Jul 01 2007
Canadian Football Keeps Getting Bigger
Many nations on our lonely little planet are fully capable of supporting professional leagues in more than one code of football. In most European countries, soccer is the top game, and rugby is usually the second code of choice among sports fans. In Australia, they have four professional leagues — the AFL, the NRL, the A-League and the hemisphere-wide Super 14. In America, the NFL rules all, with leagues like MLS and USL slowly finding their way into the national sports scene.
Then there’s Canada, which, as Boing Boing’s Cory Doctorow informs us, is is celebrating Canada Day, that glorious northern holiday that commemorates the forming of the Canadian Confederation 140 years ago today. The CFL is still the top domestic football league in Canada, and average attendance in this week’s season-opening CFL games was 27,875. Only Molson Stadium in Montreal managed to attract a mere 20,202 for the Alouettes-Roughriders game, and many attributed that to heavy rains in the forecast. (UPDATE: Someone in the comments informed me that Molson Stadium only seats 20,202, so the game was actually a sellout.)
But was it the rain? Or were Canadians more focused on another football code?
The folks at Pitch Invasion took a closer look at how big soccer is getting in the Great White North, noting that the FIFA Under-20 World Cup is nearly sold out. Nearly 60,000 people filled Olympic Stadium in Montreal to watch Poland’s 1-0 upset of Brazil. How many of those people chose soccer over the CFL this weekend?
Likewise, the Skydom… er, Rogers Centre was hardly filled to capacity for the B.C. Lions-Toronto Argonauts match on Friday — to the CFL’s credit, nearly 30,000 people attended the game — but Toronto F.C., which plays at the 20,000-seat BMO Field, has sold out their season tickets and have 3,000 people on a waiting list.
It’s not just T.F.C. that Canadian fans are supporting, though. 12,844 fans went to the Claude-Robillard Sports Complex in Montreal on Friday night to watch a USL First Division match between the Montreal Impact and the Puerto Rico Islanders. Likewise, the Vancouver Whitecaps average attendance has been 5,098, and Swangard Stadium only holds 5,722.
Keep in mind that USL is a step below MLS on the North American football ladder, and the quality of football is probably equivalent to Football League One, which is England’s third division. Yet the fans in Montreal and Vancouver support their clubs nearly as much as the fans in Toronto.
This begs the question — how long will it be before these Canadian clubs decide to break away from American leagues and form their own Canadian league? After all, Canada did get to the semifinals of the Gold Cup and might have upset the USA side were it not for a questionable offside flag. The fan base in Canada seems much more ready to embrace this football code than the USA, and not only is the fan base for soccer growing in Canada, but so is the quality of play. The Whitecaps and Impact are both in the Top 3 of the USL First Division, and while Toronto F.C. is still an expansion team, its future looks promising.
Yes, they would still need five other clubs to form the soccer equivalent of the CFL, but the country sure looks like it could support that within ten years, doesn’t it?
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Um, no. Not in ten years anyway.
It’s easy to get big crowds for international games as there are large ethnic communities who will come out for these. Getting consistently big crowds for club soccer is another matter entirely.
Toronto, Montreal, and Vancouver certainly could support a fully professional, MLS level club each. The problem is that once you get beyond those three cities in Canada, the ability to support soccer clubs at that level rapidly diminishes.
After the NASL folded, Canada had its own CSL, with clubs all over Canada. The league lasted for a while, but it was definitely not a success. It was extremely difficult to support pro soccer outside of British Columbia, Ontario, and Quebec. Teams in those provinces could count on crowds in the thousands, but elsewhere often would be lucky to get a few hundred.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Canadian_Soccer_League#Original_Canadian_Soccer_League_.281987-1992.29
Not surprisingly, the only CSL clubs that survived were in Vancouver, Toronto, and Montreal, who went on to join the precursor of today’s USL.
Without USL and MLS, Canadian soccer would still be where it was in the 1970’s - fairly good regional ethnic soccer clubs (ie, Toronto Italia, Toronto Croatia, Toronto Serbian White Eagles, etc.), but that’s it.
Until Canada can show it can support MLS level clubs in places like Winnipeg or Edmonton, I don’t see another equivalent of the old CSL being revived.
It would be nice for Canada, but it’s a long way from happening. And if it does happen, the Canadian clubs in MLS would have to bite the bullet and accept a lower level of quality and less money. Sort of like the situation between England and Scotland, or between the NFL and CFL.
