A passing thought on the team that wins at the gate but has come up short in the past two Grey Cups.
Having the Roughriders in the Cup guarantees the city hosting the game a huge turnout, which translates into big business.
To use an expression, the Roughrider fans "travel well," meaning they come out in droves and spend, whether it’s for hotel occupancy, all manner of food and beverage, merchandise and, oh yes, tickets.
Back in 2007, when the Toronto Argonauts lost to the Winnipeg Blue Bombers in the East Final, they lost out on that rare opportunity of playing the Grey Cup in their home city.
It could have been a really big disaster for the Argos because B.C. and Saskatchewan played in the West Final. A Grey Cup featuring Winnipeg and B.C. would have had considerably less appeal than Winnipeg and Saskatchewan (even if by quirky CFL standards Winnipeg is in the East and it produced an all-West championship game).
When the Riders won, it meant tickets would be scooped up at ridiculous prices, hotels would be packed and the local businesses in downtown Toronto would do well.
For the past two years, the Riders organization has leased storefront space in the downtown area of Grey Cup cities and hawked all kinds of merchandise. It is one of the reasons the Green Riders are No. 3 overall in merchandise sold by Canadian sports franchises.
The Riders could hawk used Kleenex with the team logo and make money. We would like to see the team sell some toilet paper with the emblem, but maybe shilling something with their opponents’ logo may have more practicality.
Whatever.
It’s amazing to think that back in 1997, this franchise was on the verge of bankruptcy. The CFL, which was also in dire straights at the time, needed financial help from the National Football League with a $4 million loan to stay afloat.
The Riders received an immediate infusion of $500,000 to have operating capital. Those telethons they did only went so far.
It was for that reason that the Riders annually didn’t do well. They didn’t have the money to keep their good players or attract free agents. The CFL salary cap was a misnomer because teams could pay players under the table. Because the Riders were a community-owned franchise, they had to account for all money spent. Playing for the Riders meant virtually no chance of even making it to the playoffs.
As for the Grey Cup, well, that was for other teams.
The privately-owned teams could spend under the table and hide the money trail. Is it any coincidence the Argos were able to pay free agent Doug Flutie $1 million in 1996 and win back-to-back Cups?
The Argos needed Flutie and the CFL needed a strong Argo team, but even though the Argos won back-to-back Grey Cups, beating the Riders one year, it did not equate to anything off the field. The franchise still lost tons of money.
The rise of the Roughriders in recent years is in direct relationship to the CFL’s hard cap. The Riders were whacked right away after going over the cap by less than $100,000 in the first year of the cap’s enforcement, which they attributed to a mass of injuries.
A strong Riders’ team helps season-ticket sales, creating sold-out games, which in turn drives merchandise. It’s a business modal that can be analyzed and appreciated for what it is compared to what it had been back in the hellish, free-for-all, drunken-sailor like spending by some CFL teams that just couldn’t help themselves.
Does that remind you of any other leagues?
A healthy Roughriders franchise also helps TV ratings, which the CFL needs to sell its product. Inasmuch as it is a ticket-driven league, TV ratings can be monopolized in a variety of ways.
When you add all of this together, the CFL needs the Riders to be competitive. There will come a point when the Riders won’t be in the Cup, which they’ve done three of the last four years, and they may not be as competitive.
The Roughriders’ faithful go back many decades. They will never die. Literally. Their loyalty is passed from one generation to another.
The city and the province appreciate and understand the Roughriders.
They are as much a staple out there as grain.
At some point when the Riders slip in the standings, things won’t be as rosy financially and, in turn, it will hurt the club’s bottom line and carry over to the league itself.
So last week when the Riders fans were given the commissioner’s award, which didn’t sit well with the French media that felt the Montreal Alouettes legitimately deserved some props for their faithful, it was a recognition of not only 100 years as a franchise, but their undying loyalty.
Rider fans "ooze pride," to use the commissioner’s words, but they also
ooze greenbacks.
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