[calgaryrocks]

Originally Posted by rubecube

I don't think the Super Bowl is a good indicator of hype. The NFL is obviously going to make a spectacle out of their championship game. Every sport does that. I agree that some of it is pretty over the top, but most people I know hate that part of it. However, everything else in the above paragraph could just as easily be applied to the Grey Cup.

Ok, I agree, but as others have mentioned the Grey Cup has a different feel to it, a better feel in my opinion. I was using the superbowl as an example of NFL hype, but you are right it is different in the regular season, although I don't think it's that different

Okay, but is gambling part of the hype or a by-product of the quality of the game? I like hockey, but I don't gamble on it because I'm not interested in watching games that the Flames aren't involved in. The NFL is very unique in that you have thousands, if not millions of people, who bet on games just so they have an excuse to watch them. People don't bet on the CFL because they don't want to watch the games.

maybe a by-product of the game, but you could look at it the other way that the only way people get interested in watching the games is by putting money on them. The gambling creates interest where there wouldn't have been, which of coursecould be true of any league. of course how that gambling starts could be caused by various things, but hype is one of those factors.

The nationalist mantra from CFL fans is unbearable. Which do you watch more, Canadian movies or American movies?

haha yea i know sometimes it seems rediculous, I just find its easier to watch a sport when I can go see it, or associate a team with civic/national pride. the only reason I started cheering for the Flames in the late 90s was because I was raised in Calgary, cheering for the flames got me interested more in hockey. it certainly wasn't the quality of the game or how good the Flames were.
I watch more american movies, because they are better and more hyped by my friends and the media. but I can still go see the movie in Calgary, and I'm not investing my emotions and cheering for a movie. Its purely a sports minded nationalism/civicism. do you cheer for Canada at the olympics? but I bet you still watch american shows or movies over canadian ones. sport is different. I think as Canadians we sometimes feel like we are being overly influenced by the Americans and try and grab onto whats Canadian, to be different then them. As a CFL fan, I see Canadians mock our game for various reasons, some legitimate, some not really legitimate. Putting down people who watch the CFL or saying they wish the league would stop existing (yep, some Canadians say that). refusing to accept any good parts of the sport, loving the NFL but refusing to even watch the CFL. its football, and I would think its easier to get behind a team from where you live, representing you (not really, but you get the idea). I guess dealing with this close mindedness of some people (not you rube, we've discussed this before!) and supposed superiority of people who watch NFL over people who watch CFL, we get defensive and stick up for what we enjoy.
sorry for the rant

I watch European soccer. I even have a team. How did those two Czech dudes form a strong enough connection with the Flames to want to travel all the way to Calgary to see a game? People will form their own connections if the product on the field entices them to do so. I don't think anybody is an NFL fan just because FOX has a dancing robot during their broadcasts.

Good on you rube, and you are right, those guys made a connection with the Flames from the other side of the world, thats really cool. I would have a difficult time doing that, of course I don't know because I haven't lived in Europe. no people aren't a fan of the NFL just because of a dancing robot, but people are a fan of the NFL because its the popular thing to do.

I haven't noticed this, but it's pretty irrelevant. Advertisers pay for certain slots. They generally broadcast their best spots in the timeslots they think will have the most viewers.

it may be irrelevant, but I'm thinking more of when I have been watching TSN. TSN puts spots on to advertise its shows, often during CFL games they show NFL spots, and you're right, they get the most viewers at those times that would be interested in watching football. I meant more the quality of the ads

Why is this so egregious? I should go out and pay to sit through hours of what I consider to be crappy football, just because they're in the same city as me?

I disagree with crappy, its not like you are sitting through a cricket match or something, it is football. unless you think football is just better on tv (many think that), it is a long time to sit in a stadium for 11 or 20 minutes of action. of course NFL games take on average a half hour longer, so you are sitting longer. It is just that it is easier to go see your teams games if you are a 20 minute drive from seeing them. no you don't have to go see a product you don't like, I mean more from the standpoint of making a connection with a team. but watching on tv, It is easy to watch games from anywhere. of course this might be part of why attendance is dropping in the NFL, cheaper HD tvs and better broadcasting make it a better game on tv, so there is not as much difference in cheering for seattle or tampa bay

agree with all of this. I think the CFL should continue to cater to their fans and not worry about NFL fans. The only thing the CFL needs to really worry about is Toronto getting an NFL team, because that would effectively kill the Argos and a good chunk of the CFL's revenue.

Yes that is right. I don't know if they need to worry about Toronto getting an NFL team, they won't spend CFL money to go see football, but they will spend way more money to see football? the Toronto Bills games didn't do well, of course part of that is because it was the Bills, but many of the games were papered at the end with cheap tickets and giveaways because they couldn't sell out. the sightlines at Rogers center are bad for football, changing the league won't change that. there is no where to tailgate at Rogers center, changing the league won't change that. NFL games are popular to go to because of the atmosphere, changing the league won't change the fan atmosphere at Rogers center, its still the same fans in the same old stadium. the novelty would wear off, and there would be a bunch of suits in attendance because the tickets will be insanely expensive.
the NFL also won't make much money in Toronto, they already get huge ratings in Canada, so that won't increase much, and Rogers center is small on the NFL stage.
And if it did happen, it would be bad for the CFL, but it would survive, it has survived through many things and years