Matthew Cauz
CFL.ca
Let’s be honest, it’s hard to get excited when a pair of 1-6 teams clash.
The best matchups in sports revolve around elite teams going to battle with division leads and playoff appearances on the line.
For example I’m already looking ahead to Week 12 when Winnipeg and Montreal will finally meet up for Eastern supremacy (Sunday September 17th).
Having said that; I am excited to watch two wildly disappointing 1-6 teams who rank last and second last in scoring.
Yes, I really am gunned up for Saskatchewan versus Toronto.
As someone who works for both CFL.ca and TSN I obviously have a vested interest in all things Canadian Football. So I can understand your skepticism for my excitement.
You can argue that it’s my job to find a way to boost every game on the docket. Records aside, this game is rather fascinating when you look at the big picture.
These are the two most important teams in the CFL for completely different reasons. Toronto, as I have so lovingly mentioned before, is the media and business centre of Canada.
A lot of people would disagree, but the league is better off when the Argonauts are winning.
It may not translate into the Skydome selling out (I refuse to call it Rogers Centre) but it just adds buzz to the whole league.
Isn’t it more fun to root against and hate Toronto when they are one of the best teams in league? Do you really get as much satisfaction heckling a limping 1-6 team?
The Roughriders are the crown jewel of the league. We all know just how well this team travels. I have been to Blue Jays games and seen Green Riders jerseys in the crowd.
You don’t need me to reiterate what everyone knows, the Green & White are the most popular team in the league, and thus they are the most important.
Simple math, really.
Their overall importance to the league, however, is about the only thing they have in common and that is what makes Thursday’s matchup so intriguing.
Let me warn you now that the next couple of paragraphs will be filled with several sweeping generalizations and overused stereotypes, bear that in mind.
First is the city that everybody loves to hate, Toronto.
Last year, current free agent Otis Floyd referred to Torontonians as a bunch of BMW-driving snobs who drink white wine in their private boxes.
I take offence to that. I drive an Audi and the last time I was in a private box I was drinking a lovely little Merlot. Oh, if you are planning on drinking a white while watching this game may I suggest a full bodied Chardonnay? Goes really well with Kobe steak.
As sports fans go Torontonians rank near the bottom in Canada of being fans of the sport itself.
In this case Floyd is right, we are snobs. We only care about sports where the average player salary is north of $2M. From the Bay Street crowd to the hipsters in Kensington, this town cares about the Leafs and everyone else has to take a back seat.
The Argonauts have a small but loyal following, a great official band, The Argonotes, and a front office that does all it can to ingratiate itself to the community.
For instance the team is having a Yoga Day with all participants getting to take part in a mass yoga class on the football field before the game.
Even though I don’t know a downward dog from a red dog blitz, I still love this idea!
Say what you want about the product on the field but the people behind the scenes really do everything they can to get more people in the stadium.
But could you ever imagine that sort of promotion in Saskatchewan? The closest they come to yoga is referring to Cleo Lemon as LuLu Lemon (Thanks to “Coastal Green” from a Roughriders message board for that line).
On the flip side is the quaint, little, sleepy, rustic, farming community of Regina.
I kid, I kid because I love.
Actually I’m jealous of Regina’s passion for their team. Watching a Saskatchewan home game reminds of my tailgating experiences in the States. It just looks like so much fun.
Something tells me the promotions department does not need to work as hard to get people to come out.
I imagine just releasing the date and time is enough for a near capacity house. I spent the day going on all the message boards and in between all the pleas for Greg Marshall to be canned and dire predictions for Thursday night’s game you come away with just how emotional and knowledgeable this fan base is.
In Toronto the Argonauts are seen as a novelty by many, while in Regina the Roughriders are life and death for all.
Yes, I understand I have taken some creative liberties and have oversimplified many factors, but what it boils down to is this: On Thursday we will have a match-up of two organizations that come from two completely different worlds, whose identities within their city could not be more divergent.
What makes sports fun is we can often put everything in neat little categories and this game has plenty of them.
You have the small town good guys who represent all that is right and pure in the CFL versus the big, bad corporate team cheered on by decadent power brokers.
Good vs. Evil, Big Market vs. Little Market … now doesn’t that sound more interesting than 1-6 vs. 1-6?
Here’s hoping for a good game.
