Category Archives: Sports (MC Archive)

Sports columns that appeared on Jason Menard’s previous Web site, Menard Communications.

Thawing Fans’ Frozen Hearts

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By Jason Menard

It’s somewhat appropriate that during a time much of Canada is undergoing an oppressive heat wave, the labour relations between the National Hockey League’s players and owners finally thawed.

Of course, there is the not-so-insignificant matter of both sides’ rank-and-file ratifying the deal. But after so much acrimony and so much loss, the players really have no choice but to admit defeat and sign off on this pact. And the owners’ pen-wielding hands will be nice and warm from rubbing them with glee!

Now a group of people who have built a reputation of playing balls-to-the-wall, both on and off the ice, will have to find a way to come back to the game with their tails between their legs, effectively neutered as a group by the ownership. Worst of all, there’s no time for licking their wounds – those lips will be otherwise occupied by kissing up to the fans.

That’s right. It’s not just the owners that wanted to cut the players down a peg or two – the fans, who have been subjected to a year without their beloved game, will want their pound of flesh. There’s real anger and real disappointment permeating the fan base, and it falls to the players to diffuse those feelings.

You see, the owners already weren’t the favourite people for most fans. At best there was a love-hate relationship with certain owners, but they’re a behind-the-scenes (or, more accurately, an up-in-a-luxury-box) group. The players, like it or not, are the faces of these organizations – regardless of whether they’re covered in egg.

So what do the players do? What can they do? Any public apology is just going to come across as insincere and staged. They’ve lost whatever goodwill they may have earned being “Good Canadian Boys” who weren’t as spoiled as those NBA or MLB-types. Rightly or wrongly, there is a perception that hockey players lost out because of their own greed – refusing to take a better deal to save the season, and being forced to swallow a much more bitter pill in the end.

The solution to this dilemma? Play the game and play it like the fans would love to play it. If you’re in the NHL, hockey is your job. But for the average fan, playing in the NHL is a dream. The realities of getting paid, a short career, and hectic travel schedules cutting in on family time are often lost on Joe or Jill Average who would give their right arm to lace up with their favourite teams just once. Because of that, the players need to come back and play hard, every night, and make the game the exciting display of dynamism that it has the potential to be.

If the lockout has done anything, it’s created an environment where excitement is going to grow in spite of itself. With so many free agents, the NHL has turned into a giant rotisserie league, wherein every fan can dream about their team going out and signing players that previously would have been financially unattainable. Each and every fan will get caught up in the potential swap meet of players and the excitement of a new season, with new hope, and new potential for all will start to stoke the flames of passion that have been cooled by the lockout.

The NHL has done a lot of damage to itself with this lockout, and both players and owners share in the blame. Hockey hotbeds like the Canadian cities and some northern U.S. locations will be able to draw upon their large fan base for whom hockey is a way of life. But it is those non-traditional markets, like the southern States that the damage will be felt most.

But like anyone who has suffered a serious wound, the NHL will need to accept that it takes time to heal. There are no quick fixes, there is no panacea that will cure all hurt feelings and salve festering wounds – but there is the belief that time heals all wounds.

If the NHL goes through with rules changes designed to speed up the game and let the players play, fans will be drawn back in spite of themselves. The game is in our blood – and no matter how much we want to freeze the players out, the fact of the matter is that hockey played at its best will warm the heart of even the most disgruntled fan.

2005 © Menard Communications – Jason Menard All Rights Reserved

NHL Fans – Once Bitten, Twice Shy

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By Jason Menard

We’re officially now into summer. Do you know where your NHLers are? And, more importantly, do you care?

I know I don’t and that should concern the National Hockey League’s powers-that-be, because I’m exactly the type of person that they thought they’d never lose. But after a year without NHL hockey, I’ve discovered that I can more than comfortably live without it.

