Lionbackers.com

Here's a link to a Province article from Feb 16 about Duron Carter. Indicates he was seriously interested in heading to the Lions even before Reilly's signing made it all the more inviting, stemming from conversations he'd had with Ed last year -- "We'll always want you here in B.C." And so here he is. Interesting points made, comparing situations and the maturing processes with other one-time Leos such as the young Manny and Arland Bruce. I don't worry about Carter. The way I see it, he's in good steadying company with the likes of Ed, Coach Claybrooks, Mike R., and Burnham around him. He's got every reason to excel, and he likely knows it. And if for some reason things get strange, it'll be straightened out pronto -- one way or another. For sure worth a try. I'm looking forward to being amazed by on-field results (and perhaps by his community involvement too). And if I have to roll my eyes every once in a while, so be it. No hardship for me. https://theprovince.com/sports/football ... how-coming

David wrote: ↑

Sat Feb 16, 2019 12:14 am

It is hard to quantify what Mike Reilly's signing will mean at the gate. But it's tweets like this one today that give me optimism that things will stabilize here in B.C. Even a 10% spike in attendance (22,000 average....I believe very attainable) will give the building a better atmosphere. Some will buy tickets due to Mike's signing, others will take a "wait and see" approach for what kind of start we get out to, but we're definitely on the right track.




DH

DH

That's a great sign the story and narrative about the team are changing as rightly or wrongly it was getting stale - and all this despite the ownership not changing.

There are times when coaches lose jobs not because anyone else would have won more with the team and players and injuries but because they need to give a coach up for the fan base and its morale.

Nice article from Matt Baker on the Lions' site regards rightly-excited hometown guy -- Lemar Durant (Grey Cup Outstanding Canadian) who very nicely further fills out our National roster at receiver. As he puts it, and is regularly said, Mike R. makes good players around him better. https://www.bclions.com/2019/02/20/grey ... ood-dream/

Another interesting article from the Province from a handful of days ago (I'm slow on the pick up, admittedly haven't paid much attention to that publication in a while). Burnham and Carter have been chuckling about Mike R.'s messages to them -- into X's and O's already. lol
https://theprovince.com/sports/football ... his-passes

AS a long , long ,long time Leo s fan it s nice to here the buzz about the team again. Yes I d agree things had gotten stale, and a shot in the am was needed and man did we ever get one. I can t think of better player or person than Mike Reilly to lead the team both on and off thefield.

Lions have signed Mack Weaver, a DL.

New to the CFL.

6'5'' 255 lbs, 23 y/o

https://www.bclions.com/players/mack-weaver/163895/

Re: fan resurgence. I'll believe it when I see more butts in the seats. Every year we hear the same thing from the Lions

TheLionKing wrote: ↑

Thu Feb 21, 2019 11:28 pm

Re: fan resurgence. I'll believe it when I see more butts in the seats. Every year we hear the same thing from the Lions

Rome wasn't built in a day nor will renewed interest in the Lions. As one of the new ownership of the Argos said (can't remember if it was Tannenbaum or who) "We'll have to win them back one fan at a time, one season ticket holder at a time". It was recognition that it will take time. If the Lions can realize a modest average increase in the 10% range they can feel they are heading in the right direction. Nobody should expect the upper bowl to reopen anytime soon.

Even on the ownership change we saw first hand here in Prince George when the Cougars were sold by Rick Brodsky to a local group that included Eric Brewer and Dan Hamhuis with small stakes. The market was sour on Brodsky with many who rarely missed a game in the late 90s when the team was new in town vowing to never return as long as he owned them. Aside from a few squeaky wheels similar disdain towards Braley is minimal in the Lions market. Funny thing though when the new owners took over about in 2014 while there was a definite bump in attendance for the first year things have faded back to where they were prior to the sale. A lot of folks who complained about the previous owner didn't put their money where their mouths had been once the new regime took over. A big part of that was due to some questionable decisions by the new owners in terms of marketing and price structure. In trying to change the pricing structure they wound up alienating many long time season ticket holders.

Hambone wrote: ↑

Fri Feb 22, 2019 12:28 pm

If the Lions can realize a modest average increase in the 10% range they can feel they are heading in the right direction. Nobody should expect the upper bowl to reopen anytime soon.

This is where I am coming from too, Hambone. I am predicting about a 10% jump IF Reilly captures casual fans' attention, the club plays exciting football (i.e. pushes the ball downfield, sustains drives, scores points), and we have a pretty good win-loss record.

That would give the Lions an average of 22,000 fans a game which doesn't sound like much, but is (I believe) a realistic target from where things have been. This would mean some games would be in the 24,000-25,000 range like Riders and probably the Esks which will give BC Place plenty of energy and a rockin' environment. Eastern teams though will likely still be a tough draw.


DH

its gonna really tick me off if the lions do not make every effort to have the best o-line possible and Reilly ends up taking one too many hits because of it.

It's fair to say that coaches, ownership etc. can do all things right but still wear out a welcome. The same old, same old, is never good for ticket sales unless you have a situation somewhat like the Canadians did of yesteryear where they kept winning cups with regularity or now the Patriots. Change is not always good but sometimes required just to keep fan interest up. We may have a whole new era of mediocre coming but for the time being, it will be different. Curiosity will spur interest and sales and will likely buy 2-3 years of tolerance of average on field performances. If they can managed to snag a cup or two in that time, then the clock slows down. If not, expect the slow downward spiral once again.

KnowItAll wrote: ↑

Sat Feb 23, 2019 1:02 pm

its gonna really tick me off if the lions do not make every effort to have the best o-line possible and Reilly ends up taking one too many hits because of it.

Getting more physical on the offensive line has been one of Hervey's oft-stated priorities. He signed Chungh for that purpose and re-signed Figueroa and Steward. Those are three top-notch starters. The Lions appear to be moving on from Husband, Olafioye and Foucault but haven't said who will replace them. Could Husband and Olafioye be re-signed at a decent price if they are healthy? Godber, Knevel, Vaillancourt and Peirson have potential but I don't know if they have shown that they can be regular starters. Antonio Johnson is still on the roster.

No matter how big of a role sports play in my life, it's one of the things that always make me sad: players are sold and bought like commodities for ridiculously high prices. It's especially shocking when you're from Eastern Europe where salaries and the price of everything are lower, $2.9 million will feed a big family for their entire lifetime, including health expenses for the grandparents and expensive colleges for the kids.
I mean, even in North America or Western Europe it's still something non-negligible, $2.9 million will buy a big apartment in Paris, which is one of the most expensive cities in the world.

It is still an uphill climb (possibly scaling a cliff), but the Riley signing is the best they could have possibly done for fan attention outside of a well known NFL name. Riley is one of the best in the league, well known, and is "ours" in that he started his career here.