CFL 2024

[Heavy Dee]

Wonder if there is opportunity for some sort of hybrid.

Move to "EE Football Club" as the official name, but with the second "E" technically being "Elks" in an understated way. Scrap the John Deere logo, scrap the antlers, go back to the traditional Eskimo uniform and logo, ask broadcasters to refer to them as "EE" or "The Double E" for short. In contrast to the antlers, I actually think that there would be some interesting branding and 3rd logo opportunities with the "Football Club" moniker.

I don't understand why Elks is so hated by you and others. There is some history with that club name.

I agree the logo needs to go, but it is marketable done right.

 

[K1984]

I don't understand why Elks is so hated by you and others. There is some history with that club name.

I agree the logo needs to go, but it is marketable done right.

It's dumb and doesn't fit IMO. The change to the primary John Deere logo, the white letters, the antlers, etc are just icing on the cake.

They went with it because there was pretty much no other name starting with an "E" that remotely made any sense after Empire was determined to be a prohibited word as well.

 

[brentashton]

I don't understand why Elks is so hated by you and others. There is some history with that club name.

I agree the logo needs to go, but it is marketable done right.

You’re kidding, right?

The Edmonton Football Club has been around since 1949. 75 years of solid performance, many championships and a more than healthy roster of players in the Canadian and Canton hall of fames. All under a different club name.

They've been called the Elks since 2021, 4 years.

There is basically zero history with the Elks name, unless longest home losing streaks is a history to be proud of.

 

[PositiveCashFlow]

Unless he’s referring to the one year in 1922 where there was an Edmonton Eskimos football team that was renamed the Edmonton Elks that played for but lost the 10th grey cup to Queen’s University

1922 in Canadian football - Wikipedia

en.m.wikipedia.org

 

[brentashton]

Unless he’s referring to the one year in 1922 where there was an Edmonton Eskimos football team that was renamed the Edmonton Elks that played for but lost the 10th grey cup to Queen’s University

1922 in Canadian football - Wikipedia

en.m.wikipedia.org

So you’re saying the Elks were losing at football as far back as 1922?

 

[bone]

That’s a bold prediction and I doubt that’s correct. Maybe you’re being facetious. I can’t tell.


I remember when we’d get over 50,000 out for a game like this.

Even over 60K a couple times.

The smallest ever labour day rematch crowd was 2022 with only 26,946 attendees. Sounds hopeful that we won't set a new low even with the reduced capacity.

So you’re saying the Elks were losing at football as far back as 1922?

At least it was a Grey Cup loss instead of losing every single freakin home game for almost 3 seasons .

 

[Stoneman89]

It is definitely a new world. On the radio this morning they were getting excited about having "as many as 32,000 people there!" If we went down and beat the Stamps like we did this year 20 years ago there is no doubt that 50,000 would have probably been the low end of the potential draw for that game.

32,000 used to pretty much be the lowest crowd you would get. That used to be a Tiger Cats on a Thursday night in mid-October kind of crowd.

1/2 of those tickets were probably the cheap kids tickets. Now, they'd probably rather sit in their parents basement playing video games.

 

[Heavy Dee]

You’re kidding, right?

The Edmonton Football Club has been around since 1949. 75 years of solid performance, many championships and a more than healthy roster of players in the Canadian and Canton hall of fames. All under a different club name.

They've been called the Elks since 2021, 4 years.

There is basically zero history with the Elks name, unless longest home losing streaks is a history to be proud of.

You're not the future of the team or league nor am I. Why is that so hard to understand? Oh and you're a Rider's fan

 

[Heavy Dee]

It's dumb and doesn't fit IMO. The change to the primary John Deere logo, the white letters, the antlers, etc are just icing on the cake.

They went with it because there was pretty much no other name starting with an "E" that remotely made any sense after Empire was determined to be a prohibited word as well.

Agree with the branding etc. Just dumb.

But it's done now. Going back isnt going to make it better . Winning will make it better.

 

[timekeep]

You're not the future of the team or league nor am I. Why is that so hard to understand? Oh and you're a Rider's fan

Nobody knows who the future of the team or league is, unfortunately. I don't like TSN but if not for them I don't know how the CFL could survive. My son is going to tonites game, he might be the future, he grew up going to games but hasn't been going since games started being funded by his pockets. This season he has gone to a few games either with friends tickets or cheap on line tickets. BTW small sample, but he and his buddies are vocal about the Elks name, can't stand it. I'm glad he is going, but the league needs to figure out a way to market itself to that age group because they are present and future.

