CFL notebook: Catch the game (and the Pokémon)
The Toronto Argonauts were hoping the Pokémon Go craze would lead fans into BMO Field on Monday evening.
The team set Pokémon lures in the Shipyard — the Argos’ tailgating area —and at the BMO Field box office at 4:30 p.m. as well as in the stadium at 6:30 p.m., an hour before the Argos kicked off against the Montreal Alouettes.
“I must admit that I don’t fully understand it myself, but what I do know is that many of our fans who are coming out for a great football game will also be looking to catch some Pokémons,” Argos senior vice-president of business operations Sara Moore said. “So we plan to have a little fun with it and set off some lures in and around BMO Field and the Shipyard.”
The Edmonton Eskimos held a similar Pokémon Go event ahead of their game on Saturday. FIELD OF DREAMS: Alouettes head coach and GM Jim Popp was asked what he thought of the playing surface at BMO Field. It’s the first grass surface the league has seen since the Eskimos went to turf in 2010. The end zone at BMO is two yards shorter, too, and has its back end filled with turf.
“It reminds me a lot of the U.S. expansion when they were trying to fit fields in stadiums,” Popp said.
“You had some grass fields, some turf in the end zone. The teams that have come in here to play have done nothing but compliment how nice it is.” CAPITAL CUP? The Ottawa Redblacks will be making what the team called a “historic” on-field announcement on Sunday, before they host the Argos. Jeff Hunt, the president of the Ottawa Sports and Entertainment Group, couldn’t confirm the announcement to the Ottawa Citizen, but told the paper, “it’s going to be a significant announcement and it’s going to be exciting.”
The Redblacks are a logical choice to host the 105th Grey Cup. Next year marks Canada’s 150th birthday and Ottawa last hosted the Cup in 2004. Redblacks ownership has been clamouring to host the event since it was granted a franchise in 2008. RACIAL DIVIDE: CFL commissioner Jeffrey Orridge caught the attention of The Undefeated, an ESPN platform that describes itself as “exploring the intersections of race, sports and culture.” The site’s story looks at how the CFL is far ahead of the NFL on diversity issues. Orridge is the first black man to head a major professional sports league in North America.
The article also points to the CFL’s 60-year legacy of offering opportunities to African-Americans who were held back by racial discrimination in the States. Among the most notable points: the CFL has had more than 100 African-American quarterbacks, more than twice as many as the NFL.