major announcement - big changes to cfl playoff and season start

[jets4life]

Don't let the door hit you on the way out.

 

I swore I heard Stewart Johnston say this to CFL long time fans, if they do not care for his "improvements" to the game.

Having said that, the CFL enjoyed a decade of increased attendance and viewership from 1997-2007. By the late 2000s, the CFL was in great shape. This was after the infamous "American expansion" nearly killed off the league. As an added bonus, the CFL thrived in spite of the NFL becoming the preferred football league for Canadian fans.

Maybe we should go back 20 years, and study what the league did right, instead of changing the game that has existed for over a century.

[Tecno]

There's also the aspect of covid ruining many people making them scared to go anywhere ever again.  Add into that the generational shift and the rise of everyone-has-autism-itis.  It may be that filling stands (or putting butts in seats anywhere) will never happen again until/unless the health of society turns around.

And even many "healthy/normal" people (especially middle/upper-middle class ones) all decked out their pads with massive TVs and hifi, and are happy saying "nah, I'll watch at home, it's better".

The way of the future may be less crowds but a larger TV audience.  We may have to tailor the league more in that direction.  Just look at movie theatres now vs 25 years ago.  Used to have 250 seats and you'd go to shows with all filled.  Now the theatres have 50 seats tops, and usually most are empty.

I am very involved with a club in town and post-covid we're still in "recovery mode" in terms of membership.  A ton of people are just plain anti-social or scared, and I'm in a club that is traditionally full of introverts to begin with.  But we're slowly recovering, and the CFL should be able to, too.

[BlueInCgy]

The way of the future may be less crowds but a larger TV audience.  We may have to tailor the league more in that direction.  Just look at movie theatres now vs 25 years ago.  Used to have 250 seats and you'd go to shows with all filled.  Now the theatres have 50 seats tops, and usually most are empty.

Not disagreeing with you, especially if your team isn't within a 1 hour drive of your house.  I haven't been to a Stamps game in years even though I've watched nearly every one.  Ignoring ticket cost, the drive + parking add nearly 3 hours to the day for me.  And if gas sits at 2 bucks a litre this summer, stadiums attendance will suffer a lot because disposable income will shrink and out of towners won't make the trip.


The problem with the theory is that COVID proved this is a gate driven league, and the televised experience feeds off the live crowd.  Remember how exciting crowdless NHL games were.  CFL would be worse.  And if Stewjos goal is no one in the stands, spending piles of money on field mods make no sense.

[TBURGESS]

I'll keep this very simple for you: more playoff games equals more money for the teams, players, league and media partners.

I have no idea why you're bringing up pre-season games and trying to equate them to playoff games whether they be new or old. Only someone clever enough to stick a "never go full Johnson" on their profile would need this explained. The guy operates in business circles you don't even know exist and he'll probably bring in more corporate revenue in a year than you will in your entire life. But whatever. You're the expert. Happy?

More playoff games also equals more expenses. More money paid to the players and the staff. Calling them playoff games means more money in playoff bonuses for the players. For half the teams it means more money paid for travel and hotels and per diems. Home teams will make more money. Away teams might even lose some. 

In business, you look at the net, not the gross. 

[Sir Blue and Gold]

More playoff games also equals more expenses. More money paid to the players and the staff. Calling them playoff games means more money in playoff bonuses for the players. For half the teams it means more money paid for travel and hotels and per diems. Home teams will make more money. Away teams might even lose some.

In business, you look at the net, not the gross.

You can have the profit of more playoff games or you can have the profit of no more playoff games.

Would you like a line graph?  Asked another way, do you think the leadership group is so bad they would be proposing something that would result in a net loss?

[theaardvark]

Surveys have shown that ~5% of CFL fans will cancel their ST's or not go to games if the 2027 changes (100Y,GPs) go through.

Not a single survey of any sort has shown 5% new people will start buying ST or go to games because of the changes.

That's a major problem, and unless it just magically materializes, Johnston is harming the league, not helping it.  That's the reality of the here and now.

It is easy to be outraged and say you will cancel your ST if changes go through.

But, when push comes to shove, I'd say less than 1% will, if that.

As to adding STH, no idea if it will.  But the status quo isn't cutting it in most markets.  5 years of GC appearances is bolstering WPG ticket sales, that can turn on a dime. 

All we've had about the changes has been negative, from the fans and from the press.  The focus has been on the loud.  The fans that are loudest are the ones that "will give up their ST's" and hence, they are the ones the press is covering.

