Would the CFL do well in Boise and Omaha?

[HEyHEY]

I always thought that the expansion to the southern US was dumb. Cause it's two different worlds. But, if you put them in smaller US cities near the border, you'd do okay cause there's a chance for fans to travel to see games, and to get actual rivalries and such going. Those two cities are big enough to support CFL. You only need to get 25,000 a game to keep a team.

[Critters2]

1. Compact flourescent lightbulbs?

:shrug:

[Angleae]

14. I believe HEyHEY is referring the the Canadian Football League

[KamaAina]

2. Omaha's near the border?

Did you guys annex the Dakotas or Montana while we were asleep, or something?!

On the other hand, Warren Buffett could buy the franchise with what he keeps in checking...

edit: on the other hand, Omaha is a proven hockey town... :tinfoilhat:

[huskerlaw]

5. Didn't you get the memo?

The Dakotas don't count!

Actually, hockey is rather popular in both Omaha (the Mavs) and Lincoln (the Stars). I have a feeling the popularity of the Stars has more to do with the beer man that walks around and refills beer cups from the keg on his back than any actual support for the game of hockey... ;)

[OmahaBlueDog]

6. Omaha is sort of a proven hockey town

We lost the Ak-Sar-Ben Knights.

Arena ball (AFL2) does pretty well in this part of the world. If you were going to bring in the CFL, I think the first thing you'd need in Omaha is a stadium. I don't think you could play football in Rosenblatt, so you'd have to make a deal with UN Omaha.

[YDogg]

3. Nah. The US is hockey country.

:hide:

:hi:

[huskerlaw]

4. Omaha...

It would either go over REALLY well, or it would completely bomb. I honestly don't know anything about the CFL though...is it like standard American football, or are there different rules?

The thing is, the CFL would be competing for attention with the Nebraska Cornhuskers (the college football team 45 minutes away in Lincoln). Now, if it's the same rules and the CFL team drafted players from the Huskers, I think it would be HUGELY popular. Then again, if the season was at the same time, 85,000ish Nebraskans go to Lincoln nearly every Saturday between August and December. Those people aren't going to switch alliances. If the games are the same weekend, the CFL team is going to suffer.

Also, if it's anything like arena football, Omaha has tried that and it bombed. So I think it would have to be exactly like regular American football to even have a chance.

The other problem the CFL would have is, frankly, people in Omaha don't give a shit about teams in Canada. It's hard to get worked up about your home football team when you don't have a rivalry or some other reason to care about beating the other team.

On the other hand, Nebraskans do love their football. And there's nothing else to do...so, maybe?

[OmahaBlueDog]

7. Omaha has tried that and it bombed?

The Omaha Beef do OK, as far as I know.

[huskerlaw]

8. Do they?

I moved out of NE a few years ago. When I was there, it was something of a joke.

Then again, I lived in Lincoln, so maybe it was more popular in Omaha.

[OmahaBlueDog]

11. The Beef plays in the old Civic Center

It's a fairly cheap proposition, and there are other nearby teams to play (Siouf Falls and, I think, Sioux City.

We lost our minor league hockey team (the Ak-Sar-Ben Knights)

[KamaAina]

18. Different rules

only three downs, so the passing game is emphasised. Field is 110 yards long, hence the show, from when ESPN carried the CFL because they didn't have rights to anything here, "From the 55-Yard Line". Touchback scores one point for the other team, hence a final such as 22-1 is possible. End zones 25 yards deep; there goes your "red zone" defense. And, if memory serves, you are supposed to have twelve men on the field!

[dr.zoidberg]

9. I don't think that it would do well in Omaha.

The forward pass is a strange and unusual concept to Nebraskans. Bill Callahan tried, and look how that turned out.

:P :P :P :P

[huskerlaw]

12. Oh hey...

the forward pass was not what caused the downfall of Bill Callahan. His lack of ability to call ANY other play, now THAT was a problem.

Not to mention the fact that he hired a defensive coordinator who thought teaching the art of tackling was optional.

The Huskers have nothing against the forward pass, as I'm sure you'll find out in August.

[rockymountaindem]

10. What about Spokane?

Of course, if the Bills end up relocating to Toronto permanently, that might be the end of the CFL entirely.

[HEyHEY]

19. I thought of them too

But, no the Argos have no bearing on the rest of the CFL. It's strong elsewhere.

[IDemo]

13. We already have an arena team and the Broncos

Boise is sports mad, but I don't see room for an additional football venue.

[madinmaryland]

15. There are actually 25,000 people in total in Boise??

:wow:

:hide:

[EvolveOrConvolve]

21. Hey, we just hit the half a million mark in population

and are well on our way to a million. :) Not big by any means, but hey, give us some credit.

And there's no way in hell that you could get 25,000 Boiseans out to watch a bastardized version of football when we have our beloved Boise State Broncos to cheer on. Honestly, selling out a 5,800 seat venue for our arena team is an accomplishment.

[HEyHEY]

22. "Bastardized" version? THe grey cup is WAY older than the superbore

[LynneSin]

16. They tried the CFL about 15 years ago....

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/CFL_USA

Sorry, we Americans want our 4th down and we don't want to have to go 110 yards for a TD

[KamaAina]

17. Sorry, Delaware is out of the question

the 110-yard field, plus 25-yard end zones would spill over into Md. :P

[HEyHEY]

20. I know, but all those teams were in the south

Baltimore was a sellout crowd all the time.
My theory is that if you put it in the northern areas it'll work.