It’s a tragic story of lost love. In my youth, I’d faithfully watch the Montreal Canadiens whenever they were on T.V. I’d play organized hockey on the weekends and road hockey with my friends at every available opportunity. Regardless of whether I was on ice or on asphalt, I’d get swept away in my fantasy – my pre-teen bowl cut magically flowing majestically behind me like my idol Guy Lafleur as I broke down the wing.

And, as I got older and my sticks and skates went into hibernation, I’d still huddle by the radio to catch the nightly Habs’ broadcasts on CBC-French, rejoicing in unexpected Stanley Cups in 1985 and 1993, and suffering through the lows that followed. Moving back to Montreal, I rejoiced in the round-the-clock coverage that was available to me in both English and French-Language papers and radio!

As my son grew, he started to get involved in hockey as well. We own our matching Canadiens jerseys and I enjoyed teaching him the rules of the game, its history, and sharing those moments with him. Heck, my daughter would sit next to us saying “Go Habs Go,” almost from the time she started talking. Sure, at the time she thought every sport was hockey, but that’s beside the point.

But, when the lockout took that away, did we miss it? Not really. My son, who was a blossoming hockey fan, turned his interest towards other, more accessible sports, like basketball. And if we needed our hockey fix, we now were fortunate to have the London Knights close at hand.

Hockey just faded into the background. An inability to empathize with either side of the labour dispute simply left me apathetic towards the entire proceedings. And with that apathy came disillusionment. And, as a result of that disillusionment, years of goodwill and history were washed away.

Which leaves us back at square one. Like a lover scorned, I – and other fans like me – have that once-bitten-twice-shy mentality. Reports of potential settlements or progress in negotiations are greeted with nothing more than yawns or rolling eyes. The Canadian fan – once thought to be unflappable in its infatuation with the game – is now waiting to be wooed back to the game.

Essentially, our game broke up with us and, eventually, will want to get back together. But the question remains whether we will embrace it upon its return, or simply welcome it back, but remain stand-offish, not willing to commit that much of ourselves to a game again.

We’ve also found other suitors, more willing to consider our needs. In our parents’ and grandparents’ generations, sports – and specifically hockey – were culture-defining phenomena. They provided a shared experience that brought communities and cultures together. People with no common background or history could instantly strike up a conversation based on Gordie Howe’s exploits or Maurice Richard’s on-ice passion. Televised competition wasn’t as great as it is today and sport was an ingrained component of our lives.

Today we have more to distract us. We have more choice on TV – to the point where there’s probably a specialty channel that caters to your particular interest. We have the Internet, which can bring us to the farthest reaches of the Earth with just the click of a mouse. And we have more sports than ever starving for our entertainment dollar, and willing to do whatever it takes to get it.

Most importantly, we have grown to expect more from our entertainment suitors. Knowing that something else is just the click of a remote away, we’re more demanding of our entertainment providers. Shows that take extended hiatuses have difficulty retaining their audiences and fans grumble when too many repeats are shown in a row. Like any relationship, we expect regular companionship, consideration of our needs, and to be satisfied.

The NHL may have left us, but hockey fans haven’t sat by the phone, pining away for that phone call. We’ve loved, lost, and moved on. We’ve found other, often more rewarding, things to occupy our time. And we’ve learned – most importantly – that we can live without it.

Will fans eventually come back? There will be the die-hards who are so starved for hockey’s affection that they’ll come running back, forgiving all that’s gone on in the past. But there are others, maybe even the majority of people, who will be more wary of hockey’s return.

That bloom of first love has been lost forever and, no matter how hard hockey tries to woo us back, it may never be the same as it was. We, as fans, have moved on and we expect more.

2005 © Menard Communications – Jason Menard All Rights Reserved

Embracing a Tradition of Innovation

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By Jason Menard

Good for the NHL for embracing its tradition by taking a serious look at implementing radical changes to the way the game of hockey is played – ironically, much to the chagrin of self-professed traditionalists.

Those who look to reign in change choose to call themselves traditionalists. But, in all truth, they’re revisionists, preferring to look at the game as it was in their youth as the golden age of the sport.

