Warm welcome to our Canadian posters

[The Parksider]

11 hours ago, Captain Survival said:

  I am aware that in the UK, union and rfl are at odds whereas over here TWP are in fact sponsoring a traditional 7's tournament, and everyone on all sides is happy about it. 

The animosities over there remind me of soccer hooliganism, and we just don't go for that type of stuff over here

Nor here. It was the old time administrators of Union that blacklisted all League players as "Professionals" pre-the advent of the big TV contracts and Professionalism in both versions of the game in the mid 1990's. OK some RL players were paid wages at top level but the majority were not whilst top union players would get paid cash on the side, against their own rules.

Once that stopped the animosity died away so we can play both games, we have players crossing codes at all levels, we have big RL games in Union stadia, we've have dual code pro clubs (and amateur clubs entertaining both codes) like Leeds and at one time Harlequins etc. To signal the end of this Wigan RL played Bath RU in a game of two halves under each others rules, each easily winning the half when their code was played. This was 1996.

[Krzzystuff]

6 hours ago, MZH said:

I know a few of the Canadian posters are ex pats or existing fans of RL. I'm interested to know how many of you guys are total newcomers to the sport because of the wolfpack?

Me. Never knew there were two codes. Stumbled upon a BBC article about this Canadian transatlantic team and it just blossomed from there. Trying they as many people I know hooked on this, already brought 10+ people to the games and had to explain the rule differences to the best of my abilities even though I was just learning it myself.

[deluded pom?]

5 minutes ago, Krzzystuff said:

Me. Never knew there were two codes. Stumbled upon a BBC article about this Canadian transatlantic team and it just blossomed from there. Trying they as many people I know hooked on this, already brought 10+ people to the games and had to explain the rule differences to the best of my abilities even though I was just learning it myself.

As I said to Kman if you want to know anything just holler and we'll try and give you an answer.

[Tiger Wolf]

38 minutes ago, Krzzystuff said:

Me. Never knew there were two codes. Stumbled upon a BBC article about this Canadian transatlantic team and it just blossomed from there. Trying they as many people I know hooked on this, already brought 10+ people to the games and had to explain the rule differences to the best of my abilities even though I was just learning it myself.

Well done and keep up the good work of spreading the game.  As a visitor to Ontario once or twice a year I have followed the progress with interest.  I was over in Burlington a couple of weeks ago and was slightly disappointed that people I spoke with hadn't heard much about TWP.  Are the games shown on regular tv?

Re expansion having a team in Hamilton would give TWP a local derby as such.  Does Hamilton have any other pro/semi pro sports teams other than tiger cats?  I think the Montreal/NY development may be a better option at the moment especially if their business model is similar to TWP. 

Good luck for next season.

 

[Big Picture]

1 hour ago, Krzzystuff said:

Me. Never knew there were two codes. Stumbled upon a BBC article about this Canadian transatlantic team and it just blossomed from there. Trying they as many people I know hooked on this, already brought 10+ people to the games and had to explain the rule differences to the best of my abilities even though I was just learning it myself.

Depending on how well acquainted they are with the Canadian variant of gridiron, relating it to that might help them.  You could point to the lack of fair catches, the goal-line dropout being an improved version of the rouge, etc.  After all RL is real Canadian football.

[Captain Survival]

9 hours ago, John WP Fan said:

Hey, I’m not an expat! Born and raised in Toronto!

Hi John,  Apologies, and I think I knew that in fact from reading your wonderful blog post on your discovery, but for whatever reason it slipped my mind. 

 

9 hours ago, MZH said:

I know a few of the Canadian posters are ex pats or existing fans of RL. I'm interested to know how many of you guys are total newcomers to the sport because of the wolfpack?

I played in high school.  But as that was 40 yrs ago I consider myself a complete newcomer as I have had not one iota of exposure to rugby since that time until the TWP came along.  Even in the mid 1980's when I was in Europe for a long period of time it never entered my view.

 

7 hours ago, deluded pom? said:

Talking of enthusiastic Canadians has anyone heard anything from kman? He's the epitome of enthusiasm for TWP. I have him down as a true Canadian, I never realised he is an expat.

I may have him ticked in the expat category by mistake.  Which of course means that even more of us are born and bred vs what was inferred by Frog.  Kman advised awhile ago that he had pressing family matters to attend and had to focus on these.   We can only hope that matters are working out positively but the length of time since his last post is several months which is worrying.

 

14 hours ago, ojx said:

There is a big difference between Switzerland and Canada. RL will find it difficult to expand into markets where there is not a history of contact sports, especially as parents are more over-protective than ever. North America is the one of the only opportunities for RL because they are used to even harder contact sports.

I agree with your 100% in all respects.  As one who grew up playing field lacrosse, Canadian Football, etc I agree hard physical contact sports are the accepted norm here.  Its why MMA has thrived so well in Canada.  

Perez absolutely hit the nail on the head when he said RL was the most Canadian of all sports - it imbues virtually every aspect of athleticism that we here love - its only room for improvement would it be that it was on ice.....

 

12 hours ago, ojx said:

Hold on Frog. The heartland clubs are filled with old white english men. Clearly they haven't been able to market the team to any new audience. The TWP crowd have a mixed demographic that they could only dream on the M62. And now you complain about Toronto haveing some expat fans? Pot .. kettle ... black. Try getting some new fans to your clubs.

Yep!  Anyone over there who watched a game would have noticed the incredible diversity of the attendees.  This is true of our principal sport hockey as well - have any of you ever seen the CBC Punjabi tv crew call the hockey games?  They are renown on both sides of the border.

