BC Lions vs Calgary Stampeders; West Semi Final Gamethread

[jayswin]

Oh boy, I almost wish this was in BC. It's looking like a historically low, embarrassing turnout for tomorrow's game. I know playoffs are usually a little less attended than some regular season games, just like junior hockey, but this isn't a small dip.

I've checked regular season games the day before gameday and have seen tons of tickets available with the final attendance being 26-27k. The interactive map currently has way more tickets available than those games. Ouch, this is going to be horrendous.

Without the ability to quickly estimate seat numbers it looks to be about 12 - 15000 unsold tickets right now.

[MissTeeks]

Lots of $30 tickets on StubHub too.

[jayswin]

Geez, yeah just looked. The stands are going to look just a little over half full, this will truly be an embarrassment for the organization on national TV. I bet they'll ask TSN to try to minimize crowd shots that show empty seats.

I'm going to look for that, as I bet it will happen.

[JiriHrdina]

Originally Posted by jayswin

Geez, yeah just looked. The stands are going to look just a little over half full, this will truly be an embarrassment for the organization on national TV. I bet they'll ask TSN to try to minimize crowd shots that show empty seats.

I'm going to look for that, as I bet it will happen.

The stadium is uncomfortable on the best days - in cold weather - it is an easy choice to stay home for many.
The CFL can solve this simply moving the season up. They refuse to do it.
I'll enjoy the game more in the comforts of my own home.

[jayswin]

Originally Posted by JiriHrdina

The stadium is uncomfortable on the best days - in cold weather - it is an easy choice to stay home for many.
The CFL can solve this simply moving the season up. They refuse to do it.
I'll enjoy the game more in the comforts of my own home.

Totally, I get all that for sure, it's always been the case and HD TV and every game being televised made winter games even worse for attendance in the mid 2000's.

I'm just stating that this is worse than anything I've ever seen in Calgary, and is going to look horrible on TV and I'd imagine the players won't be too happy about playing in front of a half empty stadium regardless of Stamps fans explaining that they're still supporting them, just not in person.

[corporatejay]

Isn't the ssame wan ticket holder base like 25k. That alone would only leave 10k unsold.

[Da_Chief]

Originally Posted by JiriHrdina

The stadium is uncomfortable on the best days - in cold weather - it is an easy choice to stay home for many.
The CFL can solve this simply moving the season up. They refuse to do it.
I'll enjoy the game more in the comforts of my own home.

Meh, its more the stadium then the timing (doesn't help its going up against NFL too). If it was closed roof with somehwhat comfy seating more ppl would go. But the bleacher style seating and cold does not make it fun.

Huff talked about moving the season up but he said the spring is too unpredictable and that's where you're building you're team and you want to give these guys a chance and evaluate then properly. With the 2 a days and unpredictable weather moving the season back is not something the team wants to do. I'm sure the other GMs probably feel the same way.

[M*A*S*H 4077]

The forecast is saying a high of 10 tomorrow. If it gets close to that then there won't have been a single bad weather game this year. That's unheard of, and awesome. No excuse for anyone not go to, especially if it is above zero. Stamps fans go support your team... I do buy the Stadium sucks argument a little, it is falling apart. Blows my mind how people want a fricken hockey rink before a new Stadium in this town

[jayswin]

Originally Posted by M*A*S*H 4077

The forecast is saying a high of 10 tomorrow. If it gets close to that then there won't have been a single bad weather game this year. That's unheard of, and awesome. No excuse for anyone not go to, especially if it is above zero. Stamps fans go support your team... I do buy the Stadium sucks argument a little, it is falling apart. Blows my mind how people want a fricken hockey rink before a new Stadium in this town

Well that's because hockey is infinitely more popular in Calgary, like every other major Canadian city. The analogy would be like deerfoot trail and a secondary country side highway needing upgrades. The country highway may be bumpy and in worse condition, but the priority and public grumbling is going to be larger for Deerfoot trail, and it will likely get fixed and way before it reaches the poor conditions of the country highway.

[jayswin]

Originally Posted by corporatejay

Isn't the ssame wan ticket holder base like 25k. That alone would only leave 10k unsold.

Yeah, that may be true, as I said I'm not great at eyeballing attendance by those interactive seat maps (Resolute seems to be able to do it down to the person, lol), but if our season ticket base is 25k, than it looks like only our season ticket base purchased post season tickets so far.

[MoneyGuy]

Originally Posted by jayswin

Well that's because hockey is infinitely more popular in Calgary, like every other major Canadian city....

Not in Regina. Wait, you said major city. 😁

The Eskimos have a big ticket push on for the western final and look to have fans numbering in the mid-30s. I love CFL football, especially the playoffs, but they should push the season up three weeks. The Grey Cup game won't sell out either.

[tvp2003]

Hmmm... if only they had an indoor field house they could play in...

Anyways, it doesn't matter how many are at McMahon -- Stamps have to get the lead and control the clock by balancing the run and pass. Big test for Messam -- I think he'll be up for the challenge.

On defence, just have to limit the big plays because Jennings will push the ball downfield. Need a strong game from the secondary.