It’s a hue and cry that’s no different than the person who turns on the radio and – channeling the ghosts of generations past – cries out, “What is that infernal caterwauling! Back in my day music was music…” It’s in our nature to believe our memories are the best, and that anything that comes before or after has to be inferior.

You really want to call yourself a traditionalist? Then get up on your puck pulpit and start promoting the return of the rover! How about a throwback to the days where forward passing was prohibited? Why not advocate getting rid of that infernal contraption, added in 1900, that’s done nothing but plague the game ever since – the goal net? Or maybe it’s time that we all recognize what the true tradition of the NHL actually is – a tradition of change.

Since the founding of the league and its precursors, professional hockey has always embraced the idea of change. In fact, during the first half of the 20 th century, significant changes to the way the game was played and officiated came on a regular basis. It was just in the latter half of the century that this movement towards respecting some ephemeral sanctity of the game came to the fore.

The fact of the matter is that the NHL rules are not sacrosanct. Nowhere are they etched in stone. They are like the game is at its best – fluid and dynamic.

For a significant period of the game’s history, its leadership actually worked diligently to make the game better. They understood the need for competitive balance between offence and defence. When penalizing goalies for holding onto a puck stopped making sense, they changed the rules! When they realized that hockey wasn’t rugby on ice and could be a more fast-paced and exciting game, they allowed forward passing.

They revolutionized the game on a regular basis, understanding that doing something “because that’s the way it’s always been done” wasn’t good enough. Yet, during our recent history, we’ve paralyzed the game’s growth with the mentality that hockey’s rules are scripture – only to be interpreted, never modified.

And now, thanks to a mass fan exodus caused by the lockout, that attitude seems to be changing. Understanding that fans are angry and need to be wooed back to the rink when this labour stoppage (or whatever the euphemism of the day is) is over, the NHL’s brain trust is making serious inroads towards revamping the game with its three-day research and development camp.

Larger nets, smaller pads, no red line, wider blue lines – it’s all up for grabs! Even the radical idea that a game should actually result in a winner is being embraced. Yet the traditionalists – sorry, revisionists – are already starting with the idea that a shootout disrespects the history of the game. The hypocrisy of the argument that shootouts turn a team game into a contest of individuals should be exposed when we look at the fact that these same self-professed traditionalists are trying to find ways to curb the trap and limit defence – two shining examples of teamwork at its best.

Today’s coaching is better than ever before. Today’s athletes are in better condition and are more educated about their athletic potential. Yesterday’s rules aren’t adequate on their own. The players and coaches have evolved, yet they game’s rules are being exposed for being antiquated – and they’re weighing down the game’s ability to reach its potential.

The NHL is showing that it’s serious about making significant changes to the game. And while the revisionists can sit back in their chairs and grumble about how much things were better in “the day,” the rest of us can applaud as hockey’s true tradition of innovation is once again coming to the fore – and the idea of change for the betterment of the game is no longer blasphemy.

2005 © Menard Communications – Jason Menard All Rights Reserved

Lions and Tiger-Cats and Gliebermans! Oh, my!

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By Jason Menard

As the Canadian Football League looks to steer itself into the future, rumours abound that they may be doing so with a new person behind the wheel. And, just like always, the CFL finds itself at a crossroads.

So who should be behind the wheel as driving force behind Canadian pigskin? May I offer my services? I’d work [relatively] cheap (important for a league that likes to pinch its pennies for anything other than player contracts) and I know the game – and we’ve seen what happens to leagues where the commissioner isn’t a fan, right Mr. Bettman?

Maybe it’s the fact that there are more men on the field, or the balls are bigger (wait, did I say that out loud – this is turning into an entirely different column), but I love the Canadian game. Admittedly, the talent level isn’t as strong as the NFL, but there is much to be said for the excitement that three-down football brings to the table.

