Matthew Cauz
CFL.ca
With the confetti cleaned up in BC Place and the 2011 season behind us, it’s time to look ahead to 2012 and talk about bowling. Don’t worry, it will make sense by the end, I hope. But first we have so many off-season issues to deal with.
B.C. Lions:
Alright you won the Grey Cup in impressive fashion, but now comes the hard part – defending your title. With every team gearing up to play against and beat the champs, the Lions’ degree of difficulty next season will certainly be higher.
The most pressing issue for the Lions will be trying to retain their top players. Forget about re-signing Khalif Mitchell and Solomon Elimimian.
If I’m Wally Buono my first move is to shut Arland Bruce up. Yes, the Lions don’t win the Cup without him but the guy has spent the past couple of days claiming that Travis Lulay can be the next Drew Brees and Rich Gannon.
Hey Arland if you want to win another Championship stop pumping up Lulay! Convince him he needs another couple years of seasoning in Vancouver!
Winnipeg Blue Bombers:
What direction will Winnipeg go next year? Making the leap from a four-win team to a Grey Cup appearance is impressive, maintaining that level of excellence is a whole other issue.
One-year wonders occur all the time in football, look at the Toronto Argonauts’ last three seasons, it resembles a Six Flags roller coaster as the team went 3-15 in 2009, 9-9 and a playoff win in 2010, only to come crashing down in 2011.
There is a nice core in place for general manager Joe Mack but the team still needs work on the offensive side of the ball.
Happy trails to Doug Brown – just such an impressive career, it will be weird not seeing him on the field. Here’s hoping he sells his soul and comes and joins the media side of things. The pay isn’t great and the hours are schizophrenic but it is a whole lot of fun.
Hamilton Tiger-Cats:
Kevin Glenn, Quinton Porter … Henry Burris, just who will be the starting quarterback for the Tiger-Cats next season? Glenn had a great playoff win over the Alouettes but does he still have the skill set to bring the Tiger-Cats a championship?
If Hamilton’s young wide-outs can continue to improve, and the team can upgrade a leaky secondary Hamilton could win it all no matter if it is Glenn or Burris.
Montreal Alouettes:
You know the issue, I know the issue, everyone knows the biggest question hanging over the Alouettes so I won’t waste your time speculating about Anthony Calvillo’s future.
By the way congratulations to Josh Bourke for winning the Most Outstanding Lineman award, very deserving.
Edmonton Eskimos:
If they can stay healthy, Edmonton has as much upside as any team. Injuries wreaked havoc at just about every position in 2011 from high profile players like Fred Stamps to seeing a baker’s dozen of offensive linemen shuffle through all five positions. The defence should be even better with another year under Rich Stubler’s system.
Calgary Stampeders:
It’s all about the development of Drew Tate. Tate has the opportunity to mirror what Travis Lulay accomplished in 2011. With the weapons Tate has at his disposal I would not be surprised to see him at the top of most statistical categories by season’s end.
Saskatchewan Roughriders:
Is there any general manger facing more pressure this off season than Brendan “I have one year left on my contract” Taman?
Can we please find a way to keep Andy Fantuz in Saskatchewan? I think we can all agree the league is better off when Andy is catching passes from Darian Durant.
Toronto Argonauts:
Let’s talk about bowling for a moment, shall we?
The biggest problem facing the Toronto Argonauts is their location. As someone who has been attending Argo games his entire life I can tell you that SkyDome (I refuse to say “Rogers Centre”) just sucks the life out of football.
I’ve seen better atmospheres at a wake and those were usually better attended. The Dome is sterile, far too big and the action seems miles away. The whole place lacks the kind of intimacy needed to enjoy a sporting event. The Argonauts front office works tirelessly to fill seats, but at this point trying to sell the SkyDome is like trying to keep the Titanic afloat.
So how does this relate to bowling? Well let’s think of Skydome as if it was a dingy old bowling alley.
I think it is safe to say that bowling isn’t considered the coolest or most entertaining recreational activity. Most people I know bowl about two to three times year, usually for the novelty/nostalgia factor. The fact that many bowling alleys have ridiculously late hours and there is an endless supply of cheap beer doesn’t hurt either.
But it is not what you would consider ‘the place to be’.
‘The Big Lebowski’ is the greatest comedy of all time and ‘Kingpin’ is an underrated classic, but in both films the actual bowling alley is not exactly portrayed as a very glamorous location. In fact, beyond listening to Walter swear at Donny would you really want to spend three hours there?
That is the problem facing the Argonauts and the CFL, how do you get people to spend three hours watching a great product in a lousy location?
I was thinking about this when I walked past a downtown bowling alley in Toronto called ‘The Ballroom’. It is a mix of night club, restaurant and bowling alley. The Ballroom is packed all the time, filled with a wide range of people including the precious younger demographic. Plus the place has received a ton of buzz since it opened. In essence they have made the bowling alley the place to be. The location is perfect; they have a limited number of alleys which means the place is consistently busy.
They have made bowling cool. Now before I get ripped by the purist, yes there is a place for the old school bowlerama (I go at least once a year to the one in Etobicoke) but there is also room for innovation.
The Argonauts need to get out of the Dome; they need to re-invent what it means to consume CFL football in the GTA.
If MLSE can turn watching third rate soccer into a wildly entreating fan experience then I have no doubt the CFL can accomplish a similar result with the Argonauts.
They need to explore the Alouettes model – the small stadium in a convenient location.
Let me apologize in advance for this joke – Hopefully the team, the league and the City of Toronto don’t strike out in their efforts. (Sorry)
Enjoy the off season!
