stigs17
Registered User
- Dec 3, 2005
- 83
- 4
Evidently there are a number of season ticket holders and frequent Sens supporters on this board. I have a full season in the 200s and a half in the 300s row A. While marginally disappointed in 2004-05 given Alfie was in his prime and the Sens were an elite, peaking team in the league, I don't miss the NHL at all this time around and fill the void easily. Thanks to the greed of both sides in the NHL, I have been gladly investing this NHL money elsewhere and will continue to do so.
With this in mind, here are a few ideas of how regular folks can reinvest their hard-earned NHL money this winter, all within a 5-hour drive of Ottawa.
HOCKEY - BINGO!
For hockey fans, while I fail to comprehend why the 67s actively planned for a 2012-13 rebuild and thus chose to be the worst team in the league for their temporary move to a state-of-the-art NHL arena, the Binghamton Senators are the hottest team in the AHL. In addition to many 3 games in 2.5 days opportunities in the US, they will make their only visit to Ontario the first weekend in March and will play 3 games in 2.5 days in Hamilton and Toronto.
Still have no idea why the Sens didn't bring a few Bingo games up here to market their upcoming stars, as over half the team is future or current Senators. The Sens' scaled-back summer marketing promos and complete lack of a pocket schedule indicate they fully expected an extended lockout, yet still avoided bringing Bingo up despite a regular November game at SBP for several years now. At a minimum, the games against the Marlies (TOR) and Bulldogs (MTL) should have been no-brainers at SBP, along with a couple around the holidays. They could fill the place with a late December Bell Capital Cup game like the Sens do - give the 100/200 level to STH; then give the entire 300 level away to those in the BCC tournament (who were counting on an NHL game). Imagine the goodwill that would earn. People would think of the Senators as winners on the side of the fans, and it would cost them marginal gains in what is currently an empty building.
CURLING
For curling, the Scott Tournament of Hearts women's nationals are in Kingston in mid-February. Then in mid-April, the Players' Championship season-ending bonspiel will be held at the old Maple Leaf Gardens, which will bring in the top 8 men's and top 8 women's money leaders from the World Curling Tour. Note that curling is the second highest-rated ratings in Canada, and for good reason. As one of the few taking in the Grand Slam of Curling in November, I can confirm the athletes are down-to-earth folks (when was the last time you had a beer and discussed strategy with your favourite NHLer?).
FIGURE SKATING
Before you mock the sport, note that after the Gold Medal Men's Hockey, this was the most sought-after ticket at the 2010 Vancouver Olympics. South Ontarians are very lucky this year, as the Canadian Figure Skating Championships are in Mississauga in mid-January, and priced close to a Cola Zone nosebleed Sens ticket to see the best in the nation. The field will include world top ice dance pairs (Tessa Virtue/Scott Moir) and world top men's favourite Patrick Chan. This is followed by the World Figure Skating Championships, which take place in London in mid-March. Certainly an ultra-rare opportunity, as the last time there were held in Ontario was 1984 (Ottawa) and the last time in Canada 2006 (Calgary).
BASEBALL
Looks like the ideal AA Jays baseball farm team in a revamped Ottawa Lynx stadium is dead. However, the Toronto Blue Jays - for the first time since 1993 - are finally fielding a competitive team. I wrote a while back about how I found it sickening that Rogers, the same company that funds ex-players like Jason York (and all their western market ex-players) to go on every road trip to make one obvious comment "the Sens need to stay out of the box", all while ramming their idiotic commercials down our neck on seemingly every channel other than TSN, yet Rogers absolutely refuses to field a competitive baseball team in their premiere market (and a city that has been dying for a winner). Went to 10 Jays Toronto games in 2012 and saw 12 Jays games on the road. This may go up in 2013 - barring major injuries, they will contend with the Yankees and Rangers for tops in the AL. I've hit up 24 of the MLB parks while partying in their cities, and thanks to the greed of the NHL, I aim to relish the remainder in 2013.
Throw in a steady stream of concerts in and out of the city, and the Sens should know I am finding absolutely no problem placing my entertainment dollar elsewhere. Hopefully there were some folks on this board with similar accounts.
***
CFL Football
Fully experienced downtown Toronto for a week in late November to celebrate the historic 100th Grey Cup. Week cost over a quarter of a 200 level season, but well, well worth it.
