Daniel Posted May 22, 2004 Share Posted May 22, 2004 It's a minor league and it will always be a minor league. Richmond will be compared to DC or Chicago in soccer terms (as in the article that follows) in a way that wouldn't happen with Hamilton or Ottawa (does anyone compare the Stampeders to the Steelers or Cowboys?)... Do take it with a grain of salt and don't hesitate to email him , he's a shock jock broadcaster and I'm sure he'd follow up. http://www.montrealmirror.com/meat/sports.html A-League? In case you haven't noticed, the Montreal Impact have not allowed a goal against yet this season and are undefeated after four matches (3-0-1). The 8,877 fans who turned out last Sunday at the Claude Robillard Stadium was their second-largest crowd in team history and there is talk of potentially playing some games at Molson Stadium. While their success story is a nice one, it is also a damming tale of how a city of three-million-plus has become a minor league sports town. With the Expos' certain departure, a minor league team in Montreal is inevitable. The CFL offers an entertaining product, but there is a significantly lower talent level than the NFL offers. The Canadiens play in the NHL, which could be called a Major League if it didn't get lower numbers than the NFL, NBA, MLB, NASCAR, NCAA, AFL, PGA, LPGA, MLS, WTA, PBA, PBRA and everyone else in between!! The A-League the Impact play in may be called just that, but it's not even close to the MLS, which in soccer circles gets about as much respect as the East Coast Hockey League does among hockey people. How bad have things become? We lost the Quebec Major Junior Montreal Rocket to P.E.I. Yeah, that's right P.E.I.!! Say what you will about the city of Toronto - it's soulless, it's an American wannabe, its bars close too early, all of which may be true - but at least it's got game. Lots of 'em. sportsrage@team990.com Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Franky Posted May 22, 2004 Share Posted May 22, 2004 last time i checked Toronto is part of that same A-League. heck, for fun, we have the AHL Roadrunners, pfffffff, hehehe. soulless??? there is a church springing up on every corner announcing some sort of affinity to the Lord of GOD. American wannabee??? torontonians, loves nothing better than to beat the good ole boy americanos, just like Calgary flames have proven lately. Go Flames!!! true our bars close early and now they must remain SMOKE FREE!!! even our entertainment district is going to hot dog vendors, the homeless and Hondas blasting ear piercing bass t/o the area and not to mention parking hikes upwards to $20 to $30, yahhh right, keeeeeep it!!!!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Free kick Posted May 22, 2004 Share Posted May 22, 2004 Well the league does lack recognizable names and star power that you need to really thrive and establish a solid core of "casual" fans. By casual I mean not the diehard types but the ones that follow the game from a distance (ie.: newspaper and radio) and get caught up by the fact that tickets are scarce, so they figure they have to go and check it out maybe once a year. A scoreless draw doesn't help to ensure that they will be back and that is not the first scoreless result at a time when the huge numbers are present. Montreal Sports team ( especially the expos) have a bad habit of not putting on the best show when large numbers show up. Another problem IMO relates to the other clubs within the league in that I doubt that club names hold any emotional significance to the average Montreal fan. Be honnest now, does a game versus Syracuse, Toronto or Rochester generate the same buzz as Habs versus Bruins, Leafs or Nordiques?. I suppose that that is the problem with AAA baseball and AHL hockey in that to succeed, you need to sell the experience of being at the venue rather than product ( selling the sizzle rather than the steak). I have wondered if the Expos would be in the mess that they are in today had they been grouped in a divsion with clubs other than the likes of Stl,Phil,Pit,Chi,NyM...etc and later Atl, NYM,Fla. Having said that, I wonder about these numbers of fans that are flocking to CCR. Will they still be there if the club stops putting up the same numbers under the "W" column. reminds me a bit of the Manic in that they put up terific numbers in the earlier years when they were competitive but then dropped off significantly when the club was less competive. Yet that was the NASL, a league that did have some star power. The worst numbers attendancewise that they put up were often better that what the Impact draw now. Should the impact fall in the same manner, how dramatic will it be given their present base of support? Thats why I wonder how active the Impact are in steering initiatives within the USL as whole to improve the product, brand name, or image of the league. I am surprised that, for example, that they haven't floated trial baloons about getting into the MLS. That was one on the things that Rochester is doing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DarnCherry Posted May 22, 2004 Share Posted May 22, 2004 Does anyone really have the energy any more to give a **** what these reporters/shock jock people say? