Lionbackers.com

Maybe we can petition TSN to do an hour on the fans of the 7 OTHER teams, I know God's team deserves a full hour but maybe the rest of us could get an hour all together. With all due respect there are OTHER fanbases in this league that are just as passionate about their team......heck there are even Lion fans that live outside of BC, I know hard to contemplate but it is true.

lion24 wrote:Maybe we can petition TSN to do an hour on the fans of the 7 OTHER teams, I know God's team deserves a full hour but maybe the rest of us could get an hour all together. With all due respect there are OTHER fanbases in this league that are just as passionate about their team......heck there are even Lion fans that live outside of BC, I know hard to contemplate but it is true.

Yeah, but none of those other teams have ever lost a Grey Cup in such a brain-fartingly fashion — which they covered in agonising detail as an extended metaphor for the inherent tragedy of their fanhood — let alone following it up by losing another one to a cancer patient. Gotta throw 'em some sort of bone, know what I mean?

Yeah, I found much of the show to be pretty nauseating. Rider support has been vastly overstated across the country to the point that it's taken a mythology all of its own. If you were to believe some of the reports out of the media, there have been more than 50,000 fans cheering for the Riders when they come to BC Place for playoff games. Those of us in attendance know that this is so far from the truth it is comical.

If you want to separate myth from reality, the Riders are one of the least successful franchises in all of sports. Yeah, they suffered a gut punch of a Grey Cup loss. So what? Every team has one of those. I actually found myself laughing at the plight of their fans more than I did in marveling at it.

Obviously I didn't get to see the documentary... but I can see how it makes a compelling story, and ultimately a good documentary has to be driven by story. I spent 10 years in Saskatchewan so I get what the Riders mean to the province. I can't fault TSN for wanting to make this documentary. I don't take it as a disrespect to fans of any other team. If I was TSN and someone pitched me on the "13th Man" story, I would green-light it. Now until I actually get to see it (downloads or torrents anyone?) I can't comment if the filmmakers actually told a compelling story or not.

The truth of the matter is the term 13thman was popularized by the website 13thman.com in 2002 and a couple years later (2004?) the Riders grabbed the term and ran with it.

As the owner of 13thman.com I was contacted about this documentary. When I told them 13thman wasn't just about Rider Fans but fans of all the teams they didn't seem to want to hear about it and that was the last I heard of them. Why let the facts get in the way of a good story

Seems to me that many forget that it wasn't that long ago the Riders almost lost there team and had to do pledge drives to keep them from becoming extinct. Good on the Riders fans and front office they have come a long way since those days but if I was to anoint a teams fans as the best in the league I would have to say the Eskimos have the best fans as they continue to have the best attendance.

D wrote:...if I was to anoint a teams fans as the best in the league I would have to say the Eskimos have the best fans as they continue to have the best attendance.

Yeah, but they've won so many Cups it would be tough to wring the starving artist type of narrative out of it that they were clearly going for. The best they could manage would probably be the 1977 Staple Bowl and Flutie's missed fumble in 1996.

Overall, I thought "the 13th man" was pretty good. They did mention the need for fund raising in the past, the manure on McCallum's driveway after the missed WDF field goal, and that initially it was a factor in not identifying the player who was on the field when he shouldn't have been. They spent a bit too much time interviewing the hair dresser customer and hotel chamber maid but that is nit picking imo. I loved the young guy who admitted it is kinda embarrassing but the truth is the Riders is all we got.

jcalhoun wrote:
I think the best fans in the league are in Toronto. There aren't that many, but just imagine how tough it is to be an Argo fan. Not only the poor record they've had over the last decade, but just being constantly shunted aside by the NHL/MLB/NBA. Imagine having to justify your choice to cheer for a team and a league to cocky Torontonians nursed on marketing and 'big league' attitudes. They're trying to keep a spark alive there, and I find that far more admirable than what has transpired in Regina.

well then using your criteria, James, I would say the best CFL fans are actually in Baltimore. They haven't even had a team for nearly 20 years but there are still a few CFLers/Stallions fans out there!

