Saw some old black-and-white photos where the university of Toronto used to draw 60,000 people to its games in the 1950s.

(02-09-2023 02:16 PM)GTFletch Wrote:  

(02-07-2023 04:25 PM)Fighting Muskie Wrote:  I’ve always wondered why Canada doesn’t have a strong college sports culture.

Historically, aside from the NHL, there wasn’t a lot of professional competition for eyeballs and fan loyalty. The pro sports vacuum after all is what has made SEC football thrive (as well as places like Columbus where professional sports were nonexistent for decades).

Is it because the sport of choice for most Canadian kids has long been hockey? Were Canadian schools not able to give scholarships, which sent the best amateurs down the minor league route?

I think they do.

3) Soccer: ...
2) Lacrosse: ...
1) Ice Hockey: Ice hockey is considered to be the most popular sport in Canada, as the sport has been named as the official national sport in Canada.


Now why do they not like American Football, American Basketball, American baseball the same way Americans do? Because they are Canada and not the USA.

Strange with Canadian college lacrosse is they play in thr fall not the spring like the US.

(02-09-2023 06:46 PM)JRsec Wrote:  Canada and college sports (from one who once lived in Ontario):
1. It's damned cold outside a good portion of the year.

It's no colder in Ontario than it is in Michigan, Wisconsin, Minnesota, Iowa, New York, etc.

Southern Ontario is further south than people realize. Windsor Ontario is south of Detroit, MI.

I think there’s a stronger college sports culture south of the border compared to north of the border.

(02-09-2023 02:16 PM)GTFletch Wrote:  

(02-07-2023 04:25 PM)Fighting Muskie Wrote:  I’ve always wondered why Canada doesn’t have a strong college sports culture.

Historically, aside from the NHL, there wasn’t a lot of professional competition for eyeballs and fan loyalty. The pro sports vacuum after all is what has made SEC football thrive (as well as places like Columbus where professional sports were nonexistent for decades).

Is it because the sport of choice for most Canadian kids has long been hockey? Were Canadian schools not able to give scholarships, which sent the best amateurs down the minor league route?

I think they do.

3) Soccer: ...
2) Lacrosse: ...
1) Ice Hockey: Ice hockey is considered to be the most popular sport in Canada, as the sport has been named as the official national sport in Canada.


Now why do they not like American Football, American Basketball, American baseball the same way Americans do? Because they are Canada and not the USA.

To me, American football in the US is roughly equivalent to ice hockey in Canada. Lacrosse would be like American baseball.
Maybe basketball is like soccer in Canada??

More Americans live north of Canada’s southern most point than in all of Canada.

(02-11-2023 09:50 PM)Erictelevision Wrote:  More Americans live north of Canada’s southern most point than in all of Canada.

Pretty sure that’s factually incorrect.

I’ve seen several YouTube videos mention this. Wethersfield you trust them is up to you

(02-12-2023 01:09 AM)Erictelevision Wrote:  I’ve seen several YouTube videos mention this. Wethersfield you trust them is up to you

The southernmost part of Canada is the tip of southern Ontario, and Peele island that goes into Lake Erie, across from Cleveland. The only major cities in the country north of that are Seattle, Minneapolis, Boston and Portland. The metropolitan population of those cities are not more than 34 million people.

(02-12-2023 02:01 AM)thespywhozaggedme Wrote:  

(02-12-2023 01:09 AM)Erictelevision Wrote:  I’ve seen several YouTube videos mention this. Wethersfield you trust them is up to you

The southernmost part of Canada is the tip of southern Ontario, and Peele island that goes into Lake Erie, across from Cleveland. The only major cities in the country north of that are Seattle, Minneapolis, Boston and Portland. The metropolitan population of those cities are not more than 34 million people.

It’s more than you’d imagine, https://barelybad.com/north_of_canada_map.htm

No way is any of California or Nevada further north than the southern-most tip of Canada.

(02-12-2023 05:55 AM)_C2_ Wrote:  No way is any of California or Nevada further north than the southern-most tip of Canada.

Amazing, but true

https://www.reddit.com/r/MapPorn/comment...n_part_of/

(02-09-2023 09:18 AM)sctvman Wrote:  Sports television and radio is also a lot smaller of an industry than the US. Really all you have is TSN and SportsNet, and they have gone through significant cost-cutting the last few years.

Rogers (who own SportsNet) spent a significant part of their budget buying the NHL rights and they haven't made much from them. So much of their profit comes from Toronto teams making a long run. And the Maple Leafs never do.

The markets also aren't as big as the US. Toronto-Hamilton (one TV market) is 4th largest in North America, maybe close to 3rd, then you have Montreal about 12th or so, but the majority are French speakers.