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DJT Posted May 22, 2004 Share Posted May 22, 2004 quote:Originally posted by Daniel The Canadiens play in the NHL, which could be called a Major League if it didn't get lower numbers than the NFL, NBA, MLB, NASCAR, NCAA, AFL, PGA, LPGA, MLS, WTA, PBA, PBRA and everyone else in between!! Ironic that he refers to Toronto as American wannabes yet to him the NHL is not major league because it's not a huge thing in the US, never mind what it means to his own city. But clearly he's not being serious. Reminds me of Jim Rome (damn, I had completely forgotten about that guy, having not heard or seen him in ages (thankfully), until I read this). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Daniel Posted May 22, 2004 Author Share Posted May 22, 2004 quote:Originally posted by Free kick Having said that, I wonder about these numbers of fans that are flocking to CCR. Will they still be there if the club stops putting up the same numbers under the "W" column. reminds me a bit of the Manic in that they put up terific numbers in the earlier years when they were competitive but then dropped off significantly when the club was less competive. Yet that was the NASL, a league that did have some star power. The worst numbers attendancewise that they put up were often better that what the Impact draw now. Should the impact fall in the same manner, how dramatic will it be given their present base of support? Thats why I wonder how active the Impact are in steering initiatives within the USL as whole to improve the product, brand name, or image of the league. I am surprised that, for example, that they haven't floated trial baloons about getting into the MLS. That was one on the things that Rochester is doing. The Impact, as you said, sell the sizzle rather than the steak. 50% of the people at the game don't know who the opponent is before the game. They don't care. It's just blindly supporting the Impact (and "supporting" is a strong term, how about "looking at"? ). Regulars and less-regulars know our rivals are Rochester and Toronto. The Manic had good numbers with an average team until there was talk of turning the club into "Team Canada". That's when the attendance plumetted. The current administration is revelling in being a small fish in a big pond and is very turned onto itself (ie, doesn't look to the USL, the MLS or a Canadian League) and *might* start doing something serious about the stadium this year. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Jeffery S. Posted May 24, 2004 Share Posted May 24, 2004 All I can say is that with a bigger stadium the Impact would be close to San José's attendance numbers. So that is close to the MLS, at least there. By this reasoning though some Nebraska epicenter with a university would be a major sports city just because 30,000 corn fed souls show up to NCAA football. Silly. Sounds like he is bracing for the loss of the Expos. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cheeta Posted May 24, 2004 Share Posted May 24, 2004 It is a sort of strange perception people take on sometimes as to what is major league, and thus worthy of your time and entertainment dollar, and what isn't. It's stranger still that they feel some outside source should tell them what matters. Learnt long ago that an American stamp of approval amounts to fu'k all when it comes to what qualifies as major league. Geez, they watch NFL football, MLB baseball, and NASCAR with manic passion. Can't watch any of them. But they're almost cultural institutions down there. Can't explain it, but whatever. So anyway, to make a short post longer still, when it comes to these sort of things, please yourself. Here's to hoping that 10% of those family-night-outers who make up half of the Impacts attendance turn into real footie fans over the next couple of years and join the Montreal Ultras. If I told you Daniel, 500 lads and lasses would get the soccer bug and make the grandstand a lively place again I think you'd put up with the odd atmosphere for a bit longer. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Free kick Posted May 24, 2004 Share Posted May 24, 2004 quote:Originally posted by Daniel Actually, they did turn them into "Team Canada". They played a least one season as "Team Canada". The idea was that if you could have as many of the MNT players together then it would have built familiarity for international matches. I do not recall that they stopped wearing the Manic colors or anything like that. At least I didn't recall it that way. hey were still known at the Manic to most people. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DarnCherry Posted May 24, 2004 Share Posted May 24, 2004 Daniel is right, there never was a "team Canada" in the NASL only talk of it. After the 1983 season where they averaged just 9910 per game (a drop off from the previous season where they averaged 21348) they just folded. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jeremy Loome Posted May 25, 2004 Share Posted May 25, 2004 Hee hee. He writes for the Montreal Mirror. I take this about as seriously as I do someone from the Western Producer writing on the mating habits of the white African rhinocerous. His comparisns of relative values of leagues are also extremely inaccurate. So, get riled if y'all want, but then remember that absolutely no one -- no one -- outside of this board would even considerit worthy of debate. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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