Will Ottawa become France's 3rd pro team?

[RobertAM]

12 minutes ago, Jayme2020 said:

The effect would be beyond massive now just attendance wise but you would see block parties etc.

and to think in 2022 you will get the Yanks coming up to games when NY joins... ofc there's a good chance the Aces get promoted to Championship and then I have a quandary as the wonderful York City Knights will be coming over and I have a ton of mates who travel with them..how to be in two places at once??

[ATLANTISMAN]

8 minutes ago, fighting irish said:

This thread is so uplifting. The way you people talk puts some of our die-hards to shame. Good luck to you all. I hope its a massive success.

YES it is uplifting and our Canadian brothers and sisters sure do know how to throw a party at a sports event.

 

In 2007 I attended my first Grey Cup Final in Toronto the whole weekend was a fantastic experience what impressed me was the different levels of engagement budget wise over the weekend there was.

* Party at the top of the CN tower with live bands (This was a corporate event LOVERBOY were the main attraction big in Canada like April Wine and Triumph but hardly anyone has heard of them elsewhere:)

 

* Massive pre match party next to the stadium which started at lunchtime and ran for around 6/8 hours (Over 8000 in attendance) the interaction with the sponsors was fab included 

* Log sawing competitions sponsored by De Walt

* Play with POKER STARS TV heroes (My wife had a blast she is Russian and is a mean hand at poker:)

* SONY TV sponsored anyone having a picture with the GREY CUP we still have ours on the wall at home:)

* Nissan sponsored a 4 x 4 driving circuit 

 

There was LIVE bands great food and the match entertainment included LENNY KRAVITZ at half time it was brilliant  really opened by eyes 7 of us went including Jacques Jorda the ex French national coach with his wife very happy memories.

GOOD LUCK YOU CANADIANS:)

 

Paul

[RobertAM]

for any new Ottawa fans coming on this thread in advance of you getting a dedicated team thread I recommend subscribing to League Express via Pocketmags.  It is put out weekly and digital edition comes in around 4pm our time every Sunday . they have great writers and even in the lockdown do a great job of keeping you informed.. inexpensive and great value. I have no axe to grind I just enjoy getting the inside info especially the game reports when things are humming..enjoy!

[The Rocket]

3 hours ago, Jayme2020 said:

The effect would be beyond massive now just attendance wise but you would see block parties etc.

Dammit, Where`s that `French for Beginners` book, block parties, tank tops, Daisy Duke ,Quebecois hotties, LOG SAWING, is there a game of Rugby League in there? Who cares .  Je  t`aime !!!

[Adelaide Tiger]

Just ordered the book ‘Del Boy French for Beginners’.  It’ll knock those French lasses bandy!

[Big Picture]

9 hours ago, The Daddy said:

Surely there's a direct rail from one city to the other which would be easier than getting a car? 

Just about everyone over here has a car, we drive wherever we want to go.  Montréal to Ottawa is about 200 km or a 2-hour drive from the Stade olympique to TD Place stadium where the Aces will play.

9 hours ago, The Daddy said:

What effect do you think an Ottawa v Toronto SL game would have? I'm sure it would get a huge attendance with fans from all of Canada's major east coast cities. 

Neither city is anywhere near the east coast, in fact they're in a different time zone altogether.  The east coast is on Atlantic time and Ontario and Québec are on Eastern time.  It's a big country.

[TheReaper]

I'm still not quite as optimistic.  Soccer has only been able to get ~5k crowds consistently.  I fail to see how a relatively unknown sport could do better. 

[Jayme2020]

6 hours ago, TheReaper said:

I'm still not quite as optimistic.  Soccer has only been able to get ~5k crowds consistently.  I fail to see how a relatively unknown sport could do better. 

The Usl is not Major League Soccer to avg 5000 is solid in that league the league avg is around 3000 with that said football is more in line with rugby then soccer.You take the Redblacks they avg 20,000 with 17,000 season tickets sold the yearly university Panda game sell out over 20,000.Back to the soccer why attendance went down the last year or so was more to do with fans not happy being in the USL.

[DoubleD]

14 hours ago, fighting irish said:

This thread is so uplifting. The way you people talk puts some of our die-hards to shame. Good luck to you all. I hope its a massive success.

Yeah but how many SL players have Ottawa produced?

[TheReaper]

1 hour ago, Jayme2020 said:

The Usl is not Major League Soccer to avg 5000 is solid in that league the league avg is around 3000 with that said football is more in line with rugby then soccer.You take the Redblacks they avg 20,000 with 17,000 season tickets sold the yearly university Panda game sell out over 20,000.Back to the soccer why attendance went down the last year or so was more to do with fans not happy being in the USL.

League 1 isn't major league either. And although rugby is more similar to football, I really don't think it's the sport on the field that's the primary factor there. Football has 150 years of history in the city, soccer has some history but not as much, and rugby league has less.

Maybe I'll be proven wrong but I just don't see it overtaking soccer from the start. I could see ~2k as good start. But predictions of 10,000 fans and tons of Montrealers coming up and block parties etc seem premature.

[Jayme2020]

7 minutes ago, TheReaper said:

League 1 isn't major league either. And although rugby is more similar to football, I really don't think it's the sport on the field that's the primary factor there. Football has 150 years of history in the city, soccer has some history but not as much, and rugby league has less.

Maybe I'll be proven wrong but I just don't see it overtaking soccer from the start. I could see ~2k as good start. But predictions of 10,000 fans and tons of Montrealers coming up and block parties etc seem premature.

Well past history has shown tons some times thousands of people from Montreal travel to Ottawa for sports and events the rugby team should not be any different.