Special teams could be our downfall -- punt/kick coverage better be on point because it has been a weakness all year.

[Sainters7]

10 degrees in mid-November is too cold? C'mon...

I'm all for moving the season back 3-4 weeks, but this is pretty fortunate weather right now. Should be an interesting game, still can't believe 14-4 wasn't enough to win the division, but that loss to Edmonton here cost them big in that regard. Stamps clearly are the heavy favourites, but after watching what happened to another favoured Calgary football team against a Vancouver based one at McMahon today, it's got me on edge a bit.

Can't speak for everyone else, but I'll be there, should be a good time. Wonder if they'll break out the signature units for this one.


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[rubecube]

I don't really follow the CFL anymore but has this attendance issue been a growing problem? I remember going to playoff games in the mid to late-90s and them being packed, regardless of the temperature.

[Sainters7]

It's definitely not the 30K+ every game like it was back when I was a kid or even a teenager, but they still seem to draw fairly well (comparatively to other CFL cities anyway). I was at the West Final last year, and while it wasn't a sellout, I don't recall the crowd being horrible or anything. Was still respectable. Not sure what the reason is for so few tickets sold, but I'll wait for game-time first before just assuming it'll be under 20K. Still hopeful for a good turnout. I think it being B.C. isn't helping, just doesn't have the same oomph as the Esks, Riders or even Bombers. Plus at least those teams have fans who will travel. No-one even cares about the Lions in B.C., so the OOT Lions crowd will be very small I'm sure.

The main problem seems to be the CFL has lost an entire generation of fans to the NFL. People can blame it on bleachers and cold weather, but I have a feeling even if it was an indoor stadium (blech) in leather recliner seating with a sushi and latte bar, it still wouldn't be a sell-out. Just the way it is now unfortunately.

EDIT: While we're at it, if people want a dome so badly, why don't we just scrap the Field House altogether, and use that extra $$$ for a retractable roof instead? Why the hell do we need a field house anyway??

[rubecube]

^^Has there been any correlation with the rise in the NFL's popularity in Canada and the decline in CFL attendance?

[Party Elephant]

Originally Posted by Sainters7

EDIT: While we're at it, if people want a dome so badly, why don't we just scrap the Field House altogether, and use that extra $$$ for a retractable roof instead? Why the hell do we need a field house anyway??

$200 million in public funding

[Sainters7]

Originally Posted by rubecube

^^Has there been any correlation with the rise in the NFL's popularity in Canada and the decline in CFL attendance?

I'm really not sure to be honest, that was just my own thought. I could probably have stopped that sentence at "The CFL has lost an entire generation of fans", as I've heard that discussed by media several times in the past, and why it's so concerning.

I suppose I just said that because over the past 10-12 years I feel I've met way more NFL fans than I had run into previously, it feels like it's a lot bigger up here than it was when I was growing up. And at the same time, interest in the CFL seems to be slowly but surely plummeting. Feels like whenever I'm at the pub or back in my college days chatting with an NFL fan (usually someone in their 20s or early 30s) and the CFL comes up, they basically roll their eyes and talk about what a joke it is. The league doesn't seem to garner nearly the same respect with younger Canadians as it did before. Just something I've noticed.

At least in my experience, it's been very rare to meet someone who's both a die-hard NFL and CFL fan. So that's probably why I came to that conclusion. Would be interesting to look at #'s on it.

[jayswin]

Originally Posted by Sainters7

It's definitely not the 30K+ every game like it was back when I was a kid or even a teenager, but they still seem to draw fairly well (comparatively to other CFL cities anyway). I was at the West Final last year, and while it wasn't a sellout, I don't recall the crowd being horrible or anything. Was still respectable. Not sure what the reason is for so few tickets sold, but I'll wait for game-time first before just assuming it'll be under 20K. Still hopeful for a good turnout. I think it being B.C. isn't helping, just doesn't have the same oomph as the Esks, Riders or even Bombers. Plus at least those teams have fans who will travel. No-one even cares about the Lions in B.C., so the OOT Lions crowd will be very small I'm sure.

The main problem seems to be the CFL has lost an entire generation of fans to the NFL. People can blame it on bleachers and cold weather, but I have a feeling even if it was an indoor stadium (blech) in leather recliner seating with a sushi and latte bar, it still wouldn't be a sell-out. Just the way it is now unfortunately.

EDIT: While we're at it, if people want a dome so badly, why don't we just scrap the Field House altogether, and use that extra $$$ for a retractable roof instead? Why the hell do we need a field house anyway??

Its definitely not going to be under 20k, its just looking like it will be comparable to some of our weakest turnouts over the past two years. Likely 26-28k.

[Sainters7]

Yeah, too bad on a day like this. It doesn't even feel all that long ago when the Stamps had that seemingly never-ending 30K+ attendance streak going. It kind of ended quietly, and has never recovered.

To be honest I've been fairly sick for well over a week now (it's ridiculous what a lingerer it is), and was thinking of even passing on this game because of it. But all this depressing talk of low attendance #'s has me feeling like I have a responsibility to go now. I'll just get myself bundled up and drugged up and head down. DayQuil and CFL playoffs, WEEE-OOOO!!!


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