 

[Captain Fantastic]

$250M for concessions upgrades and windows, would rather they somehow make the stands closer to the field. Would cost more than $250M. I'm sure that at least 10% of that money will have an 'art' element too.

I don't know how "making the stand closer" is structurally possible. Although not ideal, a workaround would be to shift the field closer to the more popular West Side, open the upper bowl , and just use that side for football games. So essentially using one side and the end zones.
Another idea is to add premium seating closer to the field but that'll just benefit a few people. I personally don't have a problem with the view.

Province should give the city something for upgrades. People were coming from other provinces to go to the Metallica and Garth Brooks to name a few. It's injecting tourist dollars to the city and the province.

 

[timekeep]

Agree with the branding etc. Just dumb.

But it's done now. Going back isnt going to make it better . Winning will make it better.

I don't think its done and going back would make it better, especially if they bring in Inuit people to the games and involve them in designing logos and promos. Bring back the Igloo.

 

[timekeep]

I don't know how "making the stand closer" is structurally possible. Although not ideal, a workaround would be to shift the field closer to the more popular West Side, open the upper bowl , and just use that side for football games. So essentially using one side and the end zones.
Another idea is to add premium seating closer to the field but that'll just benefit a few people. I personally don't have a problem with the view.

Province should give the city something for upgrades. People were coming from other provinces to go to the Metallica and Garth Brooks to name a few. It's injecting tourist dollars to the city and the province.

Anything is structurally possible if there is strong enough base, which should not be a problem there. Why not build on/into the existing stands, bring them closer and more vertical, I know costs. I don't know if you have been to other fields but the experience is much better being closer to the action in my opinion. I don't see this happening as there are only about 10 CFL games plus a concert or two, plus a soccer game or 3 and nothing else for that size of a stadium to be used for. Maybe if the Pope comes again to apologize.

The concerts are few and far between, but the Province should kick in something.

 

[bellagiobob]

You're not the future of the team or league nor am I. Why is that so hard to understand? Oh and you're a Rider's fan

There is no future if you don’t have a solid present. I’d be curious how most people become football fans. Do they on their own just randomly say I’m going to a football game, or does someone who is a fan take them to a game. I’m assuming it’s more of the latter. It gets tiring when people say that the 45+ who are currently the bread and butter of the league don’t matter. These are the people that will introduce the game to their kids and grandkids if they are excited by the product and the entertainment.

 

[Captain Fantastic]

Anything is structurally possible if there is strong enough base, which should not be a problem there. Why not build on/into the existing stands, bring them closer and more vertical, I know costs. I don't know if you have been to other fields but the experience is much better being closer to the action in my opinion. I don't see this happening as there are only about 10 CFL games plus a concert or two, plus a soccer game or 3 and nothing else for that size of a stadium to be used for. Maybe if the Pope comes again to apologize.

The concerts are few and far between, but the Province should kick in something.

Building on top of the existing stands would be basically building another stadium on top of what you already have. I don't ever seeing that happening to a 40 year old structure.
No, I haven't been to other fields but I like the overhead , edge of upper bowl view Vs. being too close. That's just a preference I have.

 

[Kyle McMahon]

That’s a bold prediction and I doubt that’s correct. Maybe you’re being facetious. I can’t tell.


I remember when we’d get over 50,000 out for a game like this.

Is it really a bold prediction? The team lost several very winnable games in the first few weeks of the season with their 2nd-best QB at the helm. Hardly a stretch to think Ford could have tilted the scales in two of the eight losses...and that would be enough to have them tied for first place.

 

[TopShelfGloveSide]

You're not the future of the team or league nor am I. Why is that so hard to understand? Oh and you're a Rider's fan

Maybe not the older fan base but they are also alienating the millennials as well. Those are the fans who currently take their kids to games who eventually / hopefully become fans themselves.

 

[Heavy Dee]

Maybe not the older fan base but they are also alienating the millennials as well. Those are the fans who currently take their kids to games who eventually / hopefully become fans themselves.

Fair point. But are you as a Football fan not going to take your family to a game because they are now the Elks? Cmon.

There is no future if you don’t have a solid present. I’d be curious how most people become football fans. Do they on their own just randomly say I’m going to a football game, or does someone who is a fan take them to a game. I’m assuming it’s more of the latter. It gets tiring when people say that the 45+ who are currently the bread and butter of the league don’t matter. These are the people that will introduce the game to their kids and grandkids if they are excited by the product and the entertainment.

Would it be different for you and others if they won the Grey Cup last year?

 

[bone]

Is it really a bold prediction? The team lost several very winnable games in the first few weeks of the season with their 2nd-best QB at the helm. Hardly a stretch to think Ford could have tilted the scales in two of the eight losses...and that would be enough to have them tied for first place.

