[rubecube]

Originally Posted by calgaryrocks

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

It's totally different. If you put aside the fact that stadiums are state of the art, the only thing that different between a regular-season NFL game and a regular-season CFL game is the amount of people in the stands and NFL fans tend to tailgate way harder. Yeah, the player intros have a bit more showmanship behind them but that's because they have the money to spend on that kind of thing.

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 course could be true of any league. of course how that gambling starts could be caused by various things, but hype is one of those factors.

Yeah, but I don't think people would gamble on the games unless they wanted to watch them. You have the odd addicts and professional gamblers that bet on all games, but those guys don't generally watch games. I became an NFL fan long before I could gamble on it. I think people gamble on the game because they like watching it but they don't have connections to any of the teams.

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.

Yeah, I guess it's a little different for me. I live in Victoria so it's not a big deal for me to go to Seattle for a game. I generally only go if my Eagles are in town, but it still stands. That being said, my dad lives outside of Nashville and we usually go to a Titans game every year.

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

Yeah, but there is something to be said for people who don't want to go watch a local team because they just don't enjoy the games. I didn't go to Vipers games when I lived in Calgary because I'm not a huge baseball fan. I get my digs in at the CFL but they're mostly tongue-in-cheek. I think the league is good for football in general.

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 don't think that's necessarily true. Maybe for casual fans, but hardcore NFL guys couldn't care less whether other people like it or not.

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.

Yeah, I didn't mean crappy. I used to go to the Labour Day Classic every year when I lived in Calgary and I thoroughly enjoyed myself, but I really couldn't be bothered to go to a Stamps/Als game. The football is just a little too sloppy for me.

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

Which is actually something the NFL is going to have to address. They're driving a lot of fans away with PSLs and high ticket prices. I think this is another reason to not go to an 18-game schedule, but I digress.

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

Hard to say. A big reason why the Bills games weren't selling out had to do with how high ticket prices were. Face value of tickets were sometimes 2x as much as it cost to go see the games in Buffalo. Toronto has proven they don't need a rabid fanbase to support a team if they have a bunch of corporate shills willing to fill the building up.