Great crowds this weekend (earlier start to the season was a mistake)

[KCargosfan]

Great crowds this weekend (really, the last 2 weekends).

40K+ in Edmonton (largest crowd in CFL this season).

33K+ in Winnipeg (sellout).

Even 22,500 in Ottawa is good considering the season it was having.

Last week:

25K+ in Hamilton (sellout)

33K+ in Sask (sellout or very close to it)

32K+ in Calgary (that has to help the Stamps' bottom line)


No doubt, starting the season earlier was a mistake. I'm an outsider, but it appears starting the season around Canada Day is the best idea.

[paulwoods13]

I'm an outsider, but it appears starting the season around Canada Day is the best idea.

Could not agree more.

[AngeloV]

Starting where’re they did this year is perfect. Moving it up would be an utter disaster. If they get that 10th team they can start the season where they did this year and finish by the 10th of November as teams would likely only need 1 bye week with an even number of teams.

[KCargosfan]

Starting where’re they did this year is perfect. Moving it up would be an utter disaster. If they get that 10th team they can start the season where they did this year and finish by the 10th of November as teams would likely only need 1 bye week with an even number of teams.

I think even this year was too early. Winnipeg was 4-0 and had a Friday night game that only drew 25K. That really stunned me and is kind of the reason I think the Canada Day starting date is best. In fact, Winnipeg didn't break the 26K mark until the Banjo Bowl. And that's one of the better fanbases with a strong team this year.

[jerrym]

I suspected the early season start would hurt attendance and there is growing evidence that it has.

[Neely2005]

Great crowds this weekend (really, the last 2 weekends).

40K+ in Edmonton (largest crowd in CFL this season).

33K+ in Winnipeg (sellout).

Even 22,500 in Ottawa is good considering the season it was having.

Last week:

25K+ in Hamilton (sellout)

33K+ in Sask (sellout or very close to it)

32K+ in Calgary (that has to help the Stamps' bottom line)


No doubt, starting the season earlier was a mistake. I'm an outsider, but it appears starting the season around Canada Day is the best idea.

I don't follow your logic here.

4 Summer Games
3 on Saturday
2 on Saturday afternoon

If anything this proves that people like Saturday Summer games, especially afternoon kickoffs.

The season started on June 13th this year. Starting it around Canada Day would mean starting it 2+ Weeks later. The Grey Cup is on November 24th this year. 2+ Weeks later would push the Grey Cup into mid December.

Do you really want our Championship game played in those less than ideal conditions? If you want to showcase the game you want the best field conditions possible.

[paulwoods13]

I don't follow your logic here.

4 Summer Games
3 on Saturday
2 on Saturday afternoon

If anything this proves that people like Saturday Summer games, especially afternoon kickoffs.

The season started on June 13th this year. Starting it around Canada Day would mean starting it 2+ Weeks later. The Grey Cup is on November 24th this year. 2+ Weeks later would push the Grey Cup into mid December.

Do you really want our Championship game played in those less than ideal conditions? If you want to showcase the game you want the best field conditions possible.

Summer obviously doesn't end until Sept. 21-22, but pretty well everyone I know considers Labour Day the start of fall. No one considers the NFL a "summer sport," yet look what just happened, a whole slate of "summer" games.

If the CFL ever gets a 10th team (which I'll believe when it actually happens), it would be possible to go to a 19-week season (as AV has pointed out), down from the current 21 weeks, and therefore start the season around July 1 and end on final weekend of November. If we are really concerned about not playing our championship game in bad weather conditions, we should be starting the season in early April.

[AngeloV]

This whole discussion should just be put to bed. The fact that TSN just signed an extensions should tell everyone the CFL season will not be starting during the NHL/NBA playoffs. I think the league used that possibility purely as a bargaining chip towards the extension.

[Neely2005]

Summer obviously doesn't end until Sept. 21-22, but pretty well everyone I know considers Labour Day the start of fall. No one considers the NFL a "summer sport," yet look what just happened, a whole slate of "summer" games.

If the CFL ever gets a 10th team (which I'll believe when it actually happens), it would be possible to go to a 19-week season (as AV has pointed out), down from the current 21 weeks, and therefore start the season around July 1 and end on final weekend of November. If we are really concerned about not playing our championship game in bad weather conditions, we should be starting the season in early April.

Fall starts on September 23rd this year. The only people that I know who think the start of Fall is Labour Day are teachers.

Not sure what the NFL has to do with this discussion but the majority of NFL games are in the Fall and Winter. The majority of CFL games are in the Summer.

Or they could go to a 19 Week schedule and start around the same time as this year and finish the last Sunday in October or the first Sunday in November.

[Neely2005]

This whole discussion should just be put to bed. The fact that TSN just signed an extensions should tell everyone the CFL season will not be starting during the NHL/NBA playoffs. I think the league used that possibility purely as a bargaining chip towards the extension.

TSN doesn't have any NHL playoff games and they split the Raptors games with Sportsnet. They need programming during that time and by June it's really only 1 playoff series each being played in the NHL and NBA and not usually Canadian teams.