Hell even with a kicker that wouldn't miss critical 4th quarter field goals and muff Kickoffs in a tied game with 8 seconds on the clock likely would have been enough to if not be tied for first, only 1 win back of it.

 

[bellagiobob]

Fair point. But are you as a Football fan not going to take your family to a game because they are now the Elks? Cmon.


Would it be different for you and others if they won the Grey Cup last year?

As I’ve said before, my main issue was the BOD and team completely eliminating all reference to the Eskimo history and becoming embarrassed by it. I didn’t like the Elks name, and this action by the board just made the name change worse, as did the embarrassment on the field. Would this be less of an issue if they had been a successful team after the name change? Absolutely, I’m not going to lie and say that winning isn’t the most important thing. But it still would have been an issue going forward. I’m at the point where I’ve pretty much accepted that there won’t be a name change, but that the history of the Eskimos will once again be proudly displayed and acknowledged, with more emphasis on the EE brand than the Elks name. I can live with that. But my comment to you was mot really in regards to the name change, just simply to your point of the current demographic of the team not really mattering going forward, which I disagree with.

 

[K1984]

As I’ve said before, my main issue was the BOD and team completely eliminating all reference to the Eskimo history and becoming embarrassed by it. I didn’t like the Elks name, and this action by the board just made the name change worse, as did the embarrassment on the field. Would this be less of an issue if they had been a successful team after the name change? Absolutely, I’m not going to lie and say that winning isn’t the most important thing. But it still would have been an issue going forward. I’m at the point where I’ve pretty much accepted that there won’t be a name change, but that the history of the Eskimos will once again be proudly displayed and acknowledged, with more emphasis on the EE brand than the Elks name. I can live with that. But my comment to you was mot really in regards to the name change, just simply to your point of the current demographic of the team not really mattering going forward, which I disagree with.

Don't know if anything has ever "jumped the shark" faster than the Elk branding. As soon as I saw the antler helmets, the elk calls, and the players running out of the tunnel making faux antlers with their hands I knew that it was going to be a complete disaster. I felt embarrassed just being there.

All they had to do was keep everything the same, then slowly bring more "Elk like" themes into the uniform and branding. Would have been significantly cheaper too. However, they were incredibly stupid, put the cart before the horse, and got the result they deserved.

 

[TopShelfGloveSide]

Fair point. But are you as a Football fan not going to take your family to a game because they are now the Elks? Cmon.


Would it be different for you and others if they won the Grey Cup last year?

That’s fair. I still will take my kids to football games because I want them to love football like me. Problem is I have no doubt they will love football but will they love the elks?

Most younger football fans just watch the NFL.

 

[Heavy Dee]

As I’ve said before, my main issue was the BOD and team completely eliminating all reference to the Eskimo history and becoming embarrassed by it. I didn’t like the Elks name, and this action by the board just made the name change worse, as did the embarrassment on the field. Would this be less of an issue if they had been a successful team after the name change? Absolutely, I’m not going to lie and say that winning isn’t the most important thing. But it still would have been an issue going forward. I’m at the point where I’ve pretty much accepted that there won’t be a name change, but that the history of the Eskimos will once again be proudly displayed and acknowledged, with more emphasis on the EE brand than the Elks name. I can live with that. But my comment to you was mot really in regards to the name change, just simply to your point of the current demographic of the team not really mattering going forward, which I disagree with.

The demo is changing. It has to. They will have double a normal crowd tomorrow and I would guess many will be new fans. I can't see many of the old guard who swore off the team now going back just because they are in a playoff race. I just don't understand that logic. If you love football, go support the team and the new owner. The old BOD is gone.

 

[Kyle McMahon]

Hell even with a kicker that wouldn't miss critical 4th quarter field goals and muff Kickoffs in a tied game with 8 seconds on the clock likely would have been enough to if not be tied for first, only 1 win back of it.

Or even a coach who remembered how the clock works. A lot of stuff had to go wrong to get to this point. Fortunately this is not a typical year in the standings...being 4-8 and right in the playoff hunt is usually reserved for the East lol.

 

[bone]

Or even a coach who remembered how the clock works. A lot of stuff had to go wrong to get to this point. Fortunately this is not a typical year in the standings...being 4-8 and right in the playoff hunt is usually reserved for the East lol.

For sure. Clock management vs. Toronto in game 3 then Ottawa in Game 4 were absolutely mind-numbingly dumb. Some of that may be on MBT, but with it being back to back games I suspect the coaches just weren't emphasizing it.