Who Would You Like to See Advance to the GC, and Who Will?

[TheLionKing]

How about if Toronto wins, the Hamilton mayor wears an Argo jersey for the day. If Hamilton wins, Rob Ford resigns from office. Sounds like a reasonable wager to me. Win win all around.

[notahomer]

How about if Toronto wins, the Hamilton mayor wears an Argo jersey for the day. If Hamilton wins, Rob Ford resigns from office. Sounds like a reasonable wager to me. Win win all around.

There are some diehard Argo fans who might cheer the Tabbies if thats the bet......

And there are some diehard Ford fans that would be upset if the Tabbies win!!!

But, IMO, sounds like a great bet.........

[notahomer]

I took some looks at Riderfans before the Stamps/Riders big game late in the season and again this week. There is a 'TINY' minority of Riderfans that refer to McMahon Stadium as McWoman Stadium. Don't get it, think its a stretch at best.

There are put down nicknames that one could easily come up with that start with an M and end with a C for a stadium called Mosaic. As far as put down names for stadiums, my favourite is, and probably always will be, the Big Owe, in Montreal.......

During the East Final, it sounded like the Ticat fans were the louder of the two fan-bases. At one point the cameras broke away in the action. It looked like somebody may have thrown a drink at Mayor Ford. If so, he handled the situation well (for a change ). Lots of Ticat fans around him, shaking his hand.

[David]

It should be noted that last year's West Final between BC and Calgary drew 43,216 (of which upwards of 98% were Lions fans), which I recall brought about considerable hand-wringing about how it should have been at least 50,000 and why weren't there more, doesn't anyone care etc.

But fast forward to 2013 - where they had the same 2 weeks to sell the game - and there were 35,418 at Rogers Center (where anywhere from 10,000-15,000 came to support the other team), and 33,174 in Calgary (of which another 10,000 or so were dressed in green). I realize one is soft CFL market and the other was played in bone-chilling cold, but I do think we tend to be a little self-critical at times and set unrealistic expectations. Sure, 150 miles down the down the I-5 they can attract 67,000 frenzied fans on a regular basis even when U-Dub played the day before before 70,000, but going to the Seahawk game yesterday made me realize it's a completely different culture down there, despite being so close geographically.

The Lions' bar tends to be set by stadium capacity rather than what happens in other CFL markets. Yes, Montreal drew 50,000 for the East Final last year, but it's also a 1 game novelty for them (with cheaper lower end ticket prices IIRC).


DH

[Coast Mountain Lion]

There are put down nicknames that one could easily come up with that start with an M and end with a C for a stadium called Mosaic. As far as put down names for stadiums, my favourite is, and probably always will be, the Big Owe, in Montreal.......

In poorer Argo years, I always liked "Never Win" stadium where, as bad as the Tabbies got, they could still usually beat the Bottomless Boatmen (which is also one of my favourite putdown names).

[B.C.FAN]

It should be noted that last year's West Final between BC and Calgary drew 43,216 (of which upwards of 98% were Lions fans), which I recall brought about considerable hand-wringing about how it should have been at least 50,000 and why weren't there more, doesn't anyone care etc.

But fast forward to 2013 - where they had the same 2 weeks to sell the game - and there were 35,418 at Rogers Center (where anywhere from 10,000-15,000 came to support the other team), and 33,174 in Calgary (of which another 10,000 or so were dressed in green). I realize one is soft CFL market and the other was played in bone-chilling cold, but I do think we tend to be a little self-critical at times and set unrealistic expectations. Sure, 150 miles down the down the I-5 they can attract 67,000 frenzied fans on a regular basis even when U-Dub played the day before before 70,000, but going to the Seahawk game yesterday made me realize it's a completely different culture down there, despite being so close geographically.

The Lions' bar tends to be set by stadium capacity rather than what happens in other CFL markets. Yes, Montreal drew 50,000 for the East Final last year, but it's also a 1 game novelty for them (with cheaper lower end ticket prices IIRC).


DH

And the Riders drew a season-low crowd of 30,942 for their WSF win over the Lions. Vancouver fans are drawn to big events. Having an indoor stadium with a big capacity is a huge bonus at this time of year. Even hardy football fans on the Prairies stay away if the weather is unpleasant.

[sj-roc]

It should be noted that last year's West Final between BC and Calgary drew 43,216 (of which upwards of 98% were Lions fans), which I recall brought about considerable hand-wringing about how it should have been at least 50,000 and why weren't there more, doesn't anyone care etc.

But fast forward to 2013 - where they had the same 2 weeks to sell the game - and there were 35,418 at Rogers Center (where anywhere from 10,000-15,000 came to support the other team), and 33,174 in Calgary (of which another 10,000 or so were dressed in green). I realize one is soft CFL market and the other was played in bone-chilling cold, but I do think we tend to be a little self-critical at times and set unrealistic expectations. Sure, 150 miles down the down the I-5 they can attract 67,000 frenzied fans on a regular basis even when U-Dub played the day before before 70,000, but going to the Seahawk game yesterday made me realize it's a completely different culture down there, despite being so close geographically.

The Lions' bar tends to be set by stadium capacity rather than what happens in other CFL markets. Yes, Montreal drew 50,000 for the East Final last year, but it's also a 1 game novelty for them (with cheaper lower end ticket prices IIRC).


DH

And the Riders drew a season-low crowd of 30,942 for their WSF win over the Lions. Vancouver fans are drawn to big events. Having an indoor stadium with a big capacity is a huge bonus at this time of year. Even hardy football fans on the Prairies stay away if the weather is unpleasant.

Especially when there's no blackout.

[Lions4ever]

Sure, 150 miles down the down the I-5 they can attract 67,000 frenzied fans on a regular basis even when U-Dub played the day before before 70,000, but going to the Seahawk game yesterday made me realize it's a completely different culture down there, despite being so close geographically.
DH

You're right about that David. I was at the Vikings/Seahawks game as well. By the time our hotel shuttle dropped us in SoDo at 10:30 a.m. there was absolutely no place to find a seat at a bar or resto for many, many blocks. The Triangle, Elysian Fields, FX McRory's, Kings, the Lodge, McCoy's Firehouse, Fuel, Henry's, The Hawk's Nest, Sluggers, you name it. Packed shoulder to shoulder. And it's almost not good enough anymore just to throw on a Seahawks t-shirt and cap you grabbed at Fred Meyer or QFC. You need to go full-on official or high quality replica jersey. Conversely, at Lions games, yes there are some jerseys and team gear being worn, of course, but many people show up dressed like they're going to the store or down to SBux for a coffee. But I guess at least they're there. And I don't find it a big problem to find a seat somewhere to pregame before a Lions game.

Another example of the culture difference: Back on September 28 the Huskies played Arizona at Husky Stadium and Washington State played Stanford at CenturyLink the same afternoon. Combined attendance: almost 106,000.

[Ballistic Bob]

And i heard they stand at Husky games the entire time Offense and Defense. Id like to see that at the Lions game especially the visitors side. BB