[paulwoods13]

Fall starts on September 23rd this year. The only people that I know who think the start of Fall is Labour Day are teachers.

Not sure what the NFL has to do with this discussion but the majority of NFL games are in the Fall and Winter. The majority of CFL games are in the Summer.

Or they could go to a 19 Week schedule and start around the same time as this year and finish the last Sunday in October or the first Sunday in November.

If you and your friends think of this time of year as summer, that's great. But teachers are not the only people who feel as if fall starts when school goes back and August ends. The fact that most CFL games are played in summer (and a few are played in spring some years) does not make the CFL a summer sport. Regardless, I don't believe future seasons are going to start any earlier than this year, despite some folks' desire not to sit in the cold at the end of the season and in the playoffs. The voices from the west who were bleating about this will have been drowned out by louder voices who realize it makes no sense to compete against NHL and NBA finals. Attendance the past two weeks certainly gives a degree of evidence (albeit small sample size) that crowds increase starting on Labour Day weekend. I'll be shocked if Ambrosie revives this discussion in any serious way.

[1971GreyCup]

Fall starts on September 23rd this year. The only people that I know who think the start of Fall is Labour Day are teachers.

I guess technically, after harvest ended kids became available and school began. Somehow kids working the harvest ended but the long break endured.

[AngeloV]

TSN doesn't have any NHL playoff games and they split the Raptors games with Sportsnet. They need programming during that time and by June it's really only 1 playoff series each being played in the NHL and NBA and not usually Canadian teams.

I guess you just don’t get it then. TSN still has wall to wall coverage of the NHL playoffs. CFL is a big property to them. I can almost guarantee they are not going to sign a 6 year deal to move weeks of the schedule to a time of year where their ratings will be dramatically affected and most sponsors are already taken away by NHL and NBA playoffs.

Sorry if it means you have a couple of cold weather games to attend, but the season will not start earlier.

[SkalbaniasGhost]

Fall starts on September 23rd this year. The only people that I know who think the start of Fall is Labour Day are teachers.

Not sure what the NFL has to do with this discussion but the majority of NFL games are in the Fall and Winter. The majority of CFL games are in the Summer.

Or they could go to a 19 Week schedule and start around the same time as this year and finish the last Sunday in October or the first Sunday in November.

The NFL has everything to do with scheduling.Labor Day has always been considered the start of Fall by Advertisers/Marketers throughout North America.
The CFL's schedule will be controlled by Stewart Johnson and how Bell's NFL commitments line up.

[Neely2005]

If you and your friends think of this time of year as summer, that's great. But teachers are not the only people who feel as if fall starts when school goes back and August ends. The fact that most CFL games are played in summer (and a few are played in spring some years) does not make the CFL a summer sport. Regardless, I don't believe future seasons are going to start any earlier than this year, despite some folks' desire not to sit in the cold at the end of the season and in the playoffs. The voices from the west who were bleating about this will have been drowned out by louder voices who realize it makes no sense to compete against NHL and NBA finals. Attendance the past two weeks certainly gives a degree of evidence (albeit small sample size) that crowds increase starting on Labour Day weekend. I'll be shocked if Ambrosie revives this discussion in any serious way.

Lol, so the majority of CFL games are played in the Summer but the CFL isn't a Summer League? That's some outstanding logic right there.

The Western voices have been talking about this for years. If their October and November attendance remains low I doubt that they're going to give up.

[Neely2005]

The NFL has everything to do with scheduling.Labor Day has always been considered the start of Fall by Advertisers/Marketers throughout North America.
The CFL's schedule will be controlled by Stewart Johnson and how Bell's NFL commitments line up.

Do you work in Marketing? Just curious because I have a Marketing Degree and have never heard anyone say that Labour Day is considered the start of Fall.

[Argo57]

Do you work in Marketing? Just curious because I have a Marketing Degree and have never heard anyone say that Labour Day is considered the start of Fall.

I must have missed the great Labour Day fall or summer debate when I took marketing in college.
For many (myself included) summer is over after the Labour Day weekend despite what the calendar says.
Start the season around Canada Day and simply put a sweater on to watch games in the fall.

https://www.statutoryholidays.com/labourday.php

[paulwoods13]

Lol, so the majority of CFL games are played in the Summer but the CFL isn't a Summer League? That's some outstanding logic right there.

The Western voices have been talking about this for years. If their October and November attendance remains low I doubt that they're going to give up.

Criticize the logic as much as you want, it won't change the reality that the schedule is not moving earlier despite the bleating of a few westerners.

[ArgoGabe22]

I never considered the CFL a summer sport. It was always a fall sport, and football has always been a fall sport. I also consider fall to begin once school starts back up. Nights get cooler, the sun sets much earlier.

[AngeloV]

I never considered the CFL a summer sport. It was always a fall sport, and football has always been a fall sport. I also consider fall to begin once school starts back up. Nights get cooler, the sun sets much earlier.

I’m not a marketing major, but even I can see that all fall marketing for products come out around labour day. I’ll say it again, the biggest crowd to watch an Argos game at BMO came on the only day where the outside temperature was around the freezing mark. We all dressed for the weather and had a great time.