Actually, it appears there already is a Canadian Soccer League now, though it appears to be closer to semipro than anything else…
http://www.canadiansoccerleague.ca/
I imagine the big Canadian clubs will still play in MLS and USL for at least another decade. In fact, I’m surprised that Montreal isn’t an attractive MLS expansion target, given the support the Impact are getting right now. There are Coca-Cola Championship clubs that can’t pull five-digit attendance on a regular basis.
Yes, the wiki link I included also covers the current CSL. It’s just a regional amateur league; I guess you could call it semipro; no one is living on those wages, though, if there are any.
Montreal Impact is actually run as a non-profit organization owned by the Quebec government, Hydro-Québec and Saputo. It’s ticket prices are very low, which helps it get those good gate figures. If they went to MLS they’d have to raise prices and spend a lot more money running the club, without any guarantee they would make up the difference in increased revenues.
Whitecaps Football Club might be a more attractive candidate for another Canadian MLS franchise. They are working out a deal for a downtown waterfront stadium in Vancouver, have an upcoming friendly with LA Galaxy and David Beckham, and the club’s president, old time NASL star Bobby Lenarduzzi, shows some ambition for the club. They also have a women’s team and a pretty extensive reserve team and youth development system.
I didn’t want to sound too down on Canada. Canadian soccer is on an upswing, of that there is no denying. If they can keep improving their national team and qualify for the 2010 World Cup, that would help the game a lot in Canada.
Just to be clear, the current CSL only operates in Ontario and Quebec.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Canadian_Soccer_League#Canadian_Soccer_League_.282006-Present.29
The reason Montreal “only” drew 20,202 is because that’s capacity at tiny, ancient, and oh-so-quaint Stade de Molson. There’s plans to add 5,000 more seats, not sure if they’ve secured funding as yet. I’m told it’s the best atmosphere in the CFL.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Percival_Molson_Memorial_Stadium
Joe: Interesting. I had seen Molson Stadium on WorldSport HD last season, but I didn’t think it only seated 20K. The view behind that stadium is gorgeous.
Edmonton’s Jones set to take on Buono
(Vancouver, BC: July 3rd, 2007) Edmonton Wildcat Tristan Jones is about to make his dream of playing professional football take a step closer to reality. As the son of former Edmonton Eskimo great Milson Jones, Tristan along with his younger brother Devon, have created a stir on the national junior football circuit. Even though Tristan has one more year of junior eligibility left, he still is focused on achieving his life long dream of playing professional football. On Friday Evening, September 14th, Tristan Jones will be honored at the Canadian Football Hall of Fame Induction Dinner as the 2007 Wally Buono Award Winner for Canada’s Most Outstanding Junior Player. “It’s exciting to win this award and it hasn’t really sunk in as of yet. Wally Buono is a legend and to even be attached to this award is hard to comprehend at this moment. There are a lot of people I have to thank for helping me get to where I am today. I have to start with my family especially my brother for pushing me to become better every single day. Both on and off the field, he always has my back. I couldn’t do it without him” stated Tristan Jones.
The new WBA Bronze trophy will be unveiled and presented to Jones at the Canadian Football Hall of Fame in Hamilton, Ontario. Jones will be seated at the head table with former CFL greats Greg Battle, Darren Flutie, Rocco Romano and Pierre Vercheval. Along with coaching legend, Dave “Tuffy” Knight, the CFL players will be honored as the 2007 Canadian Football Hall of Fame Inductees.
Jones’ selection comes as no surprise to many within the junior football community as he has broken a string of junior football records this past year. “I was fortunate enough to see Tristan in person on several occasions and he is a remarkable runningback. I even went as far as to run his father’s game film side by side with his and the comparison was more than I expected. Both Tristan and Devon have many of Milson’s attributes and skills” stated Christina Saint Marche who submitted Tristan to Wally Buono as a candidate for the WBA. “The difference between Milson and his sons is that the boys have become students of the game. Tristan has mastered the fundamentals of his position. He has great peripheral vision as he hits the hole. He is not afraid to make adjustments when the opening is not there. He has great instincts as a runner.” commented Saint Marche.
The Wally Buono award is a national award which will be housed in the Canadian Football Hall of Fame and Museum in a soon to be built exhibit for junior football. The new bronze trophy which is replacing the 64 pound hammered glass trophy is the only award that takes into consideration all junior players on a national basis. The Canadian Football Hall of Fame and Museum will be the caretakers of the new bronze trophy in perpetuity. The award was established in 2003 by The Saint Bernard Pass Charitable Foundation for the purpose of recognizing such a player on a national basis. It is in it’s fifth year of presentation.