Over the past few seasons, the CFL has found itself on an upswing all across the country. Toronto and Hamilton — historically strong markets that have seen lean years recently – are now enjoying resurgent fan interest backed by solid leadership. The Montreal Alouettes, resurrected from the dead, are a model on how to integrate the team to the community, and play to packed houses in one of the most dynamic stadiums in the league. And Western support, save for B.C., continues to be the foundation upon which the league is built.

Yet, that foundation is starting to show some cracks. And, while not yet in dire straights, there are some troubling signs that the league could start slipping back into the malaise that plagued it in the late 80s and 1990s.

It seems that when the CFL begins to taste a little bit of success, they lose their grip on reality and start slipping into the abyss. Another resurrected franchise, the Ottawa Renegades, is in ownership turmoil – on the verge of bringing back the, uhm, eclectic Glieberman clan to the helm. The salary cap is riddled with holes, and spiraling salaries are harkening memories of the Raghib Ismail personal-service contract days.

So how do we fix a game that’s not broken, but is slowly steering its way towards a brick wall? Here are five easy steps.

1. Install and enforce a salary cap with bite: OK, right there, I’ve excluded myself from consideration for the post, because there’s no way that the CFL owners will hire someone who will curb their free-spending ways. The issue, however, is the same that plagued the league in the 80s and 90s.

The CFL can’t compete with the big boys on a financial level, and by trying only exacerbates the tenuous financial situation these teams are in. We are not the NFL, so we can’t play on the same level. However, we are an exciting game, rich in history, and offer an attractive destination for those players who may be too small, a millisecond too slow, or overlooked in their NFL pursuits.

The league needs to cut back on the ancillary revenue that these teams can offer. Under-the-table deals for off-season work, radio shows, or other forms of compensation exist. Either ban them, or declare it as a benefit of playing for that team, and let teams use it as a recruiting tool (much like New York and L.A.-based teams try to sell their stars on the advertising potential of their towns). Whichever way the owners decide, it should be above the table.

And if you exceed the salary cap? The league needs to come down hard with penalties that have bite. Having quality Canadian content is key in the CFL, so abusers of the cap should be subject to losing a pick in the Canadian college draft. Or maybe they lose their designated import position for a period of time. Both ideas will give pause to those considering ways to circumvent the rules.

2. Expand: Oh, but didn’t we learn anything from the failed American expansion? Well, yes – that’s don’t expand into the States. However, there are two markets just ripe for the exploiting: Quebec City and the East Coast.

It’s a little hard to refer to the CFL as a Canadian league when the furthest east it reaches is 475 Pine Ave. W. in Montreal. To be a truly national league, it needs to have representation all the way to the Atlantic provinces. On top of that, Quebec and the Maritimes are football-mad locations that would support franchises long into the future.

Quebec is a hot-bed for junior-aged football and a second team would be able to tap into that ravenous market. And the support the Atlantic provinces give to their university programs is unparalleled. Location has always been an issue, but Halifax and Moncton could be considered worthy candidates to host a team. And, following the lead of the Green Riders, they could represent either their province or region, as opposed to identifying themselves with one city.

There have been whispers that cities like London and Mississauga, Ontario could be considered in the future, but the sustainable market just doesn’t seem to be there. If London could draw the Windsor-Kitchener traffic, it could make a go of it, while Mississauga would potentially cannibalize the Toronto/Hamilton fan bases. Either way, there are more attractive options to explore east of Montreal.

3. Embrace the history: The CFL has a rich and glorious past that should be exploited. And, as many of our legends are home-grown, they should be featured prominently in any advertising campaigns and game-time ceremonies. What many other professional leagues do well is that they make their retired greats ambassadors for the team and the game. One may well ask, what happens to a retired CFLer?

And on that note, enough with this Renegades thing. Go track down Horn Chen and pry the Rough Riders name from his greedy little hands! Two teams with similar names in a nine-team league was part of the CFL’s caché – let’s bring it back.