I don't think I've seen a single press report that represents the opinion that I believe.  And I think that there far more that think the way I do than will "give up their seats".

But that's the way media works, you cover the chicken littles, because that gets clicks.

You want retro football, with leather helmets and wooden "H" goalposts on the goal line, start a new league.

The CFL needs some better spin people for sure.  "This is not your Granpa's CFL, but he'd sure like it".  The game is faster, the field is more modern but retains the big EZ and width, and the players are better.

We need more interviews with players that have spent time in the NFL who say that the level of play in the CFL is far better than they expected.

Letting naysayers dominate the media will not save the league. 

Giving potential new fans a reason to watch will.  Challenging the naysayers to give it a look will.

Do we need to convert every Canadian NFL fan to being CFL junkies?  Not at all.  But we do need to find a way to get some of those eyes to give the CFL a look.

It is unfortunate that south asian countries do not have American Football (using that term to differentiate from Soccer) leagues, or games that have skills that translate to American Football.  That is the biggest untapped market for the CFL.  With all the New Canadians available to win over, getting a Global Player from Dehli might be a great marketing tool.  Remember the "Million Dollar Arm" movie? 

The NHL have made some inroads in addressing this large base.  I'm not suggesting that we could broadcast every game in Punjabi, or that the contributions of Chungh, Khan, Shanks, Bassi, Dhillon haven't been valuable among their communities, just that finding players talented enough to be taken in the Global draft would be a marketing coup.

[tlf]

I wouldn't be too hard on Wade, nor impugn motives.  We simply don't know the inside of his mind, nor do we get many interviews to try to get hints.

I think it's just as likely some cabal on the BoG pressured or outright forced some Prez's to go along with the crazy ideas.  It wouldn't help WM, WFC, or probably the CFL for WM and 2 other Prez's to stick their heads up, go against the flow, and say the changes suck.  Besides personal "punishments", the league could be like Darth Vader and "adjust" the "equalization payments" to steal another $1M+ from WFC next season... "Pray I don't adjust it any further!"

No one knows.  We also don't know how much power WM has on the BoG.  As a very "small town" (compared to the others) Prez he might count for nothing.

I agree that many of us miss Unca'Brosie.  At least his changes didn't touch 60+ year traditions, and his Global Experiment can be shut down on a moment's notice at zero cost.

that's fair.  I negotiate with unions at work and some can be ruthless and Boards can pressure people.

Perhaps I was too hard on Wade, it's just hard to accept such big changes to a game I love.  SO many at once, is a lot to accept.  Little ones I could deal with, but this is a lot to accept at once from Stewy.  Can Mark Cohon come back?

[theaardvark]

that's fair.  I negotiate with unions at work and some can be ruthless and Boards can pressure people.

Perhaps I was too hard on Wade, it's just hard to accept such big changes to a game I love.  SO many at once, is a lot to accept.  Little ones I could deal with, but this is a lot to accept at once from Stewy.  Can Mark Cohon come back?

Again, I'm not sure how these are that big a change.  Losing the 55 and trimmimg 5 yards off the EZ while moving the GP off the field to make more of the EZ accessible seems like a simple fix to make the MTL and TOR fields the same size as the rest, and making the game a little (very little) more O friendly.

Game clock speeds the game up. Leaving it the old way in the final 3 minutes preserves the CFL uniqueness.

Moving the benches to the opposite side of the field in the east, how this was not a thing in the past, I'll never figure out.

Oh, and the earned rather than free rouge. 

I get how the entire BOG were behind these changes, and I get the die hard fans negative response to ANY change. 

Did the NFL lose their fans when the implemented the stupid KO rules?  Other than Donald Trump? 

The NFL actually has an entire page dedicated to the evolution of the game.  They know how to spin change.  The CFL should not be talking rule changes, but evolution of the rules.

"Imagine the NFL if the rules of play had never changed:

A quarterback can't throw a pass unless he's at least 5 yards behind the line of scrimmage. The offense begins some plays just a yard from the sideline and is penalized for throwing more than one pass during a series of downs. Player substitutions are prohibited. No communication from the sideline is allowed. Players from both teams grab their opponents' facemasks at will."

https://operations.nfl.com/the-rules/evolution-of-the-nfl-rules/

[blue_gold_84]

It is unfortunate that south asian countries do not have American Football (using that term to differentiate from Soccer) leagues, or games that have skills that translate to American Football.  That is the biggest untapped market for the CFL.

