi

IMO - the CFL got sold down the river years ago by the sports media in it's own country; different sports landscape now compared to the CFL hey-days of the 60s and 70s - what with all sorts of saturation of all kinds of sports; but the CFL has always been a great and entertaining sport, inspite of all the business issues and league foibles. The CFL used to get plenty of respect and coverage back in a day when the NFL barely rated coverage other than the standings and scores in the daily fishwrap; plus there was CFL news available in the good old Canadian Football News publication (like the Hockey News) - that's long gone, nothing has taken it's place and the media fawning constantly over the NHL plus jumping on whatever flavor of the day, big-time sports are out there, has left the CFL in the dust - not big-time or American/international enough for all the wannabes in the media and the joe average sports fan that they lead around by the nose. Freakin' sad & pathetic IMHO.

It's a long road back for CFL respectibility and maybe some small steps have been taken the last few years, but still aways to go and maybe never/impossible for the CFL to regain the image and respect it once had in Canada. Football IS a Canadian game IMO, but a lot of people up here don't get that and they look down their noses at the CFL because it's only in Canada - pity.

[Shi Zi Mi]

The CFL has to take some of the blame for the "indifference" from the media.

For years the media had to actually WORK to dig up stories about the CFL as the league did next to nothing to help the media. Unlike the NHL that supplies free food and media releases making the media job far easier and much more attractive.

[Soundy]

Agreed... I've seen some pretty chintzy stuff from the CFL, or at least the Lions. One game in particular, I saw an out-of-bounds kick go wild, narrowly miss the cheerleaders, and bounce into the stands... some kids retrieved it, and a couple of field officials *and the mascot* stood below motioning for them to give it back! How cheap can ya get??

[Ravi]

The CFL has to take some of the blame for the "indifference" from the media.

For years the media had to actually WORK to dig up stories about the CFL as the league did next to nothing to help the media. Unlike the NHL that supplies free food and media releases making the media job far easier and much more attractive.

I don't think that explains it all. Back in the 1970s and 1980s, both the CFL and NHL were similar in their poor public relations. Under John Ziegler's leadership, the NHL was as backwards of a league as you could get. Both leagues since the 1990s have improved considerably in their media relations. What has changed though is the amount of sports coverage available in this country with the bulk of the additional coverage going to the NHL.

Sociologist Reginald Bibby surveys Canadians every few years to see what their preferences are relating to pro sports. In his most recent survey, IIRC he found that something like 31% follow the NHL while the CFL was the second most followed pro sports league in this country at 19%. With that in mind, one would expect a bit more NHL media coverage in this country but not the huge gap between the two leagues that we presently see.

[Rammer]

That is a good report to submit to your local radio stations, but I don't think that the blood boiling happens as much with the CFL following. The hockey steam roller has much more in depth coverage and has a grass roots that involve many more players growing up.

Lets face it the media knows what sells, and the NHL is the number one sport by a wide margin in this day and age. I can't ever see that change in our lifetime, but I am very happy with the direction the CFL has taken recently.

[Shi Zi Mi]

There's kind of an egg/chicken situation when it comes to the media and how they utilize their resources.........they say that they report on what people are interested in.......but, the reason people developed an interest in the first place is because they hear about it in the media.

So with the deluge of hockey news permeating the media......in which sports do you think young people would become interested?

[Soundy]

That is a good report to submit to your local radio stations, but I don't think that the blood boiling happens as much with the CFL following. The hockey steam roller has much more in depth coverage and has a grass roots that involve many more players growing up.

I think there's gotta be something of a chicken-and-the-egg situation too... sports-talk radio has to cover what their listeners want to talk about, and if a lot of people are calling in to talk hockey, that's what they'll focus on... The way to change this is for more people to call in and want to talk CFL, but if people have the perception that all the station cares about is hockey, a lot of the CFL fans won't bother to call... and around and around it goes.

Personally, I don't think I've ever heard a host on either of the sports-talk stations in town REFUSE to talk CFL in a call-in segment, unless it's a scheduled segment SPECIFICALLY dedicated to another topic. Anytime I've listened to NW or the Team, if someone calls in wanting to talk Lions, the hosts have been happy to get into talking Lions, regardless of what time of year it is, and it will usually generate some additional discussion from other callers, until someone else calls in and changes the subject.

Like you say, that article would probably be a good thing to send to the stations, since it IS partly up to them as well to initiate the coverage... they just might not realize how large the relative audience is based on their callers' participation.

[nelson95]

Funny how people get all googly about the Canadian beer commercials but will sell out game down the river ina second

[David]

To get back to the original thrust of this thread, I have some news that will warm David's heart:

This afternoon I spotted a 98 B-Line bus on Granville with a "Go Lions Go" message on the front.

....and yesterday my sister reported that the #5 Robson St. bus was also displaying a "Go Lions Go" electronic message.

DH 8)