Saskatchewans travelling circus

[rubecube]

Originally Posted by calgaryrocks

these fans aren't the issue here. the NFL only crowd will always put down the CFL, no matter what it does (because its not the NFL, its not superhyped, its Canadian etc), they won't be losing those fans, they would never get those fans, unless the NFL really kicks itself in the face.

Except a lot of us "NFL only" guys are like that because we got so sick of the crap in the CFL. That being said, the officiating in the NFL this year has been nearly as bad as the CFL.

[JayP]

Originally Posted by shermanator

I mean the current Riders, not the Riders from the 90's who needed to be saved.

The same current Riders who didn't sell out their home playoff game?

[calgaryrocks]

Originally Posted by rubecube

Except a lot of us "NFL only" guys are like that because we got so sick of the crap in the CFL. That being said, the officiating in the NFL this year has been nearly as bad as the CFL.

what crap in the CFL are you sick of though? you just admitted the reffing in the NFL this year has not been good either, so are you going to stop watching the NFL?(and those refs are actually paid well).
(i'm using you as an example since you are identifying yourself as part of this crowd, so you should know it better then me)
I thought the problem we were talking about was the league 'favouring' Saskatchewan? this wasn't thought of as happening as far as I know a few years ago. it came up in the recent year(s)

[Mazrim]

Originally Posted by shermanator

I mean the current Riders, not the Riders from the 90's who needed to be saved.

So when the Riders start sucking again will Rider Nation stay strong or will the bandwagon break down in a big way?

[shermanator]

Originally Posted by Mazrim

So when the Riders start sucking again will Rider Nation stay strong or will the bandwagon break down in a big way?

Can't say really, this new crowd is different from the traditional Rider fan, so my guess is they'll be gone. I would love for that to happen.

[DownhillGoat]

Originally Posted by Mazrim

So when the Riders start sucking again will Rider Nation stay strong or will the bandwagon break down in a big way?

I would guess option two. At the very least they won't be selling Riders windshield washer fluid.

[Mazrim]

Originally Posted by kunkstyle

I would guess option two. At the very least they won't be selling Riders windshield washer fluid.

I'll be honest, I didn't believe you when you mentioned the washer fluid. A quick google search brought up this thread and boy was I wrong.

[DownhillGoat]

*sigh*I wish I actually was joking.

[arloiginla]

I grew up watching the CFL and have always loved it despite knowing it was an amateur league. I had a dog in the fight (Stamps) and will never forget Mark McLoughlin kicking the winning FG in the 1998 Grey Cup.

I enjoyed following the league, especially in pools and picking the winners (I won the CP pick'em pool in 2009).

However, the CFL lost me as a fan after this past season. I predicted the officiating debacle before the West final, citing an agenda and was made fun of by more than a few posters. Hate to say it but "I told you so." I wish I was wrong. But for a league that struggles to find its identity as a legitimate league in a country where NHL rules, it made far too much sense to favour the team with the most bandwagon fans.

Reason I say bandwagon is that the "fans" only started coming the last few seasons and while they may not be bandwagoners, chances are they'll disappear once the Riders go 5-13 again.

Makes sense for the league to milk the cash cow while they can, and I'm sure they'll prop the Riders up should they fall into hard times on the field in coming up seasons.

A joke of a league. Wonderful history, wonderful set of rules, wonderful game, joke of a league.

I love football so I guess I'm a bigger NFL fan now. Too bad as I don't enjoy the 4-down game as much.

[ricoFlame]

Originally Posted by arloiginla

A joke of a league. Wonderful history, wonderful set of rules, wonderful game, joke of a league.

Wow, well said. I agree.

[Chump]

Originally Posted by shermanator

I would argue that if Sasksatchewan had a stadium bigger than 30000 seats, they would be #1 in attendance, by far.

They didn't even sell out their playoff game this year and their attendance was crap when their team sucked. They might be number 1 but certainly not by far.

[Vena]

Geez, it's so easy to bash the CFL. I won't say it's perfect, but it gets a lot of crap from fans that other leagues don't get.

I get the Rider thing. It pisses me off too. I don't like their fans thinking their God's gift to the CFL because a good portion of them are terrible. I hate that DD seems to get all the weak PI calls when the other teams don't.

Also, the Stamps for all their talking crapped the bed in the WF. They came out thinking they were the best team and didn't fight for it. I have no sympathy for them. A team as good as they thought they were should have come back from those weak calls. The Lions lost in the WSF, but they put up a fight despite the reffing.

Back to my original point, the CFL is no different than any other league. How many people vow to stop watching the NHL it after crapping reffing? What about the Wings bias? Those guys can get away with murder. Then, Gary Bettman props up weak American teams while allowing the owners of Canadian teams to gouge their fans. The NHL has it's issues, but it's still something most of us love. Not many of us giving it up. Sure, we bitch and whine, but still go back to it.

It is what it is. No league is perfect. I just get tired of those people who look down on the game like they think their above it. I'm sorry if you love the league, but can no longer watch it. It happens. It's just funny how rarely we hear about this with the NHL. In a lot of ways, the NHL is bush league. How many Americans could give a crap about about it? I know there is a difference between football and hockey in this country, but I hate the double standard.

[calgaryrocks]

Originally Posted by Vena

Geez, it's so easy to bash the CFL. I won't say it's perfect, but it gets a lot of crap from fans that other leagues don't get.

I get the Rider thing. It pisses me off too. I don't like their fans thinking their God's gift to the CFL because a good portion of them are terrible. I hate that DD seems to get all the weak PI calls when the other teams don't.

Also, the Stamps for all their talking crapped the bed in the WF. They came out thinking they were the best team and didn't fight for it. I have no sympathy for them. A team as good as they thought they were should have come back from those weak calls. The Lions lost in the WSF, but they put up a fight despite the reffing.

Back to my original point, the CFL is no different than any other league. How many people vow to stop watching the NHL it after crapping reffing? What about the Wings bias? Those guys can get away with murder. Then, Gary Bettman props up weak American teams while allowing the owners of Canadian teams to gouge their fans. The NHL has it's issues, but it's still something most of us love. Not many of us giving it up. Sure, we bitch and whine, but still go back to it.

It is what it is. No league is perfect. I just get tired of those people who look down on the game like they think their above it. I'm sorry if you love the league, but can no longer watch it. It happens. It's just funny how rarely we hear about this with the NHL. In a lot of ways, the NHL is bush league. How many Americans could give a crap about about it? I know there is a difference between football and hockey in this country, but I hate the double standard.

I thanked your post, and wanted to say that this is very true, and sort of how I have been feeling. that is a good example about the wings bias we see in the NHL (or percieve). any league has its problems, as rube mentioned the 'mighty' nfl has reffing issues too this year, in addition to its other problems. people want to look down on the CFL, but if someone stops watching the CFL for a silly reason, I'm surprised they still watch sports (or at least NHL)

The Stamps did blow it, the Lions at least put up a fight, and the Stamps could have and should have won that game, despite the poor officiating. in the end its entertainment, and people need to take these things less seriously. I know I look forward to my favourite type of football returning in July, until then the Flames, Hitmen and Roughnecks will entertain me

[JayP]

Originally Posted by arloiginla

I love football so I guess I'm a bigger NFL fan now. Too bad as I don't enjoy the 4-down game as much.

Get into NCAA ball. It's pretty much the best of both worlds - similar rules to the NFL, but the wide open nature of the CFL is there too.