4. Engage the community: A great deal of Montreal’s success since the corpse of the Concorde/Alouettes was exhumed has been a direct result of the management’s dedication to building strong community relations. The same can also be said for the Edmonton, Calgary, Saskatchewan, and Winnipeg franchises, in that their fans embrace the team as an integral part of the community – not an afterthought as is the case in places like Vancouver and Toronto. More aggressive inclusionary tactics would help teams develop relevance in their communities, which translates into butts in the seats.

5. Support the game at a grass-roots level: Part of the NFL’s appeal stems from the fact that so many fans are also fans of the college game. They watch their favourites ply their trade in the NCAA, then make the natural progression into the NFL. By developing tighter relationships –in player development, marketing, and sponsorship – the CFL could go a long way in propping up the CIS. It’s not a quick fix and could take years to develop, but the reward in terms of fan acquisition and player development would be well worth it.

No matter who they hire, the CFL can’t afford to punt this opportunity away – not when a successful trip to the end zone is in sight!

2005 © Menard Communications – Jason Menard All Rights Reserved

Modern Sports Just Not Very Sporting

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By Jason Menard

I’d like to show you a vision of the future, if you don’t mind. Today’s sporting landscape is so out of whack, I can’t imagine how we’re going to explain it to our kids and grandchildren. I’m guessing that it will go a little like this.

“Grandpa Jay, what was the juiced ball era in baseball about?”

“Well, that was a time in the late ‘90s and early 2000s when people had suggested that Major League Baseball had fiddled with the actual balls, making them easier to hit out of the park. It turns out that it wasn’t just the balls that were juiced, but, allegedly, it was the players as well!”

“What do you mean by players being juiced?”

“You see, there are these things called steroids, which help people work out harder, get bigger, and, once again for all you lawyers listening out there, some players allegedly took them and started whacking the baseball out of the park on a more and more regular basis.”

“Well, that sounds a lot like cheating.”

“You may say that. Ironically, little one, the side effects of these steroids, which may have been responsible for the juiced ball era, probably were responsible for the Shrunken Ball era that followed after – but that’s a different story.”

“Wow. Was it just baseball players that used steroids?”

“No, it wasn’t. Certain football players allegedly used performance-enhancing drugs. And then there were the Olympic athletes that routinely got caught.”

“Oh, the Olympics, didn’t we have one of those in Vancouver?”

“Yes, we were proud to host the 2010 Winter Olympics. But, unfortunately, they didn’t live up to our expectations?”

“But I thought everybody loved Vancouver.”

“Without question, little one, and they put on a great show. But it kind of felt like having a birthday party and all your friends going home with your gifts.”

“I don’t understand.”

“You see, the Olympics are all about sports that the majority of Canadians only care about every four years. And, as we built up to the event, there was much hand-wringing and government discussion about providing more funding for our athletes so that they could compete better. Unfortunately, as you know with the government, all it came out to was a lot of talk, and these athletes – who don’t get any support from the public during the other three non-Olympic years, just couldn’t compete with better-funded, better-supported athletes from other countries.”

“So we didn’t win any gold medals?”

“Why, we didn’t win any medals. Although the International Olympic Committee did present President Gretzky with a nice Participant ribbon – kind of like the ones they give away at school.”

“Speaking of President Gretzky, how come we didn’t win Olympic gold in hockey? Weren’t we good at that?”

“Well sure we were. But with the NHL lockout going on to its seventh year, the players and owners decided that they were just warming up and didn’t want to break their momentum by actually hitting the ice.”

“Is that because they don’t want a salary cap? Baseball doesn’t have a salary cap and it’s doing well, isn’t it?”

“Sure. It is now. Especially since the other 28 all merged into one, barnstorming, mega team so that their salaries could match the Yankees and Red Sox’s payrolls!”

“You know, sports in your day just didn’t seem to be much fun, did they Grandpa. I think I’ll go read now.”

“That’s probably for the best…”

2005 © Menard Communications – Jason Menard All Rights Reserved