Recipients of the Wally Buono Award must prove their athletic and leadership ability on the field as well as a high level of leadership within their community. Previous recipients have included 2003 winner, Al Giacalone of Calgary, Alberta. In 2004, Chris Ciezki of Edmonton, Alberta was awarded the Wally Buono Award. In 2005, the award went to Jeff Halvorson of the Okanagan Sun Junior Football Club as the third winner of the Wally Buono Award. Known as the fastest man in junior football, Jeff died suddenly on the practice field on the first of September 2004, just before the end of a practice session. Halvorson was well on his way to breaking several national junior football rushing records himself at that time. Quarterback Nate Friesen was the 2006 winner and he is a member of the Manitoba Bisons.
Wally Buono, who presides over the award that bares his name, enters his fifth season as the Lions general manager and head coach. Over the past four seasons, Buono has led the Lions to four consecutive playoff appearances and three consecutive first-place regular season finishes as well as a Grey Cup Championship in 2006. Over a 17-year coaching career, Buono has led his clubs to ten division titles and four Grey Cup championships. Highly-respected among coaching peers, he has amassed a regular season record of 202-102-2, putting him second only to Don Matthews in all-time CFL wins. His consistency and success have been recognized with the CFL’s Coach of the Year award in 2006, 1992 and 1993.
Born in Potenza, Italy, in 1950, Wally moved to Canada in 1953 with his family, later playing minor football in Montreal. He attended Idaho State University and was a linebacker for the Bengals. Wally returned to Canada and played 10 seasons with the Montreal Alouettes as a linebacker, appearing in 152 games. Shortly after his retirement, Wally tried his hand at coaching, landing an assistant position with the Montreal organization in 1983. Four years later, Wally found himself in Calgary where he worked under Larry Kuharich until 1990 when Stamps’ President Norman Kwong hired him as head coach of the Stamps.
Aside from being an accomplished CFL coach, Wally is a noted contributor to the community, being recognized for his work with the Paul Harris award in 2001. Wally continues to donate a significant amount of time as an ambassador of the Royal Columbian Hospital Foundation and as a spokesperson for the Heart and Stroke Foundation.
After being diagnosed with angina in 2004, Wally has been spokesperson for Making the Connection TM, a program dedicated to the ongoing education of Canadians about the dangers of high cholesterol and its link to heart disease. Wally is also actively involved with Operation Christmas Child, giving presents of clothing and toys to children of impoverished nations.
Wally and his wife Sande have four children, Amy, Dana, Christie and Michael and one grandchild Jonah.
Tristan Jones Achievements 2006:
2006 CJFL All Canadian Runningback
2006 CJFL All Canadian Offensive Player of the Year
2006 PFC Offensive Back of the Year
2006 PFC Most Valuable Player
2006 PFC Offensive Player of the Year
For Press Release Information Contact:
R. Chance Saint-Marche’
Signature Entertainment Corp
“The Official Cinematographers of the Canadian Football Hall of Fame”
(514)448-2173
chance@saintmarche.co.uk
Tristan Jones can be reached at (780)819-2226
Debbie Boyko for pictures of Tristan (”debboyko@telusplanet.net) or (780)905-3096
Wally Buono can be reached at the BC Lions
Janice Smith is the Managing Director of the Canadian Football Hall of Fame (905)528-7566
My family is from the UK, my cousins (unfortunately) grew up as Fulham fans, and I paid $800 to get 4 good Toronto FC tickets from a scalper cuz I really wanted them to experience Soccer in our terms.
It was worth the money, my cousins were shocked at how many people were at the match, it was sold out as always. Fans were insane, and they were just wondering why BMO Field doesn’t add an additional deck to the East and South Stands, since they can obviously support it.
Anyways, just based on dead-reckoning, they felt that TFC sells better than Fulham and other bottom dwellers in the English Premiership. Of course, the real hardcore football fans don’t tend to be supporters of the Big 4.
But theirs talk that beyond BMO Field’s expansion to 30 000, that theirs a long term plan to build a truely gigantic football stadium of 40-50 000, based on a European concept.
Philadelphia’s new stadium is already based on a European stadium concept, looks really similar to Benfica or Porto’s stadium only more state-of-the-art. LA’s Home Depot Center houses two clubs, Chiva’s and the Galaxy, they have a beautiful stadium as well, fits just short of 30 000.
Toronto, with several North American records broken, has the potential to sell out a stadium as largest as any Top 10 Premiership team… (Largest attendence for a FIFA U-20 match, largest attendence in FIFA U-20 History for the Tornament, First to sell out 2 Club seasons in a row, largest fan base for any Club team in North America, arguably the loudest fans in the continent, & with the most supporters groups of any club team)