7 hours ago, deluded pom? said:

Thanks, sorry about the edit to the post earlier. Was the fact that it was a team based in Toronto rather than any other Canadian city that resonated with you or would you have taken an interest if it had been another city? Sorry for all the questions?

Starting out in Toronto was I believe a must.  It is the sporting capital of Canada having the capacity to support more professional sporting teams then any other Canadian city.  Toronto is in fact the 3rd largest CMA in Canada/USA.  NY, Toronto, Chicago and LA CMA's are the dominant economic zones in NA (Dallas is hot on the heels) and thus also why I think its imperative that the next entry be NY.

[deluded pom?]

Cheers Skipper.

[Captain Survival]

2 hours ago, Tiger Wolf said:

Well done and keep up the good work of spreading the game.  As a visitor to Ontario once or twice a year I have followed the progress with interest.  I was over in Burlington a couple of weeks ago and was slightly disappointed that people I spoke with hadn't heard much about TWP.  Are the games shown on regular tv?

Re expansion having a team in Hamilton would give TWP a local derby as such.  Does Hamilton have any other pro/semi pro sports teams other than tiger cats?  I think the Montreal/NY development may be a better option at the moment especially if their business model is similar to TWP. 

Good luck for next season.

 

I live in Oakville which is adjacent to Burlington.  Burlington is the western suburb furthest out from Toronto - its 55+ km from downtown to downtown.  The majority  of the Burlington population do not ever go to Toronto at all.  So it is no surprise to me that TWP penetration into Burlington is minimal.

The games are not shown on regular tv unless one is on an extended cable package with certain providers.  You have to watch the online feed on cbc.  I believe that is going to change next year.

I think every fan this side of the pond agrees on NY and Montreal next, for more reasons then any of us can tick off.

[Tiger Wolf]

5 hours ago, Captain Survival said:

I live in Oakville which is adjacent to Burlington.  Burlington is the western suburb furthest out from Toronto - its 55+ km from downtown to downtown.  The majority  of the Burlington population do not ever go to Toronto at all.  So it is no surprise to me that TWP penetration into Burlington is minimal.

The games are not shown on regular tv unless one is on an extended cable package with certain providers.  You have to watch the online feed on cbc.  I believe that is going to change next year.

I think every fan this side of the pond agrees on NY and Montreal next, for more reasons then any of us can tick off.

I know Oakville pretty well, although a little nearer to Toronto it is still a city similar to Burlington IMO. The people I spoke to in Burlington were more into the Leafs as the NHL season has just started, even in bars watching the leafs, I thought there would have been some passing interest in TWP, unfortunately not.

Let's hope there is more tv coverage and get the game and TWP more widely publicised over in Canada and North America. 

[TheReaper]

17 hours ago, MZH said:

I know a few of the Canadian posters are ex pats or existing fans of RL. I'm interested to know how many of you guys are total newcomers to the sport because of the wolfpack?

I've been a RU  player and fan for around 8 years. I used to have the online Sportsnet rugby subscription which also had RL, so I watched it occasionally when there was no RU on. My high school coach was a big fan, always wore a Perinth Panthers jersey.

I also tried playing it when the Brantford Broncos started, didn't like it that much since I sucked and travelling to Toronto  all the time was too much. 

I never paid any attention to it until TWP news came out. I follow them now but don't always watch,  and don't really follow any other RL besides TWP and the Canadian team.

 

Unlike most other posters, I think Hamilton absolutely could work in that the team would be successful. However it may not fit in the overall vision for the league.  But Hamiltonians love to hate Toronto,  and 

[ojx]

22 hours ago, Tiger Wolf said:

Well done and keep up the good work of spreading the game.  As a visitor to Ontario once or twice a year I have followed the progress with interest.  I was over in Burlington a couple of weeks ago and was slightly disappointed that people I spoke with hadn't heard much about TWP.  Are the games shown on regular tv?

Burlington is part of the greater Toronto area. Lots of people still need to learn about it, so there is massive potential for growth. I'm sure if you asked random folks in London, not many could tell you who or what the London Broncos are.

[Copa]

It’s been well over a year now and it’s been fantastic to have our Canadian friends stick around and contribute to this forum.

Keep at it and bring all of your friends!

[Heritage XIII]

The success will be complete when Mr Mews joins us lol

[Damien]

I just echo what I said 18 months ago on the first page. It's great that our Canadian friends enjoy the game and post on here. I certainly enjoy reading the different perspectives and their positivity about the game.

Even better 18 months down the line the same Canadian posters have stuck around and still regularly post. That certainly shows to me that they genuinely love the game and shows the Wolfpack are doing something right.

[Dunbar]

On 10/22/2017 at 1:35 AM, Captain Survival said:

The animosities over there remind me of soccer hooliganism, and we just don't go for that type of stuff over here - down in the USA they are a bit more like that with all this us vs them type stuff.

There is plenty of history between the two codes in the UK and sometimes this is played out on these boards. I let some of my personal feelings out here because all the friends I have who follow Union are just not that passionate about it and nor should they be.

Let me assure you that both codes of rugby offer great family entertainment. Fans from both clubs mingle and chat before, during and after the game and the vast vast majority is friendly and jovial. 

It is a million miles away from soccer hooliganism. 

[Bert1]

The more the merrier! Gives a different perspective on the game and adds value. Rugby League is for everyone.

[Big Picture]

4 hours ago, Damien said:

I just echo what I said 18 months ago on the first page. It's great that our Canadian friends enjoy the game and post on here. I certainly enjoy reading the different perspectives and their positivity about the game.

Even better 18 months down the line the same Canadian posters have stuck around and still regularly post. That certainly shows to me that they genuinely love the game and shows the Wolfpack are doing something right.

At least one of us has loved the game for many a year now.