Jim Mullin
CFL.ca
While not in the class of the Seattle Sounders FC move of giving fans their money back for a less than stellar game earlier this year, the quick action by the BC Lions within 24 hours of “tailgate-gate” was something to behold.
For those of you outside Vancouver, a little education is required.
The biggest story to hit the airwaves on Monday, not just on sports talk radio, but on newstalk radio, was the Pacific National Exhibition calling in cops on bikes to shut down a tailgate party hours before the Lions exhibition opener against the Edmonton Eskimos on Sunday.
Vancouver is a town that has been known to lead the continent in NIMBYism (that’s not in my back yard –ism for those of you who don’t know). Conversely, the city has also gone through a process over the last few years of putting Queen Victoria’s reign in the past. There was finally a break of this town being known as No-Fun-City by the locals.
There have been some recent turning points:
The Olympics.
A smiling Gregor Robertson at UFC 115.
Bike lanes. (Well, that’s two-out-of three.)
However, the most egalitarian of rituals surrounding the gridiron game – the tailgate party – was to be sacrificed on the altar of law and liability by the PNE.
Police were there on their mountain bikes at the ready, to throw cold water on the barbecue. The long arm of the law extended to hide that illegal grilled wiener.
Within a day, the Lions brought their concerns to the Pacific National Exhibition, and before two o’clock on Monday – 24 hours after the kickoff of Empire – tailgate parties were resurrected.
The Lions didn’t have to come to the rescue of fans outside the park. But they’d be stupid if they didn’t.
Tailgating is the next step showing that the culture of the game has taken root again in this province. It is beyond cynical marketing. It is social. It is organic. Bottom line, it’s a great way for people to make their own event on their terms.
From the Rouge et Or fans who make football an all-day event in Quebec, to the western festival in Calgary before a Stampeders game at McMahon, Canadian Football fans have put their Hoser brand on a stateside ritual.
The Lions, led by new CEO Dennis Skulsky are aware that they are in a town that responds to big events. The Lions need to create as much spectacle as possible, planned or otherwise.
In their 100th anniversary, the PNE is smart enough to know that they want their destination to be synonymous with fun.
Inside Tempire, the Lions, PAVCO (the Crown Corporation responsible for BC Place) and the PNE pulled off the remarkable: A stadium built in 111 days that gave fodder for the ‘old man’ to share stories of the past with his son, and make the hard cores cry in a mist of nostalgia. It can only get better after the exhibition test run on Sunday.
The Lions jumped into the fray and stood up for their most loyal supporters in short order. This should be an example for the other teams to follow in this town.
