100th GC in TO?

[LRF]

So Toronto gets the 100th Grey Cup. really no surprise but is it the right choice?

In my opinion Toronto will have to put on a week long festival that matches or exceeds Super Bowl in hype. The game of the century (literally) will instead of being hyped and showcased it will be held in a place where it will be lost in everything and well hidden.

Hopefully Toronto has some tricks up there sleeve because if it doesn't match up to Super Bowl the NFL people there will have a hay day.

[TheGreyCupTDChicken]

I totally agree this had better be a big deal.  I was at the last GC in Toronto and in my opinion as far as local fan and civic support Toronto's GC was the worst that I have ever been to.  And don't tell me that they can't get behind it as such a huge metropolis.  Montreal, Vancouver and last years Calgary events were pheonominal.  As for comparing it to Superbowl, not only do think that it will never compare, I just don't know if that's the right place to aim.  Just go for outdoing the reagular yearly event make it a week long thing, make it great and make it relevant in TO.  If they do that, I will go and I will enjoy it.

[Hambone]

Personally I thought Toronto did a pretty darned good job in 2007. Certainly it was miles ahead of what it was in 1989 and 1992. Wandering around the downtown area impossible not to notice the game was on. The Convention Centre was a good venue able to house most of the parties in a fashion that Winnipeg's Convention Centre serves there. Any pub I dropped in on had a Grey Cup feel unless a Leafs game happened to be on the tube at the same time. I don't know if it's fair to compare Toronto to Grey Cup's since because the event has been getting bigger and better each year. If anything Calgary was showing signs of not being able to keep up with the increasing popularity of the event and that's not a knock on them. There seems to be more and more GC events every year thus more capacity for GC fans and partiers yet it seems to be tougher and tougher to get into the events.

Toronto is a different breed of sports city. It's not a sports town, it's not even a hockey town. It's first and foremost a Leaf town, probably followed by soccer thanks to it's multicultural diversity. After that it's an event town. It's also the most multicultural city in North America. As a result probably half or more of it couldn't care less about any form of gridiron football be it CFL or NFL. In every other CFL city football is either the first or second sport in terms of popularity. Regardless putting an event like Grey Cup into a city of 4 to 5 million cannot possibly have the same visible impact across the city as it would in cities 1/4 the size like Edmonton or Calgary or 1/20th of the size like Regina. But that doesn't stop them from putting on a terrific celebration in the downtown core where it will be noticeable. Comments so far from Braley and the 2012 GC committee all point to a potential GC the likes of which we've never seen. They seem to appreciate that with it being such a historical milestone it's important to ensure we see the sort of anniversary party Earl Grey's legacy deserves.

[LRF]

I gotta agree with the chicken ... it may not have to be as commercial as Super Bowl and they should just keep doing what they are doing. But its going to have to be NFL style hyped and promoted. Half time is going to have to be spectacular - not some trendy trendy toronto Starbucks type band that really nobody outside of Toronto knows or cares..... face it, the Argo faithful will be a huge minority there which is really sad considering its history.

[Hambone]

Well they didn't do too bad in 2007 with Lenny Kravitz. Kravitz and the Black Eyed Peas in 2005 have been the most internationally known acts to play GC halftimes IMO. However it's been sliding downhill since Kravitz in Toronto to Blue Rodeo last year in Calgary?!?!?!?!

GC has no chance of living up to NFL style hype. I don't even know if there is such a thing as NFL style hype. Most of the hype there is media generated by the 5 headed CBS, NBC, ABC, FOX, ESPN monster feeding the 350 million strong market plus a global market beyond that. Conversely Grey Cup has to rely on TSN with some support by Sportsnet, the MotherCorp and CTV to feed a 33 million market. Vibes I've picked up on is that the CFL does expect and will try to tap into what should be more North American and global interest for such a milestone event. It's not too often a sports entity can promote its 100th championship. The new GC CEO has already talked about tapping into the 2010 Olympic knowledge base. Like it or not having the game in Toronto makes a huge difference in being able to attract many of the pieces needed to make it the event it should be. Imagine being an agent of a top act if you will and you get a call about playing half-time for the 100th Grey Cup. Unless the act is Canadian they likely don't know what a Grey Cup is so being asked to perform in Toronto will carry a helluva lot more clout than being asked to perform in Winnipeg.

[GreatWhiteNorth]

Nowhere I'd rather have the 100th Grey Cup than Toronto.  I felt that the city did a fantastic job of putting on the show in 2007 regardless of whether the locals embraced it entirely.  I don't really care whether my cab driver or waiter is a CFL fan, but I do care that there are enough hotels to accommodate the visitors, suitable venues to allow for the events to be hosted, and support (both fans and corporate) to fill the stadiums.

Above all else, Toronto is an important enough market for the CFL in so many ways that it absolutely demands that we invest in it.  Putting on the biggest show that the CFL has had might be something that helps turn the corner there, and if it coincides with them turning the corner in terms of the on-field product, then all the better.

I've long maintained that Argo fans are among the most devoted and loyal fans to stick with their team through the apathy and strife that they've faced at times over recent years.  I would have no issue with seeing Toronto getting the game more than their fair share if it actually keeps building the brand and the success there.  I don't want to see it get back to where it was in the 80's, but once every six or seven years would be just fine with me.