That is some leap.

[Jesse]

Did the NFL lose their fans when the implemented the stupid KO rules?  Other than Donald Trump? 

This is a wonderful example, because it's a change that no one liked but was entirely data driven and come to through meaningful discussions with all parties.

An alarmingly higher percentage of injuries were coming on ST. The union and league made changes to prevent injury.

Even the new play-off changes in the CFL. The league and the union met. They discussed changed. Negotiated and Union members voted in favour of making the moves.

None of this has anything to do with CFL making changes to the field in a sweeping change without informing any if the involved parties with no data whatsoever because "reasons". 

[peg_city]

I swore I heard Stewart Johnston say this to CFL long time fans, if they do not care for his "improvements" to the game.

Having said that, the CFL enjoyed a decade of increased attendance and viewership from 1997-2007. By the late 2000s, the CFL was in great shape. This was after the infamous "American expansion" nearly killed off the league. As an added bonus, the CFL thrived in spite of the NFL becoming the preferred football league for Canadian fans.

Maybe we should go back 20 years, and study what the league did right, instead of changing the game that has existed for over a century.

• The marketing push around 1997 (our balls are bigger, interviewing americans).
• MLS started expanding into Canada around 2007
• Boomers were still doing to games. CFL was probably at its biggest when boomers were young

[Pigskin]

Our Bomber border is in the city for the start of TC. Does like the early start for next season.

- It will effect his off season job. Normally starts December and ends the last day of April.
- Cooler weather which could lead to more TC injuries.
- Doesn't like the playoff format. Said it's like pee wee football.
- Doesn't like the 1-2 playoff game.
   

[jets4life]

It is easy to be outraged and say you will cancel your ST if changes go through.

But, when push comes to shove, I'd say less than 1% will, if that.

As to adding STH, no idea if it will.  But the status quo isn't cutting it in most markets.  5 years of GC appearances is bolstering WPG ticket sales, that can turn on a dime. 

All we've had about the changes has been negative, from the fans and from the press.  The focus has been on the loud.  The fans that are loudest are the ones that "will give up their ST's" and hence, they are the ones the press is covering.

I don't think I've seen a single press report that represents the opinion that I believe.  And I think that there far more that think the way I do than will "give up their seats".

But that's the way media works, you cover the chicken littles, because that gets clicks.

You want retro football, with leather helmets and wooden "H" goalposts on the goal line, start a new league.

The CFL needs some better spin people for sure.  "This is not your Granpa's CFL, but he'd sure like it".  The game is faster, the field is more modern but retains the big EZ and width, and the players are better.

We need more interviews with players that have spent time in the NFL who say that the level of play in the CFL is far better than they expected.

Letting naysayers dominate the media will not save the league. 

Giving potential new fans a reason to watch will.  Challenging the naysayers to give it a look will.

Do we need to convert every Canadian NFL fan to being CFL junkies?  Not at all.  But we do need to find a way to get some of those eyes to give the CFL a look.

I've seen more polls about the new changes. I think 75% of CFL fans that attend games are against the changes. You can't just state "the silent majority support the new changes to the league," when there is solid evidence that this is not the case.

Some people on the forum are just parroting CFL league propaganda, and ignoring the reality of the situation.

[jets4life]

• The marketing push around 1997 (our balls are bigger, interviewing americans).
• MLS started expanding into Canada around 2007
• Boomers were still doing to games. CFL was probably at its biggest when boomers were young

This still does not explain how the league managed to increase attendance from 21,300 to 29,200 over the decade (1997-2007), especially in regards to your theory about Boomers (it does not explain the increase of 8,000 fans/game). With the MLS theory, it's difficult to say, but I don't think it was a significant issues, considering they are two different sports, and only Toronto, Montreal, and Vancouver obtained franchises (each team has a metro areas of 3 million+).

It seemed as though CFL attendance for Toronto, BC, and Montreal all declined from 2015 onward, bottomed out in 2021, and have rebounded somewhat since.

[bomber beetle]

I've seen more polls about the new changes. I think 75% of CFL fans that attend games are against the changes. You can't just state "the silent majority support the new changes to the league," when there is solid evidence that this is not the case.

Some people on the forum are just parroting CFL league propaganda, and ignoring the reality of the situation.

My purely anectodal observation:

It seems around 99.5% of fans either do not like or do not understand the changes.

And, about 99.5% of those fans just shrug their shoulders and still plan to be fans.