Calgary Crush Basketball - anyone been?

[Sammymydog1]

Funny you mention the announcer Acey.....I thought the exact same thing the first game I went to. Loud, annoying & you can only undersatnd every 5th word that comes out of his mouth. A turn off for many I am sure.

[Sammymydog1]

Surprisingly, Crush are still alive. Went to a game tonight vs Arizona. pretty good basketball, not great. Lots of guys still 'living the dream.' Again, whoever does the marketing for this venture needs a career change!

[craigwd]

I think it's great ball for what it is, semi-pro.
Remember they're doing what they can with all they have to work with.
Butts in the seats and some media help would be wonderful.

[Resolute 14]

Playing in a legitimate league would help more, but basketball is rather oddly limited in that regard.

I went to a couple Calgary Drillers games in the Corral back in the day - same league - but find it hard to get up for going to a game at the SAIT gym. I keep thinking I will get out and check one out at some point though.

[shermanator]

I'm going to try and get some people together and check out the Crush game next weekend and see what it's all about. At $10 a ticket, really what is there to lose?

As an aside, I find myself drawn to the NBL Canada, who is in it's 4th season. It's pretty fast paced and there aren't the usual stoppages you see during an NBA game. There's something about a fledgling all Canadian basketball league that I can get behind.

[Julio]

Originally Posted by shermanator

I'm going to try and get some people together and check out the Crush game next weekend and see what it's all about. At $10 a ticket, really what is there to lose?

As an aside, I find myself drawn to the NBL Canada, who is in it's 4th season. It's pretty fast paced and there aren't the usual stoppages you see during an NBA game. There's something about a fledgling all Canadian basketball league that I can get behind.

They aren't in Calgary next week...they are on the road. Last two home games are late next month.

[Resolute 14]

It would be kind of neat to see the NBL come west, but as has been the case for this city for well over a century, geography is a problem. Judging by the current markets and schedule, the NBL is basically two bus leagues playing a slightly interlocking schedule. Creating a west division would necessitate air travel and dramatically increase costs, especially if you choose to include a team from BC.

Otherwise, a Calgary-Edmonton-Regina-Saskatoon division could be interesting.

[tvp2003]

Is the quality of play any better than CIS?

[shermanator]

Hmmm, guess I can't read the Crush's schedule...

IMO, the only way the NBL could expand out west while limiting travel costs is to have a west division, and east division. Winner of each division plays each other in a championship game (kind of like the AL and NL before the wild card). Are there 6-8 markets that could support this out west? Not sure.

As it stands I think there is one thriving club (London), four clubs who are getting by okay (Moncton, Halifax, The Island, Saint John), and three struggling clubs (Windsor, Brampton, Mississauga). Pretty sure the Toronto based clubs are only drawing in the hundreds to their games.

Will be interesting to see what happens in year 5. I would say NBL Canada is more legitimate than the ABA, but probably not by much.

[vanisleflamesfan]

Ha ha... "Arkansas RimRockers"... that's all I have to add to this thread.

*EDIT* Actually... this too... Ha ha "Vancouver Ballaholics".