thanks for all the excellent comments
i agree with one of the final comments about extremely successful people. i've known some billionaires and some guys who made > $10MM per year before they were 40.
i also find that these people hustle like crazy........ why can't they have 100% market share in what they do? why would any client want to do their business with another firm? the idea is insane to them.
if they owned the lions, instead of wondering "why aren't there that many fans of chinese-origin at lions games?". or "why aren't all those people living in apartments/buildings with 5 miles coming to the games much?".... they'd think "why aren't those people coming in droves?".... don't get me wrong, they might be proven wrong too. but i think they'd really try.............
have the lions done stuff with some chinese-origin marketing people/bloggers?... i understand there are many waves of chinese/HK immigration to BC/Vancouver. so somebody who's great great grand-father worked building railway is not the same as someone coming from china today. but i think both these chinese/canadian waves don't fit into the whole "descended from dal richards/jack cullen/red robinson fans" group which is a big portion of the current fan base that comes to watch games at BC Place.... i have lots of friends in the long-term chinese canadians and i went to UBC in 1980s when there were many students from that demographic (and it seemed like very few recent arrivals from HK)
i also agree with one comment about argos and toronto......... the ratio of "CFL/argos fans" to actual attendance is massive... places like sask, winnipeg (or even lincoln nebraska and the cornhuskers) that ratio is much much lower............ i think there is alot of interest in CFL in toronto. just doesn't translate to actual attendance............
i could also write a 500 page book on leafs fan base vs. raptors fan base (i mean ardent fans. most people in toronto are somewhat interested in both).......
raptors are funny in that they had rabid fan interest and good attendance and great arena experience through many years of poor play, but it never showed up in TV ratings and ultimately TV revenue. i could never understand it. of course, not sure that many NBA teams have good local/regional TV contracts (it is very top-heavy, i.e. lakers, knicks.... huge markets)