The Road to Qatar.

[RS]

It's the day before a possible World Cup-clinching match, so of course the big conversation in this thread is an argument about where Canada's next-next game should be held. Jesus.

[Bison44]

2 minutes ago, EJsens1 said:

Where do you think the game should be played?

Toronto of course, look at the failures in Hamilton and Edmonton.  There isnt any serious discussion to have. It must be at BMO.  

[Unnamed Trialist]

2 hours ago, Bison44 said:

Does it matter if that last game is in Ottawa, Moncton or Vancouver??  Why should anyone care that it might not happen in TO...the supposed national stadium, instead of anywhere else??  BMO is our best stadium and it makes sense it gets the lions share, but it isnt a foregone conclusion that the majority of games should be there.  The boys did well in the cold, on the turf and the atmosphere/fan response these last couple games has been outstanding.  I dont think we should be scared of going somewhere else.   I wonder if any of those players look back and wish those games werent in Edmonton and Hamilton??  

It's clear as day that either the US or Jamaica would have gone to Vancouver, and we could have filled BC Place with an amazing atmosphere. But two windows with this brutal travel cannot be made even more strenuous by forcing even further travel time and jet lag on the group as long as we are not officially in. 

I think if we had a sure classification after match-day 11, the CSA might have weighed it again. As we sit, you just can't. We can play at Saputo, in Ottawa, back to Hamilton, or BMO. The main reason to not go to BMO is that our coach has specifically said how much he and the players disliked seeing such as strong visiting presence, after the El Salvador game. El Salvador. The Jamaica match could be a homecoming for a team that has done the deed, and you can't put that game somewhere where you could easily see 25-30% Jamaican fans. 

That would be insulting to the team, and since there is no way to manage that or limit it, I'd go to Montreal over BMO. We are not going to celebrate with our fan base a trip to Qatar in a stadium with steel drums reverberating. 

[narduch]

Don't think Jamaican fans will come out to see a team already eliminated.

[CanadaFan123]

3 minutes ago, narduch said:

Don't think Jamaican fans will come out to see a team already eliminated.

Disagree. They come out for friendlies so why would this be any different? 

[narduch]

1 minute ago, CanadaFan123 said:

Disagree. They come out for friendlies so why would this be any different? 

1. They will be out of it. Its a different feeling than a 1 off friendly.

2. There is now a paradigm shift for this team in terms of how it is supported.

I think things are different now.

[kacbru]

34 minutes ago, RS said:

It's the day before a possible World Cup-clinching match, so of course the big conversation in this thread is an argument about where Canada's next-next game should be held. Jesus.

No, I think the argument is about it being insulting to fans to have it anywhere but BMO. 

[Redpunkfiddle]

12 minutes ago, CanadaFan123 said:

Disagree. They come out for friendlies so why would this be any different? 

Colour me unimpressed by this dedicated Jamaican support. 

 

 

 

 

[Approve My Account Pls]

31 minutes ago, Unnamed Trialist said:

The Jamaica match could be a homecoming for a team that has done the deed, and you can't put that game somewhere where you could easily see 25-30% Jamaican fans. 

17 minutes ago, CanadaFan123 said:

Disagree. They come out for friendlies so why would this be any different? 

If you guys still think this will be an issue you haven't been paying enough attention to what's been going on in this country. Let them have their one supporters section, that's the one you see that's the only dominant patch of yellow in the links @Redpunkfiddleposted because until recently, we didn't even sell upper bowl tickets to our matches. There are more empty seats in those videos than there are Jamaican fans...

The bigger issue will be all of us beating the casual fan to a seat.

[EJsens1]

9 minutes ago, kacbru said:

No, I think the argument is about it being insulting to fans to have it anywhere but BMO. 

It was a poor choice of word, I apologize for that.  I think I explained my rationale behind it very well, particularly afterwards.  I apologize for the context others perceived it as.  Not my intention.  I love this country and most in it.

Whether others agree that it should be at BMO, I realize not everyone will see it that way.  I just didn’t appreciate people taking jabs at me personally and suggesting I should be banned.  I wasn’t uttering threats or racists terms where there’s a line you can’t cross or something to that effect.  I haven’t been around here for years posting like others, but in my short time here I don’t think I’ve been some pariah poster messaging outlandish claims 

[narduch]

5 minutes ago, Approve My Account Pls said:

If you guys still think this will be an issue you haven't been paying enough attention to what's been going on in this country. Let them have their one supporters section, that's the one you see that's the only dominant patch of yellow in the links @Redpunkfiddleposted because until recently, we didn't even sell upper bowl tickets to our matches. There are more empty seats in those videos than there are Jamaican fans...

The bigger issue will be all of us beating the casual fan to a seat.

Remember when we were scared about the American support in Hamilton?

[EJsens1]

27 minutes ago, narduch said:

Remember when we were scared about the American support in Hamilton?

I know you can’t rewind, but let’s say you could have the moments of the last 5 months, and now have Honduras and El Salvador play here.  With the demand from Canadian fans getting much bigger, I’m curious what a Canada-Honduras crowd would look like now.  I’m sure a bunch would weasel their way in, but the number of them would be slashed I’m guessing 

[RS]

37 minutes ago, EJsens1 said:

I know you can’t rewind, but let’s say you could have the moments of the last 5 months, and now have Honduras and El Salvador play here.  With the demand from Canadian fans getting much bigger, I’m curious what a Canada-Honduras crowd would look like now.  I’m sure a bunch would weasel their way in, but the number of them would be slashed I’m guessing 

You're probably talking about Canada-El Salvador, which had a much bigger away support than Honduras did (due to the demographics of the GTA).