The time was unbelievable, as every day was jam-packed with events, many of them free, including lunch with the Lieutenant Governor at Queen's Park; an impromptu pep rally with all the Argos and maybe 2,000 fans; the famous Calgary pancake breakfast (note that all of the volunteers including the awesome country bands come in on their own dime - 30 grills in a row with two staffing each and tons of country music); impressive cheerleader performances from all 8 teams (and meeting most of them and interesting conversations with their coaches); the hyperactive mascots from most teams; tons of concerts with some of Canada's top acts; a state of the league conference with the commissioner Mark Cohon (as opposed to one that blows off the media and gives vague answers to direct questions; though the inferior Fehr goes to the grave for the destruction of baseball in Canada post-1993); the 1950 recreation of the Mud Bowl game with all the Toronto media douches covered head to toe.
Add a unique fan parade with an abundance of jubilant fans sporting their team colors; a free four-day Fanfest on the order of the All-Star Fanfest here in January, where I got to talk extensively with Matt Dunigan (30 minutes, very interesting guy with intellect well beyond what we see on TSN), Milt Stegall (hilarious dude), Darren Dutchyshen (great guy, remembered me from last year), Rod Black (he's huge, gruff and has no lack of opinion concerning the current state of the NHL) and a host of CFL legends. Even threw the ball around with Dunigan earlier in the week at the Nathan Phillips Square football field (where the winter ice rink usually is). Then zip-lined through the longest temporary zip liner in the world for a reasonable $20.
Still, the highlight may very well have been the nightly team parties starting on the Thursday. Anyone who went knows exactly what I speak of. Spirit of Edmonton was free, off the chain with live bands, players and cheerleader performances. Molson or Heineken 500ml cans were $7 (as opposed to $10 at SBP), all food reasonable; hence they didn't even gouge when the could have, as people come in from all parts of the country and would be willing to pay whatever to have a good time.
At the BC Lions Den, I met and partied with the owner's son, who handed over a copy of the official game-day program right off the press on the Saturday night (you could not buy it anywhere before the game, I looked) and told a boatload of hilarious stories. Then there was the intimate yet always-packed Stamps House, with Alberta country girls and cool dudes everywhere, they even brought in their own Grey Cup Queen and three Princesses, all delightful. Then there's rowdy Riderville, which sold out early on the Saturday (and many of these rooms at the Metro Toronto Convention Centre were the size of a hockey rink, pint-sized Stamps Hose being the exception).
On the eve of the game, Toronto had a free afternoon Double Blue festival with many ex-Argo legends (Mike 'Pinball' Clemons, Damon Allen, current GM Jim Barker etc.) giving speeches and insight into what is going through the players' minds in the lead-up to the game. Maybe 3,000 were in the massive concert hall that I am told could accommodate 12,000. Then met an accomplished artist David Arrigo (darrigoart.com), who did all the CFL team tribute posters and has designed a number of NHL masks, including a very cool Zep-inspired one for Brent Johnson.
The NHL COULD LEARN A TON FROM THE CFL AT ALL LEVELS. The CFL gets it right, and appreciate their fans, from the commissioner, to the players, to the cheerleaders, and all the way down the line. What do the Sens offer besides a rushed meet with Chris Neil at a dealership? I met and talked extensively to CFL Hall of Famers all week. Even CFL fans are civil and respectful of one another (try wearing an opposing jersey at the upper level of the ACC, let alone in Boston, NY). CFL = 100 hundred years and ZERO strikes or lockouts. With all the VIP B.S. ($1,000/ticket Maxim parties; $4,000/ticket nosebleeds; sold out city hotels, dump hotel rooms within a 200-mile radius charging 1000% rack rates) at the SuperBowl.
I am sold that the Grey Cup is the ultimate fan experience in North America. Unlike any other sport, the Grey Cup brings fans from all cities together in a jovial celebration of all things great about the CFL. It exceeded all expectations. Thought the NHL All-Star weekend in Ottawa was excellent, but the Grey Cup is on a entirely different level. One is a delightful appetizer, the other a never-ending feast with premium booze.
