Lions in the local media (REVIVED thread 6-10-20)

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Hambone
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sj-roc wrote:Hello, what's this?

From Vancitybuzz: "Real Football Returns": BC Lions get cheeky with Whitecaps

The commuter freebie 24hrs also had a column: Lions ‘Real Football’ banner nothing personal

Odd I couldn't find anything about this on the Sun and Province websites.

Interesting way for the Lions to make a bit of a splash; it got some folks talking on social media the last few days.
Brilliant is all I can say. I'm a bit disappointed in the lack of acknowledgement about how well the Lions seem to be using social media and their own website as a marketing tool. Constant articles and videos, regular updates via email and social media, Baker's articles, the teasers on the new uniforms etc, and of course those cheeky Valentine's Day cards the Lions tweeted out to the rest of the CFL. I think they've been nailing it this offseason.

There always seems to be the criticism about lack of a presence in the two dailys but in the new millennium for lack of a better term mainstream print media as we knew it 10, 20 and 30 years ago is yesterday's news as a marketing tool. I don't spend much time in Vancouver other than to come down for football or hockey games or concerts so I have to ask what has a better chance of being read by the millennial demographic the Lions desperately need to capture? The Sun or Province they need to shell out $1.50 or $2.00 for? Or the commuter freebies I've seen being handed out all over the place or that seem to be available in every coffee shop etc? The way bloggers and others follow social media such as twitter and in turn retweet it or reference it in their online work I think the Lions can get infinitely more bang for their dollar/effort by creatively using social media or other creative means like the cheeky "Real Football returns" banners than they will get out of spending thousands and thousands of dollars to buy ad space in the Sun or Province. Be creative, get the message out there and others will take care of propogating it across cyberspace for you.
Last edited by Hambone on Thu May 05, 2016 10:40 am, edited 1 time in total.
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Hambone
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SammyGreene wrote:Lenarduzzi had no problem with it and so he shouldn't.
I had a chuckle.The fact Dennis reached out let us view it as a way that gets people talking.No ill will from us
Last time I checked it was called Major League Soccer. It was actually one of the Whitecaps radio show guys who suggested it was a cheap shot and stirred up the Caps fans who already have an inferiority complex about their league with aging stars that is ranked 30th in the world or whatever.
Obviously both sides are taking it for what it is. Bottom line is it sounds like it's getting the desired effect by creating some debate and buzz in the market that has to benefit BOTH teams.
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maxlion
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I grew up pretending to be Swervyn' Mervyn and Roy Dewalt in the playground and still enjoy watching and following CFL football more than any other sport. However, I would say that, compared to soccer, and regardless of what happens with the Whitecaps and MLIS, the future of football is dim.

First reason is globalization. Soccer is a global sport. Football is not and never will be due to the specialized equipment and complex rules. As the world becomes more and more globalized, soccer will continue to extend its reach while football will shrink.

Second reason is concussions. No responsible parent should allow their kids to play competitive football or contact hockey. Hockey could grow into a non-contact sport. Football can't. I don't care to watch soccer live or on TV, but my son is enrolled in minor soccer and will not be playing hockey or football.

I expect to see a major decline in interest in football over the next couple of generations, and will not be at all surprised to see interest in soccer significantly surpass football in the near future. Just my 2 cents from a lifelong Lions fan!
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maxlion wrote:I grew up pretending to be Swervyn' Mervyn and Roy Dewalt in the playground and still enjoy watching and following CFL football more than any other sport. However, I would say that, compared to soccer, and regardless of what happens with the Whitecaps and MLIS, the future of football is dim.

First reason is globalization. Soccer is a global sport. Football is not and never will be due to the specialized equipment and complex rules. As the world becomes more and more globalized, soccer will continue to extend its reach while football will shrink.

Second reason is concussions. No responsible parent should allow their kids to play competitive football or contact hockey. Hockey could grow into a non-contact sport. Football can't. I don't care to watch soccer live or on TV, but my son is enrolled in minor soccer and will not be playing hockey or football.

