Theres usually supposed to be a murmur in the air when June comes along. 2004 June was complete with the Calgary Flames fairytale playoff run that ended in a heartbreaking game seven loss. When the dust settled sport-feverish Calgary sports fans quickly turned their attention to a revamped Calgary Stampeders. The Canadian Football League team saw complete changes on and off the field. The result? Well the city was abuzz, but does late NHL runs take away from CFL? Obviously, the game seven match of 2006 between Carolina and Edmonton coincided with season opener between the Stamps and the Edmonton Eskimos. This time it hurt, but historically, how have the Stamps and the Flames compared with it come to exposure and city support? Well lets take a look at the pros and cons of the both franchises. For starters, despite hockey holding a cornerstone in Canadian society, it is the Stampeders who hold a deep history with the city. The Flames came to the city in 1980 whereas the Stampeders have been here since 1935. A richer history which should give the edge to the Stamps. Currently the Saddledome, where the Flames play, holds just under 20,000 whereas McMahon holds just under double at about 38,000. Thats double the people (if they all come out) to watch the team play. Point Stamps, but not so fast. With only 18 regular season games, 9 of which are at home, the Stamps have a season thats about a quarter of the regular season of 82 games for the Flames (41 at home). Certainly far more opportunity for fans to see the Flames play. (These numbers dont include playoff games but CFL playoffs are 3 games long whereas the NHL may go 28 games max.) More exposure for the Flames means more sports love. Perhaps the biggest difference between the teams other than games played is the fact the exposure on TV is significantly different. Of the 18 games for the Stamps, half are played at home, and all home games are generally subject to black-out policies. That means in a given year, 50% of all games arent even broadcasted. This does not bode well when trying to capture more fans to come to games. The first 3 games of the 2006 season went like this: game 1 blacked out, bad weather, game seven of Stanley Cup = bad exposure. Game 2 was on air. Game 3 blacked outyou get the idea. I know the TV deals are different, but lets compare this to the Flames season. This past 2005-06 season saw almost 76% of games televised (including 5 pay-per-view). This also amounted to zero local blackouts. The new season will see almost all games on TV (not including Bell Center ice but including PPV) . So what does this all mean? More exposure of the Flames, more money for the Flames, more fans coming to the games for the Flames, and angry Stamps fans, who are probably Flames fans. Its no secret the organization has to win back the confidence of the fans, the streak of sold out games hasnt come back since the Feterik years. The CFL should really do something about (and the teams) blackouts. You just cant get a city going for a team they see 9 times a year (maybe 11) so MORE STAMPS on TV! |