***
When the NHL returns, be it 2013 or 2014, rest assured MTL/TOR/WPG/CGY/EDM/VAN will have their standard 41 sellouts. But Ottawa, beyond the die-hards - which occupy this board - consists of a base of transplants (gov't, two universities etc.) and fickle outsiders, and will subsequently likely face great challenges.
With this in mind, here are a few ideas of how regular folks can reinvest their hard-earned NHL money this winter, all within a 5-hour drive of Ottawa.
HOCKEY - BINGO!
For hockey fans, while I fail to comprehend why the 67s actively planned for a 2012-13 rebuild and thus chose to be the worst team in the league for their temporary move to a state-of-the-art NHL arena, the Binghamton Senators are the hottest team in the AHL. In addition to many 3 games in 2.5 days opportunities in the US, they will make their only visit to Ontario the first weekend in March and will play 3 games in 2.5 days in Hamilton and Toronto.
Still have no idea why the Sens didn't bring a few Bingo games up here to market their upcoming stars, as over half the team is future or current Senators. The Sens' scaled-back summer marketing promos and complete lack of a pocket schedule indicate they fully expected an extended lockout, yet still avoided bringing Bingo up despite a regular November game at SBP for several years now. At a minimum, the games against the Marlies (TOR) and Bulldogs (MTL) should have been no-brainers at SBP, along with a couple around the holidays. They could fill the place with a late December Bell Capital Cup game like the Sens do - give the 100/200 level to STH; then give the entire 300 level away to those in the BCC tournament (who were counting on an NHL game). Imagine the goodwill that would earn. People would think of the Senators as winners on the side of the fans, and it would cost them marginal gains in what is currently an empty building.
CURLING
For curling, the Scott Tournament of Hearts women's nationals are in Kingston in mid-February. Then in mid-April, the Players' Championship season-ending bonspiel will be held at the old Maple Leaf Gardens, which will bring in the top 8 men's and top 8 women's money leaders from the World Curling Tour. Note that curling is the second highest-rated ratings in Canada, and for good reason. As one of the few taking in the Grand Slam of Curling in November, I can confirm the athletes are down-to-earth folks (when was the last time you had a beer and discussed strategy with your favourite NHLer?).
FIGURE SKATING
Before you mock the sport, note that after the Gold Medal Men's Hockey, this was the most sought-after ticket at the 2010 Vancouver Olympics. South Ontarians are very lucky this year, as the Canadian Figure Skating Championships are in Mississauga in mid-January, and priced close to a Cola Zone nosebleed Sens ticket to see the best in the nation. The field will include world top ice dance pairs (Tessa Virtue/Scott Moir) and world top men's favourite Patrick Chan. This is followed by the World Figure Skating Championships, which take place in London in mid-March. Certainly an ultra-rare opportunity, as the last time there were held in Ontario was 1984 (Ottawa) and the last time in Canada 2006 (Calgary).
BASEBALL
Looks like the ideal AA Jays baseball farm team in a revamped Ottawa Lynx stadium is dead. However, the Toronto Blue Jays - for the first time since 1993 - are finally fielding a competitive team. I wrote a while back about how I found it sickening that Rogers, the same company that funds ex-players like Jason York (and all their western market ex-players) to go on every road trip to make one obvious comment "the Sens need to stay out of the box", all while ramming their idiotic commercials down our neck on seemingly every channel other than TSN, yet Rogers absolutely refuses to field a competitive baseball team in their premiere market (and a city that has been dying for a winner). Went to 10 Jays Toronto games in 2012 and saw 12 Jays games on the road. This may go up in 2013 - barring major injuries, they will contend with the Yankees and Rangers for tops in the AL. I've hit up 24 of the MLB parks while partying in their cities, and thanks to the greed of the NHL, I aim to relish the remainder in 2013.
Throw in a steady stream of concerts in and out of the city, and the Sens should know I am finding absolutely no problem placing my entertainment dollar elsewhere. Hopefully there were some folks on this board with similar accounts.
***
CFL Football
Fully experienced downtown Toronto for a week in late November to celebrate the historic 100th Grey Cup. Week cost over a quarter of a 200 level season, but well, well worth it.
