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The Importance of Alphonso Davies


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6 minutes ago, Bdog said:

You’d think they would share a lot of the same fans since they’re both similar sports (put ball/puck in net). 

A lot of the best hockey players I knew played both when they were younger. One former soccer teammate is an NHLer and one played his last year in the OHL a month after our men’s league season ended. 

When I was growing up in Newfoundland I also played soccer with a couple of guys who went on to play in the NHL. Both were actually very good soccer players. There is definitely cross over between the sports. 

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11 hours ago, SthMelbRed said:

I'm curious...

I live outside Canada, so genuinely don't know. How prevalent is Alphonso Davies in Canadian media? Is he promoting major products? Is he on TV? Radio? Billboards? How are my friends and relatives who aren't the least bit interested in football going to know what he's doing in the world?

I have long thought that the original whore underestimated the economic value of being the first Canadian football superstar. Alphonso needs to make a mint in Canadian endorsements in order to retrospectively justify my decades-old position. Tim Horton's, Canadian Tire, Lulu Lemon, Scotiabank, etc...why aren't they plastering Phonz's smiling face on every available surface in the country?

I think Davies name is pretty prevalent at this point, lot of my non-soccer fan friends know the name and know he is one of the best players on one of the biggest clubs in the world. I agree with people who think by end of 2020 he will be one of the biggest names in Canada.

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TSN has been pumping the hell out of him. I know the local radio shows have been talking about his performances and as part of the conversation saying how much even the average sports fans has been tuning in to Bayern games. The games being on Sportsnet has really elevated his exposure

I personally believe we'll qualify for the World Cup. During that process is when his profile will absolutely go thru the roof

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12 hours ago, Bertuzzi44 said:

Why do soccer fans tend to not like hockey? I love both sports! I love me some Davies just like I love me some Crosby! Hockey is one of the fastest, skillful and physically demanding sports around, and a lot of Canadians are world class hockey players. We should be proud of that! If anything, having only 4 hockey players winning the Canadian athlete of the year over the last 30 years shows a deliberate intent to "spread it around".

And yes, Davies could very well win the Lou Marsh award this year and that would be awesome! McDavid would probably be the most likely hockey player to win it and he would be deserving as well. Some people think he's the best in the world. Canada has some amazing athletes, let's embrace that.

I love both Sports too Ive been a season ticket holder for the Guelph Storm for 18 years  Im just tired of all  the in your face coverage Hockey gets in this country while other sports seem to get pushed aside

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I think the in your face coverage feels a bit over the top. I also think the NHL takes the Canadian market for granted. I also think most soccer fans are a bit traumatized by hockey fans proud ignorance and dismissive attitude towards soccer. I love hockey, I just dont care about draft picks and salary caps. That seems all hockey fans talk about. Its boring 

Watching the 87 Canada Cup sure made yearn for the old days of hockey. That was awesome to watch

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3 hours ago, SpursFlu said:

I think the in your face coverage feels a bit over the top. I also think the NHL takes the Canadian market for granted. I also think most soccer fans are a bit traumatized by hockey fans proud ignorance and dismissive attitude towards soccer. I love hockey, I just dont care about draft picks and salary caps. That seems all hockey fans talk about. Its boring 

Watching the 87 Canada Cup sure made yearn for the old days of hockey. That was awesome to watch

Your right SpursFlu that Canada Cup in 87 was a great time to be a hockey best Hockey we will ever see

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15 hours ago, SpursFlu said:

Dont speak too soon. I think before you know it Alphonso Davies will be the biggest athlete in Canada 

When it happens I dont want to hear the obvious.. wow nobody saw it coming. Nobody would have thought.. blah blah blah

Mark it down. I said it. It will happen

Wishfull thinking and I hope this comes to fruition but I just don't see it. It would take an incredible run at a World Cup for this to happen. Too many Canadians only watch or care about soccer during that Tournament. I will be the first to commend you if it happens though. 😉