Vancouver is 22, then the next largest are Edmonton, Kitchener-London and Calgary, which are between Greenville and Fresno. Not significant markets in the national sphere.

That is what makes Winnipeg's NHL success amazing because it is the 76th largest market in North America, between Tucson, Wichita and Des Moines. But the sports culture there can only support hockey.

Winnipeg doesn't even have an all sports radio station. And this is an NHL market!

The culture does support CFL as well.

(02-09-2023 06:30 PM)johnintx Wrote:  

(02-09-2023 09:18 AM)sctvman Wrote:  Sports television and radio is also a lot smaller of an industry than the US. Really all you have is TSN and SportsNet, and they have gone through significant cost-cutting the last few years.

Rogers (who own SportsNet) spent a significant part of their budget buying the NHL rights and they haven't made much from them. So much of their profit comes from Toronto teams making a long run. And the Maple Leafs never do.

The markets also aren't as big as the US. Toronto-Hamilton (one TV market) is 4th largest in North America, maybe close to 3rd, then you have Montreal about 12th or so, but the majority are French speakers.

Vancouver is 22, then the next largest are Edmonton, Kitchener-London and Calgary, which are between Greenville and Fresno. Not significant markets in the national sphere.

That is what makes Winnipeg's NHL success amazing because it is the 76th largest market in North America, between Tucson, Wichita and Des Moines. But the sports culture there can only support hockey.

Winnipeg doesn't even have an all sports radio station. And this is an NHL market!

Yep.

The US broadcast networks are on Canadian cable and satellite. US college football is available there. Also, TSN broadcasts some (not all) games from their sister network ESPN, including bowl games and the College Football Playoff. In addition, TSN (I think) shows the NCAA basketball tournament. Still, those programs serve as big event filler, and aren't front and center in the Canadian sports mind. From what I can remember of my trips there, Sportsnet doesn't show much other than hockey these days...or the random curling tournament. They've lost their shirts on the NHL.

As mentioned above, the closest thing to college sports in Canada is junior hockey. The highest level of teams play in medium sized cities, while lower levels of teams play in smaller towns. In Canada, it's analagous to US high school and college football. The people there are equally as passionate...there just aren't as many of them. The Memorial Cup (the national junior hockey championship) is a really big deal.

In addition, TSN has pretty much single-handedly turned the World Juniors tournament (December) into a major event. While we're watching bowl games, they're watching the Canadian junior national team play the US and others. The tournament is played in Canada or the US every other year, and played in Europe in the opposite year. But the tournament's primary exposure and demand is in Canada.

The Canadian college football championship, the Vanier Cup, was played last year in London, Ontario before a crowd of over 8,000. The Laval Rouge et Or (Red and Gold) defeated the Saskatchewan Huskies, 30-24. The game was televised on CBC.

Once was in Toronto for the first weekend of the NCAA tournament. TSN's coverage of it was levels better than CBS's because they had more flexibility to move from game to game.

(02-12-2023 02:01 AM)thespywhozaggedme Wrote:  

(02-12-2023 01:09 AM)Erictelevision Wrote:  I’ve seen several YouTube videos mention this. Wethersfield you trust them is up to you

The southernmost part of Canada is the tip of southern Ontario, and Peele island that goes into Lake Erie, across from Cleveland. The only major cities in the country north of that are Seattle, Minneapolis, Boston and Portland. The metropolitan population of those cities are not more than 34 million people.

Detroit, parts of Chicago, Buffalo, all of Wisconsin, etc. I don't know it it's true, but it is certainly plausible.

(02-12-2023 09:18 AM)loki_the_bubba Wrote:  

(02-12-2023 02:01 AM)thespywhozaggedme Wrote:  

(02-12-2023 01:09 AM)Erictelevision Wrote:  I’ve seen several YouTube videos mention this. Wethersfield you trust them is up to you

The southernmost part of Canada is the tip of southern Ontario, and Peele island that goes into Lake Erie, across from Cleveland. The only major cities in the country north of that are Seattle, Minneapolis, Boston and Portland. The metropolitan population of those cities are not more than 34 million people.

Detroit, parts of Chicago, Buffalo, all of Wisconsin, etc. I don't know it it's true, but it is certainly plausible.

Based on the map linked earlier, the entirety of these states:
Alaska*
Maine*
New Hampshire*
South Dakota*
Michigan*
North Dakota*
Vermont*
Idaho*
Minnesota*
Washington*
Montana*
Oregon*
Wisconsin*

Some plus portions of other states with lots of population.

Washington (7.7m), Oregon (4.2m), Wisconsin (5.9m), and Michigan (10m) alone get you to a bit under 30 million. Easy to see how the rest can get you up to 38m, plus large swaths of Massachusetts (most of the state's population), New York, and other northern states.