CTV talk back TO poll on now, Fav TO sports team.

[OV Argo]

argoholic post on pg 3 - Nice to see other folks who think like I do. I always refer to the follower sports fans as sheep."

OV, cool story bro

Ummm - calling "follower sports fans" sheep means the same to you as saying the majority of sports fans are sheep ? OK then, but i took it to mean that there are some followers out there, who get easily led or mis-led, and hence they could be compared to sheep or lemmings. Why don't you ask argoholic for clarification to find out if he thinks the "majority" of sports fans are sheep like ?

[Invader]

A bold statement but I think you need to define the criteria for "most popular team in Toronto" as popular is a subjective measurement. You said it yourself that online polls are "not necessarily accurate" which is one of the reasons I said way back when:

Originally Posted by T-Bone
Ultimately this poll means very little.

The CTV poll seems legitimate. There were several posters here who followed the progression during the week and the poll was very consistent with no wild "swings" which would indicate vote tampering. The number of respondents seemed realistic also.

Upon further reflection I'd have to admit the Jays are probably more popular than the Argos today. But the Argos are more popular than their low-level ranking in media coverage might reflect.

The Angus Reid poll showed the CFL was followed closely by 22% of Toronto residents; while the NBA 13%; and the MLS 9%...which was pretty much mirrored in the CTV poll.

So by that measure, the Toronto Argonaut Football Club is about 2 1/2 times more popular than the Toronto Football Club. And despite the Jays attracting 3 times as many fans as the Leafs, the Leafs are about 50% more popular than the Jays.

[T-Bone]

The CTV poll seems legitimate. There were several posters here who followed the progression during the week and the poll was very consistent with no wild "swings" which would indicate vote tampering. The number of respondents seemed realistic also.

Upon further reflection I'd have to admit the Jays are probably more popular than the Argos today. But the Argos are more popular than their low-level ranking in media coverage might reflect.

The Angus Reid poll showed the CFL was followed closely by 22% of Toronto residents; while the NBA 13%; and the MLS 9%...which was pretty much mirrored in the CTV poll.

So by that measure, the Toronto Argonaut Football Club is about 2 1/2 times more popular than the Toronto Football Club. And despite the Jays attracting 3 times as many fans as the Leafs, the Leafs are about 50% more popular than the Jays.

Personally I think more factors should be consider to determine "popularity." If you go by Twitter followers alone it goes as follows:

558K Leafs
415K Jays
398K Raptors
73.8K TFC
41.5K Argos

I think things like season ticket holder numbers, tickets sales, merchandise sales, etc. should be included in to the "popularity" measurement. Ultimately popularity doesn't determine what I enjoy.

[LLB997]

Personally I think more factors should be consider to determine "popularity." If you go by Twitter followers alone it goes as follows:

558K Leafs
415K Jays
398K Raptors
73.8K TFC
41.5K Argos

I think things like season ticket holder numbers, tickets sales, merchandise sales, etc. should be included in to the "popularity" measurement. Ultimately popularity doesn't
determine what I enjoy.

Twatter followers or facebook likes mean little aside from maybe explaining a leagues demographic. Its a genral consensus that CFL fans are a bit older a demo than other leagues. \The older someone is, the less time and interest there is for social media. The Argos are closing in on 30 thousand facebook followers and I would think that many Argos fans are not facebook people. Kinda kills brunts assessment that the Argos have 15 thou fans top when almost twice as many follow them on facebook.

[T-Bone]

Twatter followers or facebook likes mean little aside from maybe explaining a leagues demographic. Its a genral consensus that CFL fans are a bit older a demo than other leagues. \The older someone is, the less time and interest there is for social media. The Argos are closing in on 30 thousand facebook followers and I would think that many Argos fans are not facebook people. Kinda kills brunts assessment that the Argos have 15 thou fans top when almost twice as many follow them on facebook.

Ok, this is why I said to Invader that he needs to define how to measure "popularity" it's not a standard measument. Any of these things alone are not enough in my opinion. I made a suggestion as to some of the things I think should be included. I would like to see the Argos be more "popular" but ultimately it won't change my enjoyment of going to games etc.

[Invader]

Another measure of popularity is the 760,000 average CFL TV rating last year. A late season Argos/Ticats game drew 1 million viewers, with the Eastern Final drawing 1.9 million (those are the average audiences over 3.5 hours). It was reported 3.6 million viewers in the extended Toronto market watched all or part of the Argos Grey Cup win in 2012. Yes, the CFL is popular across Canada, but there were obviously millions of southern Ontario viewers in that grouping. Since the Argos lift all the home blackouts, most fans prefer to watch the team at home, but they're still fans and follow the team.

Not to downgrade Toronto Football Club but for comparison purposes, they did draw only 53,000 viewers last week on Sportsnet. The 2013 MLS Cup viewership in the U.S. dropped 44% last season to the lowest level in league history. No word on Canadian ratings?