I expect to see a major decline in interest in football over the next couple of generations, and will not be at all surprised to see interest in soccer significantly surpass football in the near future. Just my 2 cents from a lifelong Lions fan!
I would love the watch the pros playing flag or touch football of some kind.
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maxlion wrote:
Second reason is concussions. No responsible parent should allow their kids to play competitive football or contact hockey. Hockey could grow into a non-contact sport. Football can't. I don't care to watch soccer live or on TV, but my son is enrolled in minor soccer and will not be playing hockey or football.
!
Thats the dumbest comment ever. It up to each parent to decide what level of contact is acceptable for their kids.
If you have an elite kid that might play professionally, i don't see any issue with putting you kid in contact hockey or football. Contact hockey is designed for kids that want/will to play PRO hockey. Same with football. Fall is contact season and spring is flag season. Its up to you as a parent.
If you son likes contact and plays at an acceptable level so he has the technique is good, I don't see any issue as well.
If your son likes hockey and but is only going to play beer league, he doesn't need to learn contact.
If you have a nose-picker, i'd stick to soccer and chess.

You can play non-contract hockey all the way up to 18yrs old if you want. Beer league as long as you want as an adult
You can play 5v5 spring flag football all the way up to 18yrs as well. 7v7 touch for as many years as you want as an adult.
you can be skinny or fat, athelete or nose-picker, slow or fast to play any of these sports --- its all house league.
Why deny your kid the love of sports that you like as well.
Last edited by Qman on Thu May 05, 2016 1:52 pm, edited 4 times in total.
TheLionKing
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maxlion
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Qman wrote:
maxlion wrote:
Second reason is concussions. No responsible parent should allow their kids to play competitive football or contact hockey. Hockey could grow into a non-contact sport. Football can't. I don't care to watch soccer live or on TV, but my son is enrolled in minor soccer and will not be playing hockey or football.
!
Thats the dumbest comment ever. It up to each parent to decide what level of contact is acceptable for their kids.
If you have an elite kid that might play professionally, i don't see any issue with putting you kid in contact hockey or football. Contact hockey is designed for kids that want/will to play PRO hockey. Same with football. Fall is contact season and spring is flag season. Its up to you as a parent.
If you son likes contact and plays at an acceptable level so he has the technique is good, I don't see any issue as well.
If your son likes hockey and but is only going to play beer league, he doesn't need to learn contact.
If you have a nose-picker, i'd stick to soccer and chess.

You can play non-contract hockey all the way up to 18yrs old if you want. Beer league as long as you want as an adult
You can play 5v5 spring flag football all the way up to 18yrs as well. 7v7 touch for as many years as you want as an adult.
you can be skinny or fat, athelete or nose-picker, slow or fast to play any of these sports --- its all house league.
Why deny your kid the love of sports that you like as well.
My statement was in regards to competitive leagues, the kind that lead to the professional forms of the sport that we see on TV and that are under discussion here. Nothing wrong with flag football or rec hockey. Lots of research by leading brain scientists showing considerable risk/damage to brains through participation in contact sports. Do a little research and see who's the dummy.
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Soccer balls bouncing off players' head, players' head smacking other players' head could also lead to concussions.
maxlion
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Concussion risk in soccer is considerably lower than in football or hockey, but still not an insignificant risk. Football has the highest rates among major sports by far, and this will definitely impact its popularity in a major way as people become more aware of the risks. It's already happening, just hasn't fully impacted the way that sports consumers watch yet.
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WestCoastJoe
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maxlion wrote:Hockey could grow into a non-contact sport. Football can't.
I share your view on the risks of football and its history of concussions.

It evolved into the sport we see today. Helmets used to made of leather. They were not weapons. As with rugby, football could be played without helmets, or it could be played with soft leather ones. It could be made illegal to tackle by leading with the head.

Still loads of contact. Passing. Running. Tackling. Line play.

Taking out the knees of D Linemen used to commonplace and allowed. Rollups by DL on the legs of QBs used to happen a lot.

The head shots are primarily what this fan could live without. They cause concussions and, in extreme cases, paralysis.

I will always love football. I do have concerns about its future.

Just IMO. Others that love it the way it is, will see it differently. No argument from me.
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maxlion
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WestCoastJoe wrote:
It evolved into the sport we see today. Helmets used to made of leather. They were not weapons. As with rugby, football could be played without helmets, or it could be played with soft leather ones. It could be made illegal to tackle by leading with the head.

Still loads of contact. Passing. Running. Tackling. Line play.