[JM2010]

What is the current RL set up in and around the Ottawa area?

Is there a local comp or any clubs playing regularly?

I'm not asking to be negative, I'm all for the Canadian clubs entering the structure. It would be great if local leagues could be set up around Toronto and Ottawa/Montreal. 

[Oldbear]

4 hours ago, TheReaper said:

League 1 isn't major league either. And although rugby is more similar to football, I really don't think it's the sport on the field that's the primary factor there. Football has 150 years of history in the city, soccer has some history but not as much, and rugby league has less.

Maybe I'll be proven wrong but I just don't see it overtaking soccer from the start. I could see ~2k as good start. But predictions of 10,000 fans and tons of Montrealers coming up and block parties etc seem premature.

I agree with this, having said that, an average of 2-3,000 in a league where getting a 4 figure crowd is good news shows what an achievement even those numbers would be.

[Oldbear]

6 hours ago, Jayme2020 said:

the yearly university Panda game sell out over 20,000

Yes but the Panda is the local derby game, the rest of the season neither Ottawa nor Carleton breaks 2,000 a game. I think first year average of 2,500 is more realistic, the big crowds will come when playing Toronto in a few years time. And before anyone sniffs at 2,500 average, look at the averages for other League 1 teams.

[RobertAM]

nah, I still think 7000+ average

[CanadianRugger]

On 12/07/2020 at 11:32, The Daddy said:

How easy is it to get from Montreal to Ottawa on gameday? 

Trains run multiple times a day.  Ottawa also recently upgraded its transportation system and have begun building a subway.

Ottawa is a booming city.  It's a Government town but there is a huge high tech industry as well and lots of young people moving there.

It's the second fastest growing City in the Country:

https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&source=web&rct=j&url=https://ottawa.ctvnews.ca/mobile/population-boom-ottawa-the-second-fastest-growing-city-in-canada-1.4810274&ved=2ahUKEwjY0v_xpsvqAhURFjQIHX9ICpAQFjATegQIDhAV&usg=AOvVaw2CnCzc0Ow5HUEHKhMrbFaa

That is unlikely to change, even with COVID.

 

 

[TheReaper]

1 hour ago, SL17 said:

Most Canadians are stating the rail network is some what below par. Cannot be guaranteed to make your fixture!
 

Then again you can always fly.

Or drive like 99% of people 

[unapologetic pedant]

On 12/07/2020 at 23:47, The Rocket said:

Dammit, Where`s that `French for Beginners` book, block parties, tank tops, Daisy Duke ,Quebecois hotties, LOG SAWING, is there a game of Rugby League in there? Who cares .  Je  t`aime !!!

 

On 13/07/2020 at 01:12, Adelaide Tiger said:

Just ordered the book ‘Del Boy French for Beginners’.  It’ll knock those French lasses bandy!

Lost Kirsty Maccoll song - There`s a guy on the forum swears he`s Serge Gainsbourg.

[RayCee]

5 hours ago, CanadianRugger said:

Ottawa is a booming city. 

It's the second fastest growing City in the Country

Do Canadians enjoy being cold? 

[The Rocket]

On 12/07/2020 at 10:30, unapologetic pedant said:

And yes, I can confirm that "hubristic" is a word. The English Language is our gift to the world. Always delighted to give guidance to those learning to speak it in far-flung corners of the Empire.

While I have got you U.P. ,when I was pondering your response , I wondered whether I had missed the joke and the inference of your response was indeed , "And yes, I can confirm that "hubristic" is a word, for example, the English Language is ................... "

[unapologetic pedant]

52 minutes ago, The Rocket said:

While I have got you U.P. ,when I was pondering your response , I wondered whether I had missed the joke and the inference of your response was indeed , "And yes, I can confirm that "hubristic" is a word, for example, the English Language is ................... "

I`m struggling to crack this. I`d have been no use on the enigma code.

If it`s any help my choice of preposterous username is a clue to most things.

[Adelaide Tiger]

1 hour ago, unapologetic pedant said:

 

Lost Kirsty Maccoll song - There`s a guy on the forum swears he`s Serge Gainsbourg.

‘Je suis Chambourcy Nouvelle’ as they say in the Dordoigne.

[The Rocket]

2 minutes ago, unapologetic pedant said:

I`m struggling to crack this. I`d have been no use on the enigma code.

If it`s any help my choice of preposterous username is a clue to most things.

What I was attempting to say U.P.  , was that , were the last two sentences of your response meant to provide an example of the first. Obviously not . By the way , I thought that words like `preposterous` went out with Robert Morley .P.G. Wodehouse and maybe Oscar Wilde. LOL (I use that last acronym to show that I am having  bit of fun with you)

[unapologetic pedant]

39 minutes ago, The Rocket said:

What I was attempting to say U.P.  , was that , were the last two sentences of your response meant to provide an example of the first. Obviously not . By the way , I thought that words like `preposterous` went out with Robert Morley .P.G. Wodehouse and maybe Oscar Wilde. LOL (I use that last acronym to show that I am having  bit of fun with you)

If I turn my head slightly from the computer I can see the complete works of Oscar peeping out from the bookcase.

"We are all in the gutter, but some of us are looking at the stars"

[The Rocket]

2 minutes ago, unapologetic pedant said:

If I turn my head slightly from the computer I can see the complete works of Oscar peeping out from the bookcase.

"We are all in the gutter, but some of us are looking at the stars"

Very good, I think that was said when he was down and out in Paris and not long after on his deathbed stated " Well, it`s either me or the wallpaper , one of us has to go " . However my favourite Wilde quote (and aren`t there many)  is that  " Punctuality is the thief of time".