Rider Nation is force to reckon with, both on and off the field
BULLS OF THE WEEK
Amid some grumbling about a CFL playoff structure which does not necessarily reward the league’s best clubs — especially in a year in which no Eastern team finished above .500 — the Saskatchewan Roughriders are proving again this week that they are the crown jewel of Three Down Nation.
None of the other teams in the CFL moves the needle as much as the Roughriders do when it comes to national television audiences, merchandising and attendance ( both at home in Regina and on the road). The Roughriders are, in fact, the grizzly bear of the CFL ecosystem. If Saskatchewan itself is healthy on and off the field — winning and engaging a fan base that transcends its provincial borders and stretches from coast to coast — it bodes well for the league overall, particularly for the CFL on TSN television deal that pumps close to $4 million into each franchise every year.
Green is a very fitting colour for a franchise that sells more merchandise than the other eight clubs combined, led the league in attendance this year at their new Mosaic Stadium (averaging 32,762 fans per game) and is the CFL’s biggest TV draw.
The Roughriders’ playoff run is an opportunity for even the moribund Toronto Argonauts, who drew an average of 13,913 over nine home dates during the regular season but expect close to twice that to be on hand when the Eastern final kicks off Sunday.
If the Riders win they would become the first crossover team to reach the league championship, play in the first official “allWest” final and guarantee solid TV numbers for the 105th Grey Cup to be played Nov. 26 at a sold-out TD Place in the nation’s capital.
BEARS OF THE WEEK
Whether it’ll be weeks or months of national mourning, one thing is for sure: Italy’s failure to qualify for the 2018 World Cup in Russia is a massive blow to the pride of a country that is truly a global heritage brand in soccer.
It is an embarrassment for a nation in which the religious fervour for the Azzurri almost matches that for the Vatican. The pain could very well last beyond next summer when the Italians — six-time World Cup finalists, four-time champions and winners as recently as 2006 — are on the outside looking in for the first time since 1958.
Italy’s elimination at the hands of Sweden adds to a long list of surprise failures in the run-up to the 2018 World Cup. Also gone are the Netherlands, Chile from the South American zone and, perhaps most astonishingly, the Americans from CONCACAF.
It is a big loss for the sport in each of those countries and a setback for national federations looking to maximize corporate sponsorship, merchandising, special event revenues and domestic television rights during each World Cup cycle.
Yet it is also a setback for Mother Russia. The tournament remains deep with Euro powers Germany, Spain, Portugal and France along with Brazil and Argentina among the favourites but it will no doubt lose big pockets of global television reach and tourism spending from fans no longer interested in making the trek to host cities such as Moscow, Saint Petersburg, Volgograd, Kazan and Sochi to cheer on their national side.
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