Our sports team looks at the state of the CFL as the country gears up for Argos vs. Stamps at the 105th Grey Cup game on Sunday in Ottawa.
Brand has lost its roar as improvements haven’t been made
At the annual state-of-the-CFL presser Friday, newly minted commissioner Randy Ambrosie could rightly crow about recent developments that reflect the strength of the league’s brand.
TV ratings, long one of the load-bearing pillars in the CFL’s platform, took a bump in the playoffs this month after a decline in the regular season. This has something to do with the presence of the Toronto Argos in the East Division final and their resurgence is a massive boon to the venerable institution.
Ambrosie could also point to new or near-new stadiums in Regina, Winnipeg, Hamilton, Toronto and Ottawa, facilities that give the league a shiny, modern image. That image is further reinforced by a series of progressive policies, including the banning of full-contact practices and a longer season that reduces the wear and tear on players.
So Ambrosie has enjoyed a solid campaign in his first year on the job. He registers as a man of action and whether it’s players’ health or officiating, he wants to confront the CFL’s issues head on.
But — and this wouldn’t be the CFL if there wasn’t a but — there is one problem area that Ambrosie wasn’t as keen to address at Grey Cup week, one zit on the otherwise clear complexion of the league that needs his attention.
It’s about the B.C. Lions. But, on the plus side, the Leos finally lead the CFL in something.
In his five months on the job, Ambrosie has scored some victories in attempting to drag the league into the 21st century. But, in the Lions and their obdurate owner David Braley, he confronts old-school CFL problems: a backward franchise that operates according to its own outdated practices and principles.
Ambrosie was asked about it Friday, asked how the Lions could operate without a president for the 2017 season; asked, essentially, how the franchise in the league’s second-largest English-speaking market could be run so poorly.
His answer was vague. The problems posed by the Lions are not.
“You know David’s been one of the great stewards of our game and we all know that,” Ambrosie began with the predictable caveat. “If we ever do a Mount Rushmore equivalent of the CFL, David Braley has to be the first face on that mountain.”
I, personally, would pay to see that.
“I want David and I would encourage David and we will work with the B.C. Lions to do everything we can to help that team function at the highest level possible,” Ambrosie continued. “And that’s a conversation I have with every team. It’s not a B.C. Lions thing for me. It’s all teams. How do we help each team to maximize its opportunity in its marketplace?”
Here’s a suggestion: Try finding an owner and president who are willing to invest themselves in the franchise. It has to start there with the Lions.
The problem is Braley is making that difficult.
As the commissioner pointed out, Braley has earned his exalted place in the CFL hierarchy. Beginning with the Lions in the mid-’90s, he’s stepped up countless times and written countless cheques to keep the league functioning.
CFL historians would also note that the last commissioner to cross Braley publicly — back in 2001 Mike Lysko called out the Lions at his presser — was fired within a year. The Hamiltonbased industrialist still carries considerable clout in the league. He makes a better ally than enemy.
But the time has also passed when Braley’s involvement is good for the league and his ownership of the Lions has turned into a genuine thing. The absentee ownership and failure to appoint a president has created a massive void at the top of the organization. Wally Buono came back two years ago to coach the team, largely out of a sense of loyalty to Braley, but Buono thought he was done after this season.
The old Lion, who turns 68 in February, is now expected to clean up after Braley again. It’s been suggested he isn’t happy about this turn of events but Buono — who also faces back surgery this off-season — has been a CFL guy first, last and always. It’s likely he’ll return.
You can now ask if he’s the answer to the Lions’ many woes.
Part of the problem — a huge part of the problem, in fact — is Braley doesn’t see those many issues or the damage that has been done to the Lions’ brand. He gets the accounting in Hamilton. He sees the operation is still marginally profitable, largely because of the $4.5 million the Lions receive annually from the league’s fat TV contract.
So what’s all the fuss about? If you attended Lions games this season, you know the answer there. Attendance fell to 19,858 per game in 2017, the seventh straight season it’s decreased since the team moved into The Dome in 2011.
Braley, as it happens, had an opportunity to sell the Lions to a local group this year. Despite his assertions there were three entities interested in buying the Leos, it came down to a consortium connected to The Waterboys that made an offer in the $15-million range.
That offer was rejected, but here’s the point: the Lions are losing value with each day, week and month Braley owns the team. Potential buyers can see the state of the franchise. They also know it will require work and investment to bring it back. This doesn’t exactly enhance the asking price.
Braley has also demonstrated he’s unwilling or unable to put in that work or make that investment. That leaves the Lions heading into another season with the same ownership, the same faces and the unrealistic hope that, somehow, things will be better.
Ambrosie says he wants to help the Lions. Unfortunately, he has little power over the thing that would help them the most.