I suspect other teams fans hate the Canucks because they have been winning a lot of games James,no one hates a loser, except maybe that teams own fans. Prior to the Canucks success no one seemed to care outside of Vancouver. The Riders on the other hand became everyone's second favourite for many years as lovable losers. Guys who kept trying regardless of being behind the eight ball and fans who supported them through thick and thin and were for the most part a fun group. I find the Internet has spawned a lot of negative reaction in recent years. A few fans from every team can skew the perception of a whole fan base with their nasty comments as can the trolled responses. I think this for the most part has really contributed to polarization, people post crap on the Internet that they would never say in public or if they were held accountable. Sadly it seems that some fans feel that in order to build up their team they need to tear down someone else's and the Internet is the tool of choice.

jcalhoun wrote:Ah, D. Nice post.

Edmonton does have great fans, but when you go to the playoffs every year for what, thirty straight years (?) I'm sure a large section of the fanbase just simply doesn't believe those days are behind them. "Miss the playoffs? Surely you jest..."

I think the best fans in the league are in Toronto. There aren't that many, but just imagine how tough it is to be an Argo fan. Not only the poor record they've had over the last decade, but just being constantly shunted aside by the NHL/MLB/NBA. Imagine having to justify your choice to cheer for a team and a league to cocky Torontonians nursed on marketing and 'big league' attitudes. They're trying to keep a spark alive there, and I find that far more admirable than what has transpired in Regina.

I'm not interested in hockey, but I get the impression Canuck fans are viewed around the NHL the way seven other teams view Rider fans. Any truth to that?

Cheers,

James

Speaking of the Canucks, the following — I'm copying it verbatim — appeared in the "On This Day" feature on the Diversions page of today's National Post:

Oct. 9, 1970 The Vancouver Canucks played their first NHL game, losing 3-1 to the Los Angeles Kings. Though the game was played nine years before his birth, fans immediately blamed the loss on goaltender Roberto Luongo. To learn more, visit the Historica-Dominion Institute at historica-dominion.ca

ziggy wrote:I suspect other teams fans hate the Canucks because they have been winning a lot of games James,no one hates a loser, except maybe that teams own fans. Prior to the Canucks success no one seemed to care outside of Vancouver. The Riders on the other hand became everyone's second favourite for many years as lovable losers. Guys who kept trying regardless of being behind the eight ball and fans who supported them through thick and thin and were for the most part a fun group. I find the Internet has spawned a lot of negative reaction in recent years. A few fans from every team can skew the perception of a whole fan base with their nasty comments as can the trolled responses. I think this for the most part has really contributed to polarization, people post crap on the Internet that they would never say in public or if they were held accountable. Sadly it seems that some fans feel that in order to build up their team they need to tear down someone else's and the Internet is the tool of choice.

That was certainly my point of view. Lions were (ARE!) my favourite but until recently Riders were my second for the reasons you mentioned. Then with the complaints of 'piped in noise' and the kinds of comments you describe, ziggy, the Riders are now my least favourite football team, except for two similar NFL teams, the Steelers/Packers. I didn't catch all of the film but what I did see I enjoyed. I didn't agree with McCallum who pretty much said the Al's didn't win it the Riders lost it. I know what he's getting at but it was quite a comeback to even make that penalty a possibility.

Deep down I love all CFL teams because I recognize my Lions would not be around without other teams to play. I'm glad Ottawa is coming back. I want the Bombers in the Western Division. In some ways I am jealous of Riderfans because there is no NHL or MLS playing games that DIRECTLY compete with the CFL. And of course its not that hard to get to go to an NFL or NBA or MLB game for lots of us either.

I had a few laughs at one Riderfan during yesterdays Argo/Rider game. He wore a large pumpkin with an S carved into it. Guess watermelons were sold out or he's colour blind. I am colour blind but I can tell the difference between Green and Orange.....

this doc series should have featured each team for an episode, i'm sure ech team has enough history to make up a good 60 min. doc.

dtrain wrote:this doc series should have featured each team for an episode, i'm sure ech team has enough history to make up a good 60 min. doc.

It's been done already, hasn't it? Apparently they wanted to take a less linear approach this time.