Taking out the knees of D Linemen used to commonplace and allowed. Rollups by DL on the legs of QBs used to happen a lot.

The head shots are primarily what this fan could live without. They cause concussions and, in extreme cases, paralysis.
Lots of good points. I recall when Elimimian came into the league, he was feared as a big hitter. He deliberately changed his approach and evolved more into a highly efficient and technical tackler rather than a dangerous hitter.
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Lions4ever
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TheLionKing wrote:Soccer balls bouncing off players' head, players' head smacking other players' head could also lead to concussions.
I saw one of those Real Sports with Bryant Gumbel reports on incidence of ALS in sports. Apparently ALS arises in soccer from heading the ball,which surprised me but is apparently the case.
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Qman wrote:
maxlion wrote:
Second reason is concussions. No responsible parent should allow their kids to play competitive football or contact hockey. Hockey could grow into a non-contact sport. Football can't. I don't care to watch soccer live or on TV, but my son is enrolled in minor soccer and will not be playing hockey or football.
!
Thats the dumbest comment ever. It up to each parent to decide what level of contact is acceptable for their kids.
If you have an elite kid that might play professionally, i don't see any issue with putting you kid in contact hockey or football. Contact hockey is designed for kids that want/will to play PRO hockey. Same with football. Fall is contact season and spring is flag season. Its up to you as a parent.
If you son likes contact and plays at an acceptable level so he has the technique is good, I don't see any issue as well.
If your son likes hockey and but is only going to play beer league, he doesn't need to learn contact.
If you have a nose-picker, i'd stick to soccer and chess.

You can play non-contract hockey all the way up to 18yrs old if you want. Beer league as long as you want as an adult
You can play 5v5 spring flag football all the way up to 18yrs as well. 7v7 touch for as many years as you want as an adult.
you can be skinny or fat, athelete or nose-picker, slow or fast to play any of these sports --- its all house league.
Why deny your kid the love of sports that you like as well.

Actually, I don't think it is the dumbest comment ever. Ideas take root in a society and we then alter behaviour and laws accordingly. One of those ideas is that concussions are a serious risk to health, particularly in the case of children and young adults whose brains are still developing (ie, into their mid 20s). I don't have kids, but if I did I wouldn't let them play contact sports --based purely on the scientific evidence. That I played contact sports without (apparent) ill-effect is immaterial. We know more now than we did then, and the tide of public opinion is beginning to turn against contact sports. Just like it did for things like spanking, kids buying cigarettes (who else remembers being sent down to the corner store to buy a pack for some adult?), bullying, unsupervised activity, bike helmets, artificial sweeteners, lead paint, corporal punishment in schools, kid's boxing, toy guns, let alone firearms: (anyone else here old enough to have been given a .22 for Christmas?) etc. In thirty years I imagine admitting you lament being unable to watch your kids play contact sports will be akin to admitting you let your kids smoke on special occasions today. And just as in the vast majority of these issues I've listed, the issue of what's permitted will be decided by the state, not individual parents.

What's more, I can see football in particular being dropped from high schools because it's expensive both in terms of equipment and insurance, and we now know it's doing damage to the brains of the boys who play it. One major lawsuit and school boards, who are already squeezed financially, will cancel programs. All it took to drive boxing and gymnastics programs out of schools in the late 60's and 70's was a few accidents. Imagine what a scientific study (conducted by "nose-pickers" who went on to do doctorates in fields like neurology) examining the effects of high-school football on boys' brains would do to public opinion. (As a side note, I may be incorrect, but I believe that none of the public high schools in Vancouver-proper have football programs, and this district is notoriously pinched for funds; I'd expect to see similar patterns shift eastward in the lower mainland as demographics & attitudes toward how we should allocate school dollars change).

As to playing non-contact versions of these sports, the question is, "why bother?" Soccer is just as competitive as football with none (or far fewer) of the negative attributes. Baseball/softball is the same. Basketball. Volleyball. Cycling. Hiking. Golf. Racquet sports. Swimming. Who needs football & hockey? They're both hugely expensive sports (in terms of individual equipment and facilities) and dangerous. Who needs them?

Much as I love watching the CFL (and wouldn't FNF have been awesome last night?) I think we're fans of a dying sport. C'est la vie.

Cheers,

James
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