Edited by johnyb
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1 hour ago, SpursFlu said:

TSN has been pumping the hell out of him. I know the local radio shows have been talking about his performances and as part of the conversation saying how much even the average sports fans has been tuning in to Bayern games. The games being on Sportsnet has really elevated his exposure

I personally believe we'll qualify for the World Cup. During that process is when his profile will absolutely go thru the roof

If only Canada qualifies for the World Cup and coming from CONCACAF region like Canada has a golden generation of talent which includes Alphonso. But with that golden generation of talent comes disappointment time and time again. I mean Canada have the talent to qualify for major tournaments but they just can't seem to put the formula together when it comes to qualifying. However, with the new format Canada does at least have a chance to qualify for Qatar but it all depends on the Group Draw for CONCACAF qualifiers.

 

If and only if Canada qualifies, then yes of course Davies' stardom will grow exponentially even further.

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16 hours ago, SthMelbRed said:

I'm curious...

I live outside Canada, so genuinely don't know. How prevalent is Alphonso Davies in Canadian media? Is he promoting major products? Is he on TV? Radio? Billboards? How are my friends and relatives who aren't the least bit interested in football going to know what he's doing in the world?

I have long thought that the original whore underestimated the economic value of being the first Canadian football superstar. Alphonso needs to make a mint in Canadian endorsements in order to retrospectively justify my decades-old position. Tim Horton's, Canadian Tire, Lulu Lemon, Scotiabank, etc...why aren't they plastering Phonz's smiling face on every available surface in the country?

Right now, he's not promoting anything on TV, radio or billboards. No name Raptor players have gotten more endorsements (even before they won). 

He's known in Canadian football circles and is in the process of getting known by the Canadian sports fan. He didn't even make the short list for athlete of the year in 2019. Yes, he trends on Canada twitter when playing now but the vast majority of the tweets are from outside of Canada.

Canada has a problem promoting athletes outside of the major North American pro leagues. Olympic athletes get a bit of action just before and after the Games but then disappear. Andreescu won athlete of the year in 2019 but I haven't seen her yet on tv, radio or billboards.

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Yeah, not endorsing stuff yet, but is getting on highlight shows and is mentioned on commercials for Bundesliga coverage. Has anyone else caught any episodes of “The Soccer Show” on TSN? It’s on during my kids’ bedtime routine, but I have caught a bit of a couple of episodes. Both times it was about Canadians, not sure if that is the stated focus of the show or not. They must be talking about him. I think he was mentioned in a piece on Jonathan David, but I have never seen the start of the show, which is presumably when they would lead with bigger news/discussions, like Davies.

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8 hours ago, Kent said:

Yeah, not endorsing stuff yet, but is getting on highlight shows and is mentioned on commercials for Bundesliga coverage. Has anyone else caught any episodes of “The Soccer Show” on TSN? It’s on during my kids’ bedtime routine, but I have caught a bit of a couple of episodes. Both times it was about Canadians, not sure if that is the stated focus of the show or not. They must be talking about him. I think he was mentioned in a piece on Jonathan David, but I have never seen the start of the show, which is presumably when they would lead with bigger news/discussions, like Davies.

I have watched each of the episodes (I think there have 3 so far, and this past week they replayed the Top 10 Canadian women's player and not a new episode for some reason?).  IIRC, one of the episodes focused on Davies, while the other two just mentioned and discussed his performances in the previous league games.

Definitely a lot more Alphonso talk on Canadian TV (TSN & Sportsnet) and sports talk radio.

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31 minutes ago, Kent said:

I missed the game today. Saw he didn’t score or assist. Did he play well?

In my opinion, he had a solid game.  A few good clearances, maybe one missed pass.  Nothing spectacular, but he made a few good runs down the left side.  In the first half, he suffered two fouls where the Leverkeusen players received yellow cards.  They didn't give him much space.

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