I'm a little suspicious of using tweets or "likes" as a guage of anything, rather than tickets sales or TV ratings. Those internet stats can be manipulated by automated systems and exaggerated by over-zealous social management departments of the major league franchises. Also U.S.-based leagues have 10 times the population to draw from, which also benefits their Canadian franchises.

[Neely2005]

Ok, this is why I said to Invader that he needs to define how to measure "popularity" it's not a standard measument. Any of these things alone are not enough in my opinion. I made a suggestion as to some of the things I think should be included. I would like to see the Argos be more "popular" but ultimately it won't change my enjoyment of going to games etc.

I'd say TV Ratings and Attendance would be the best measurements. Not everyone uses social media.

[T-Bone]

I'd say TV Ratings and Attendance would be the best measurements. Not everyone uses social media.

Like I've been saying "popularity" is not a standard measurement and everyone will have a different set of criteria as to measure it. Personally I don't think those two things alone are enough for a fair assessment. I think additionally other measurable aspects of a teams existence should be included. Also, attendance is not always accurate. It would be nice to see it broken down to season ticket holders, tickets sold per game and giveaways to get a more accurate measurement of attendance. Apparently in the C&S days there were a lot more free tickets given away than now. As for TV ratings, I would still like to see the regional numbers for the Argos vs. the national numbers that are always being discussed.

[1argoholic]

Last weekend we stopped the truck to take pictures of cute sheep and baby lambs. Once one saw us and walked away, they all followed that original sheep. Just like Lemmings who for some reason follow the original off a cliff.
Thus my comment of most sports fans are followers who can't make up their own minds. It's not just sports it's that mentality that if the majority of people are into it or doing it that it must be good. This is obviously why marketing works. I remember being the only Argo fan in my group of friends back in the 80's. The rest would mock the team with every loss. I no longer have any of those friends. Yet they all cheered for the loser Leafs.

[Rich]

Thus my comment of most sports fans are followers who can't make up their own minds. It's not just sports it's that mentality that if the majority of people are into it or doing it that it must be good.

I completely agree with the Sheep Theory. This poll almost proves it, showing so many Blue Jay fans at at time when every media outlet, sports and non-sports, was talking about the Blue Jays for a couple of days.

It doesn't have to be a majority of people into it, as long as the media is making a buzz about some team, there will be sheep-like people who will follow and pretend they are fans. I'd say about 10%-20% of Torontonians act this way.

I bet if they redid this poll today 25% of respondents would say the Raptors were their favourite team, because that's what the media, sports and non-sports, is buzzing about today.

[ArgoRavi]

I thought that I would resurrect this thread as there is a new poll on the Toronto Star site about which Toronto sports team you are most passionate about. It located within this article about the Raptors' rising popularity: http://www.thestar.com/sports/raptor...it_sounds.html

[Neely2005]

I thought that I would resurrect this thread as there is a new poll on the Toronto Star site about which Toronto sports team you are most passionate about. It located within this article about the Raptors' rising popularity: http://www.thestar.com/sports/raptor...it_sounds.html

Our Argonauts are in 4th out of 5 teams.

[AngeloV]

Our Argonauts are in 4th out of 5 teams.

And the Leafs are 3rd, which tells you all you need to know about this poll.

[Neely2005]

And the Leafs are 3rd, which tells you all you need to know about this poll.

True. It's attached to an Raptors article so that's going to increase the Raptors numbers.

[1argoholic]

The Argos lack of constant quality marketing has hurt them in a huge way. I for one don't give a crap about social media but we need a new owner who gets all the ducks in a row. Top office staff including marketing on social media, tv, radio and whatever other means possible. The Raptors followers who jam downtown are basically young folks looking for a fun night and party atmosphere. The Argos right now are a DEAD ZONE!

[Neely2005]

The Argos lack of constant quality marketing has hurt them in a huge way. I for one don't give a crap about social media but we need a new owner who gets all the ducks in a row. Top office staff including marketing on social media, tv, radio and whatever other means possible. The Raptors followers who jam downtown are basically young folks looking for a fun night and party atmosphere. The Argos right now are a DEAD ZONE!

TV advertising is over rated and over priced. There are much more effective ways to spend your advertising dollars.

And don't discount social and online media if you are trying to reach a younger demographic.

[Will]

Neely, 1argoholic does not dismiss social media just points out that he has no personal interest in it.

[argotom]

Neely, 1argoholic does not dismiss social media just points out that he has no personal interest in it.

I have to agree with that to a degree.
Mostly younger demographics who tend to be "hip" and ill informed.
The ones doing the man on the street interview and who could not spell cat even if you spotted the c and the t!
The bandwagon type as well.

[Neely2005]

Neely, 1argoholic does not dismiss social media just points out that he has no personal interest in it.

It's definitely not for everyone but it can be an effective tool to reach the younger demographic.

[QBall]

Apparently you can click 'Return To Poll' after voting and keep voting over and over again.