International Bowl to be played in Toronto in January...what does it mean?

1. i was wrong

2. if cincinnati-western michigan doesn't force football to replace hockey as canada's national sport, i don't know what will

 

According to officialy government documents and law, hockey is only Canada's national WINTER sport. And lacrosse is Canada's national SUMMER sport.

Either way, I'd take football in a heartbeat.

 

Eastern Michigan in a bowl?
Once in a lifetime isn't enough?


And JR? I'll be there in spirit. I'll lend you my Western michigan hockey jersey so you can have the best of both worlds at the Dome

 

Well, it looks like it's going to be a tough sell.

http://www.torontosun.com/Sports/Football/2006/12/13/2770517-sun.html

The International Bowl's chief operating officer, Don Loding, is optimistic the game will sell well here, even without a tangible rooting interest for either school or evidence that Toronto sports fans are interested in a second-rate NCAA Bowl Game.

Organizers have delivered some 10,000 tickets to the campuses of each participating school and given both are within an easy drive of the GTA, it is hoped each will deliver a sizable contingent.

"I think we'll be in the 25,000-30,000 range," Loding said yesterday of the first game in a four-year contract with the NCAA. "We think this city has that kind of a base. Plus we're selling tickets in Toronto, Kalamazoo (site of the WMU campus) and in Cincinnati."

Loding's dreaming. 25,000-30,000? No way.

I predict a max of 15,000. More likely 10,000.

 

So, did you go? It looked like it turned into a really good game.

 

Doesn't everyone (except the quarterback) run straight to the line of scrimmage?

 

What was the final attendance number?

It looked like the crowd was, well, ok.

When I was in Toronto for the provincial high school championships, organizers were giving tickets away by the hundreds - literally 100 per team.

 

Didn't go. My three sons went with their football buddies.

Looked like maybe 15,000....maybe more. But the entire upper bowl was empty.

Even with that number, they papered the place.

Watched first part of the game on TSN (ESPN2 feed). John Saunders was born and grew up in Toronto (first TV job was CITY TV) and Doug Flutie played 6 seasons up here.

They were a little over the top about the game being in Toronto. Made it sound like we were just outside Kuala Lumpur.

 

AP story said more than 26,000.

 

official count was 26,717

 

Given that there were $5 tix freely available . . . no hell.

 

Really?
Well, since there was nobody in the upper bowl and there were big gaps in the lower bowl, I figured max 20k.

But as Ben said, they were giving the tickets away.

It's a gradual process. Next year maybe they can get 30,000 and raise the price to $7.50