The time was unbelievable, as every day was jam-packed with events, many of them free, including lunch with the Lieutenant Governor at Queen's Park; an impromptu pep rally with all the Argos and maybe 2,000 fans; the famous Calgary pancake breakfast (note that all of the volunteers including the awesome country bands come in on their own dime - 30 grills in a row with two staffing each and tons of country music); impressive cheerleader performances from all 8 teams (and meeting most of them and interesting conversations with their coaches); the hyperactive mascots from most teams; tons of concerts with some of Canada's top acts; a state of the league conference with the commissioner Mark Cohon (as opposed to one that blows off the media and gives vague answers to direct questions; though the inferior Fehr goes to the grave for the destruction of baseball in Canada post-1993); the 1950 recreation of the Mud Bowl game with all the Toronto media douches covered head to toe.
Add a unique fan parade with an abundance of jubilant fans sporting their team colors; a free four-day Fanfest on the order of the All-Star Fanfest here in January, where I got to talk extensively with Matt Dunigan (30 minutes, very interesting guy with intellect well beyond what we see on TSN), Milt Stegall (hilarious dude), Darren Dutchyshen (great guy, remembered me from last year), Rod Black (he's huge, gruff and has no lack of opinion concerning the current state of the NHL) and a host of CFL legends. Even threw the ball around with Dunigan earlier in the week at the Nathan Phillips Square football field (where the winter ice rink usually is). Then zip-lined through the longest temporary zip liner in the world for a reasonable $20.
Still, the highlight may very well have been the nightly team parties starting on the Thursday. Anyone who went knows exactly what I speak of. Spirit of Edmonton was free, off the chain with live bands, players and cheerleader performances. Molson or Heineken 500ml cans were $7 (as opposed to $10 at SBP), all food reasonable; hence they didn't even gouge when the could have, as people come in from all parts of the country and would be willing to pay whatever to have a good time.
At the BC Lions Den, I met and partied with the owner's son, who handed over a copy of the official game-day program right off the press on the Saturday night (you could not buy it anywhere before the game, I looked) and told a boatload of hilarious stories. Then there was the intimate yet always-packed Stamps House, with Alberta country girls and cool dudes everywhere, they even brought in their own Grey Cup Queen and three Princesses, all delightful. Then there's rowdy Riderville, which sold out early on the Saturday (and many of these rooms at the Metro Toronto Convention Centre were the size of a hockey rink, pint-sized Stamps Hose being the exception).
On the eve of the game, Toronto had a free afternoon Double Blue festival with many ex-Argo legends (Mike 'Pinball' Clemons, Damon Allen, current GM Jim Barker etc.) giving speeches and insight into what is going through the players' minds in the lead-up to the game. Maybe 3,000 were in the massive concert hall that I am told could accommodate 12,000. Then met an accomplished artist David Arrigo (darrigoart.com), who did all the CFL team tribute posters and has designed a number of NHL masks, including a very cool Zep-inspired one for Brent Johnson.
The NHL COULD LEARN A TON FROM THE CFL AT ALL LEVELS. The CFL gets it right, and appreciate their fans, from the commissioner, to the players, to the cheerleaders, and all the way down the line. What do the Sens offer besides a rushed meet with Chris Neil at a dealership? I met and talked extensively to CFL Hall of Famers all week. Even CFL fans are civil and respectful of one another (try wearing an opposing jersey at the upper level of the ACC, let alone in Boston, NY). CFL = 100 hundred years and ZERO strikes or lockouts. With all the VIP B.S. ($1,000/ticket Maxim parties; $4,000/ticket nosebleeds; sold out city hotels, dump hotel rooms within a 200-mile radius charging 1000% rack rates) at the SuperBowl.
I am sold that the Grey Cup is the ultimate fan experience in North America. Unlike any other sport, the Grey Cup brings fans from all cities together in a jovial celebration of all things great about the CFL. It exceeded all expectations. Thought the NHL All-Star weekend in Ottawa was excellent, but the Grey Cup is on a entirely different level. One is a delightful appetizer, the other a never-ending feast with premium booze.
***
When the NHL returns, be it 2013 or 2014, rest assured MTL/TOR/WPG/CGY/EDM/VAN will have their standard 41 sellouts. But Ottawa, beyond the die-hards - which occupy this board - consists of a base of transplants (gov't, two universities etc.) and fickle outsiders, and will subsequently likely face great challenges.
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