And yes, ES support would be slashed considerably if the game was played now because the casual fan has latched onto this team in a big way.

[InBorjanWeTrust]

El Salvador's away fan contingent was worse, but that being said, Honduras was also bad. I remember feeling so discouraged after those two matches. What a difference half a year makes!

[Approve My Account Pls]

22 minutes ago, InBorjanWeTrust said:

El Salvador's away fan contingent was worse, but that being said, Honduras was also bad. I remember feeling so discouraged after those two matches. What a difference half a year makes!

For those games even with reduced capacity there were tickets available up until kick off I'm pretty sure

[RS]

32 minutes ago, InBorjanWeTrust said:

El Salvador's away fan contingent was worse, but that being said, Honduras was also bad. I remember feeling so discouraged after those two matches. What a difference half a year makes!

There were barely any Hondurans there. They couldn't even fill up a single section.

[Scottie]

Yeah the argument about away fans is a bit disingenuous now. The teams profile is just on a level that it's never been on before, and we saw that with the impossible-to-get-your-hands-on tickets to the Hamilton game. Weve all of a sudden reached the point where a Canada game is The Big Event. Our stadiums used to fill* with away fans because there was little interest from home fans outside of the hardcore nerds like us. As I mentioned in another thread, the Davies goal was the turning point for the fan interest just as much as it was for the team. With the unprecedented popularity of the team right now this game will sell out no matter where you put it. The past doesn't matter, not even the past of 4-5 months ago. 

 

*I issue the word fill loosely, as others have mentioned we would draw large numbers of away fans relative to home fans, but the stadiums were rarely full

Edited February 2, 2022 by Scottie

[rdb9ty]

2 hours ago, Unnamed Trialist said:

It's clear as day that either the US or Jamaica would have gone to Vancouver, and we could have filled BC Place with an amazing atmosphere. But two windows with this brutal travel cannot be made even more strenuous by forcing even further travel time and jet lag on the group as long as we are not officially in. 

I think if we had a sure classification after match-day 11, the CSA might have weighed it again. As we sit, you just can't. We can play at Saputo, in Ottawa, back to Hamilton, or BMO. The main reason to not go to BMO is that our coach has specifically said how much he and the players disliked seeing such as strong visiting presence, after the El Salvador game. El Salvador. The Jamaica match could be a homecoming for a team that has done the deed, and you can't put that game somewhere where you could easily see 25-30% Jamaican fans. 

That would be insulting to the team, and since there is no way to manage that or limit it, I'd go to Montreal over BMO. We are not going to celebrate with our fan base a trip to Qatar in a stadium with steel drums reverberating. 

Agree that in normal circumstances putting a Jamaican game in Toronto is a bad idea. However, if they're eliminated, are they really going to come out in droves, sign up for Canada Red (to get presale access), or overpay for tickets on the resale market? I kinda doubt it. You'll still see a decent chunk but I doubt anywhere near 30%. 

[king1010]

 

[scullion44]

Are we in with 4 points regardless of which match we get them in?

[theaub]

2 hours ago, scullion44 said:

Are we in with 4 points regardless of which match we get them in?

There is one scenario where 26 would put us in 4th but it is so unlikely that yes, 26 is enough no matter what.

[theaub]

10 hours ago, rdb9ty said:

Agree that in normal circumstances putting a Jamaican game in Toronto is a bad idea. However, if they're eliminated, are they really going to come out in droves, sign up for Canada Red (to get presale access), or overpay for tickets on the resale market? I kinda doubt it. You'll still see a decent chunk but I doubt anywhere near 30%. 

I agree with everything in here but just want to point out this is is the new normal now.  The days of extensive opposition support at home, where those fans had their pick of tickets when they went on sale because of public apathy (which is even what the case was for Honduras/El Salvador), are over.

[TGAA_Star]

Pulling specifically tonight for Honduras, Mexico and Jamaica...if they can do these jobs and win tonight, it does us Canadians a world of good because then if we win tonight, we qualify for Qatar automatically in that regard.

[archer21]

13 hours ago, Unnamed Trialist said:

It's clear as day that either the US or Jamaica would have gone to Vancouver, and we could have filled BC Place with an amazing atmosphere. But two windows with this brutal travel cannot be made even more strenuous by forcing even further travel time and jet lag on the group as long as we are not officially in. 

I think if we had a sure classification after match-day 11, the CSA might have weighed it again. As we sit, you just can't. We can play at Saputo, in Ottawa, back to Hamilton, or BMO. The main reason to not go to BMO is that our coach has specifically said how much he and the players disliked seeing such as strong visiting presence, after the El Salvador game. El Salvador. The Jamaica match could be a homecoming for a team that has done the deed, and you can't put that game somewhere where you could easily see 25-30% Jamaican fans. 

That would be insulting to the team, and since there is no way to manage that or limit it, I'd go to Montreal over BMO. We are not going to celebrate with our fan base a trip to Qatar in a stadium with steel drums reverberating. 

I wouldn’t be too worried about having too many Jamaican fans. The tickets will sell out immediately in pre-sale, like they did for the USA game. So the Jamaican supporters would have to go through the trouble of getting the pre-sale code, jumping in the queue right at 9:50 (or whenever it becomes available) and hoping to get lucky and beat the bots and other Canadian fans to get tickets. It’s really difficult for Canadian fans to get tickets (if you aren’t a Voyageur), so I don’t see a huge Jamaican contingent being able to get their hands on them.

[Canadamnt]

If Canada has arleady qualified or qualifies during the game against Jamaica, they need to bring a piano on the field so Adekugbe can play it. Bring in a guest experince from Evan James and they can be doing a rendition of "no one" in front of 30,000 supporters. Wouldnt that be epic?