Grey Cup and All That Jazz

I stood in line curious about how much streaming seems to be happened outside of Canada and the US. The CFL Global program was billed to generate revenue and expand awareness of the CFL and uh, so many of those outside of North America streams was there?

I never got a chance to ask thanks to the line being closed one person before me. I did get a chance to talk to other CF: fans from Calgary, Toronto and BC to find out how they feel about the league from where they sit.

With Toronto we had more than the handful of Argo fans who show up and they all talked about how Maple Leaf Sports and Entertainment has fallen on the job of marketing the team in Canada’s largest city. We walked through the Grey Cup village with its array of digital entertainments, food trucks, CFL merch shops and most importantly hospitality rooms, and the CFL is walking that fine line between trying to attract a new generation of fans and losing fans through making it tougher to access their product than say, other things.

The major news was the CFL are moving the western and eastern semi finals and finals from Sunday to Saturday but keep the Grey Cup on Sunday. There are some who would say the Grey Cup festival makes enough money to ensure keeping the Cup on Sundays but let’s be honest.

I was at the opening night ceremony for the Grey Cup festival held on Wednesday night. A few hundred people showed up, Colin James performed and with drinks at $9 apiece, the best thing to do was just stop at two and go home.

I’m not sure the liquor and the merchandise sold would have covered the cost of facility rental for the evening. So, what would be lost if anything by moving the Grey Cup up a day is not entirely clear, but it seems to show more of a interest in the corporate fleece the customer for all they have rather than trying to making things more accessible.

Ambrosie was between a rock and a hard spot with MLSE, not wanting to be seen dissing a league owner, but also listening to Argo fans who talked about the lack of awareness of the team and how even activities to engage youth have been abandoned by MLSE.

I get the feeling Ambrosie used the technical glitch to run the clock on the assigned period for the fan forum. The good thing about the Argos being in the Grey Cup and their fans showing up is the fans bring a different view of MLSE in Toronto than what we get from the league office and there is a bit of a disconnect between the league’s message and what is being perceived in the outside world.

The league is still holding to its dream of expanding to the Maritimes although they are looking to play event games in Laval and even western Ontario. Expansion might help the CFL in putting out a balanced schedule and even enabling a schedule that will allow for a November Grey Cup to be played on November 6.

Which would be great, but November 6 was much colder than what November 20^th is supposed to be.

Weatherwise we can look for a minus three to seven Celsius day, the cold should not be a factor, but weather that warm might indicate high winds of a possible chinook blowing through. The field should get slippery through the game so ball security will likely determine the winner of the Big Grey Cup.

The big question is how Zach Collaros will fare with the ankle injury he suffered in the eastern final. He has not practiced this week but is expected to play. A lot depends on whether it is a high or low ankle sprain but, consider this.

Field conditions should be relatively good at the start of the game, but you have the turf freezing up through the game and becoming more slippery so if Collaros rolls out, hits a patch of ice and tears a groin, well, who is talking ankle then?

Based on what I saw last week at the Canadian Bowl, where the weather was sunnier but colder, field conditions will dictate what happens and who wins the Grey Cup. There will be the tendency to just play cautious because of the slippery conditions but that will benefit the offense in making the defense wait just the extra second than usual before committing.

Will Andrew Harris be extra motivated to run against Winnipeg, his former team> Uh, sure, but Thomas may be a big factor, but probably a bigger distraction to get Winnipeg to focus on their former teammate and how he was handled by management.

I think teams will spread the ball out and go deep for their game. The time to strike would be in the first quarter when the turf is relatively warm and dry. As it gets wetter and colder, then the turnovers and other such stuff takes place.

Winnipeg has the better record, but Toronto should not be underestimated and since the weather is warming up, maybe those Rider fans unable to move their Grey Cup tickets will show up and cheer for Toronto.

I remember in 2009 when the Riders played Montreal and somehow came away with almost a victory. The team had the stadium behind them and then the feeling of an upset which is not an upset was setting in and the fans and the team believed they could win.

I’ll be watching this game in Pil Country with a Bomber fan but will be cheering for Toronto since a friend from Toronto is in for the game. It is tough to win a championship, harder to win two and then three in a row.

The buck must stop somewhere and for Winnipeg, it stops Sunday. Toronto 31-27.

by Greg Urbanoski

Grey Cup and All That Jazz

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