McLetchie wrote:I'm going to regret writing this because I usually do end up regretting anything I write on this site, but my back gets a bit rigid at some of the comments made.
I'm not really sure why people seem to think our stations will start simply forgetting about the Lions. If you've noticed, the move to 1410am has been made and was known about last week.
And this week, we've had Brent Johnson, Geroy Simon, Ricky Foley, Anton McKenzie, Wally Buono (twice), and George Chayka on. Each of those interviews was replayed at least once.
In a similar vein, Giulio has had a couple hits, and TSN's Glen Suitor, Chris Schultz, and Duane Forde have all joined the station.
Meanwhile our three shows have had plenty of discussion between the hosts about the Lions, with the exception of 11am-1:00pm, which is earmarked as the Canucks lunch.
We have updates twice an hour that have Lions news and notes in them. Our website has easy access to Lions stories and interviews, as does the Lions team page.
I'm pretty sure no other station in Vancouver has had coverage that extensive, and I'll leave it at that.
Iain
Firstly, I hope you don't regret it. People here are interested in how these decisions get made and it is good of you to come on and address it. Concerns from a fan group who has just seen their games moved off the primary sports station in Vancouver to one whose last business model wasn't sustainable is completely natural. Part of those concerns stem from the fact that 1040 has been devoting more time and resources to the Lions in recent years. Anything that has the appearance of a reversal of that trend (whether fact or fiction) is going to raise questions, concerns and opinions. The fact that this change couldn't be made in the off season doesn't help. The hasty stroke is often misdirected and this looks quite sudden.
As to the amount of coverage. Is it more sensible to bring this up right now or simply wait and see what happens and then protest? Some prefer option A, some prefer option B. If you see a large truck coming down the road, does it make sense to wait till it is really close before deciding it might hit you or does it make more sense to move a little further out of the way early on as a preemptive measure? I mean if CHUM moves the game broadcasts today, what else might be changed tomorrow? I would much rather your awareness of fan base concern early on than the contrary.
Opinions are formed, reformed and even abandoned in the face of more information. Would you have addressed this here if no one had uttered a peep? Your own statements suggest not. The fact that this thread exists says that people are listening, are caring and in fact were pretty happy with Team1040 and their coverage of the Lions. If they weren't, no one would have uttered the aforementioned peep, they might even of been happy. And contrary to some suggestion (not yours) that people are being irrational, it is anything but. There are those who might think otherwise but that is their concern.
And to answer the question about why some might be uneasy about the memories of 1040 and the Lions. It maybe has something to do with the fact that when both Canucks and Lions happened to be playing on the same day, it was always the Lions that got moved. That despite the fact that the Canucks might be playing a relatively meaningless game, 2 weeks into the season and that the Lions might be playing in a game that would decide whether or not they make the playoffs. None of us are fools, we recognize that the Canucks are the big money franchise in this town and that CHUM exists to make money. However, that doesn't preclude us Lions fans from trying and struggling to make sure that the Lions get their due too.
Tell me how long must a fan be strong? Ans. Always.