Ottawa Renegades suspend operations for 1 year!

[GeorgesL]

Well, I never thought this would happen again for the faithfull Ottawa fans, but for those of you who didn't hear, here's the article:

TSN.ca report on the Renegades' hibernation.

BTW, the Alouettes welcome ALL Renegades' fans! Join a REAL WINNING TEAM!!!

[agentrygraphics]

So does this mean that Winnepeg will go back to the Eastern division? Aren't they always the ones to do so?

This may sound like an odd question...but has there been a team like Winnepeg (and probably only Winnepeg would be in this category) that has won a Grey Cup representing the West conference one time, and the East conference the other?

[GeorgesL]

So does this mean that Winnepeg will go back to the Eastern division? Aren't they always the ones to do so?

This may sound like an odd question...but has there been a team like Winnepeg (and probably only Winnepeg would be in this category) that has won a Grey Cup representing the West conference one time, and the East conference the other?

The Bombers will indeed go back to the East Division for this year.

The Bombers won the Grey Cup as East division representatives in 1988 and 1990. Before that, the last time they won a Cup as a member of the West Division was 1984.

[DEAD!]

About this? Lump everyone together in one single division. Who knows? we could have a Calgary-Edmonton or Toronto-Hamilton Grey Cup for example?

[winters in buffalo]

About this? Lump everyone together in one single division. Who knows? we could have a Calgary-Edmonton or Toronto-Hamilton Grey Cup for example?

Seriously. Even with all 9 teams, just let 'em play as one division and have the top 4 play it out for the cup.

[Stampman]

2 divisions are better--I used to support other options, but the league would lose something important to its flavour to go to one division.

[Roger Clemente]

So who's gonna take Ottawa's place in Touchdown Atlantic 2? (Taking place on my birthday, of all days.)

--Roger "Time?" Clemente.

[Phil]

So who's gonna take Ottawa's place in Touchdown Atlantic 2? (Taking place on my birthday, of all days.)

--Roger "Time?" Clemente.

That's been cancelled too, as a result.

Winnipeg has been the ones bouncing back and forth between divisions, but the feeling is that this year, they'll play a balanced schedule - i.e. no difference between divisions (except for standings).

The Gliebermans have once again screwed the league over, but the adage "Fool me once, shame on you; fool me twice, shame on me" comes to mind.

It's unfortunate that Ottawa (pop. 1.2 million) is such a bad sports city that it can't even support the most Canadian of all leagues. Excuses about years of losing aside, this team didn't work simply because the fans weren't willing to support it.

It's a blow to the league, but thankfully, the rest of the teams are in much stronger positions financially. It's a blow to Tom Wright's resume, but he's shown that he'll get things right eventually. The league is still much better off having him at the head than whatever puppets Braley (BC) and Campbell (EDM) would install.

[Lee.]

THe hopes for a balanced schedule are gone, as we (Winnipeg) play Montreal 6 times this season (twice in the preseason, 4 times in regular season), with the potential for a 7th in the playoffs.

The truly sad thing? We only play Saskatchewan twice, at Labour Day and the next week for the Banjo Bowl.

The even more truly sad thing? The Bombers don't play in BC until the final game of the year, Oct 28.

[Stampman]

Hmm, this could affect TNFF strategy as well, and really to us, isn't that more important?

Okay--not really--but it may have a bigger impact on my life.

Still if they revive an Ottawa franchise they better do the research they say they did last time (and obviously didn't) and then some.

[agentrygraphics]

2 divisions are better--I used to support other options, but the league would lose something important to its flavour to go to one division.

While I've always been a fan of the CFL (I've traveled many summers to Hamilton to watch my Ti-Cats play), and I agree with you that the two divisions are important to the CFL, I've always been leary of keeping them around (the divisions). Whether you look at it as a pro or con, the CFL playoffs have always had a factor that many leagues don't have...and that's the possibility that a team with a losing record can make it to the playoffs...and potentially win a championship.

You can look at it as a "pro" b/c it gives the league an "anything can happen" or an "anyone can win" feel, but at the same time, I don't agree with letting a losing team into the playoffs. The "con" slant is that you can have teams that are completely not playing well slip into the playoffs and pull off upsets of teams that worked all year to get there.Yet, with only 9 teams, and the CFL allowing 6 teams into the playoffs, you really don't have a choice...you have to believe that the 6th playoff spot team is the "best of the rest"...which leads me to...

I can remember not too long ago when Calgary faced Winnepeg for the Grey Cup. Winnepeg had been a dominant force all season....and Calgary got by on the seat of their pants, and had a losing record coming into the playoffs. The Stamps upset two teams (which fail me right now) to get to the Grey Cup...and beat Winnepeg. I was livid that a losing team won a championship.

The only way to prevent this is to go back to 4 teams in the playoffs...but then you lose an extra 2 games in the playoffs and the revenues thereof. It's a predicament (sic)...

Heck, if the CFL isn't careful...The Ottawa Renegades, even with suspended operations, may make it to the playoffs this year!

[Bleujayone]

The Gliebermans have once again screwed the league over, but the adage "Fool me once, shame on you; fool me twice, shame on me" comes to mind.

It's unfortunate that Ottawa (pop. 1.2 million) is such a bad sports city that it can't even support the most Canadian of all leagues. Excuses about years of losing aside, this team didn't work simply because the fans weren't willing to support it.

The chief problem has always been that this team has been very poorly managed. I'll admit the team was already in trouble before the Gliebermans reared their ugly heads again. But the fact is that while a winning record certainly makes things easier to attract fans, if you know what you're doing you should be able to attract fans even if your team can't muster the wins. That means you have to show them you're breaking your back form them, otherwise you're just there to take their money, and NO fan will have any of that. Fans will not support anything if they beleive you're giving them a half-ass product. Sports cost a lot more money for fans today than it did before and nobody want to feel cheated at the end of the day.

The Gliebermans, for example, have not a clue how to run a football team. It's a business not a toy. Something that they have proven time and again they know not the difference between. It requires millions of dollars invested and many tireless years before you can count on people to become diehard fans (customers). You cannot throw money at your problems willie-nillie and expect everything to fix itself in a year, I don't care if you have football in Green Bay, hockey in Montreal, or baseball in Boston. Nothing is a given- you need to work for it. And it my observation nobody running the Renegdaes was able to show that. You can't just be an owner- you also need to be the team's biggest fan.

Marketing your team is a year round effort- if you're not jumping up and down telling people about your team, if you take time off in the off-season away from the public- you deserve to go down in flames. Your fans want three things in order for them to invest their money in your team; They want to be entertained, they want to believe you're doing everyhting possible to bring them a quality product- even if it doesn't mean a championship, and they want an experience that they'll look forward coming back to. Everything else is gravy. If your team does better, the market will improve, more power to you. If your team has an off season (era), you want the fans will stick with it until it does get better. You want them to believe it will be worth the heartache to stay on the bandwagon. Some teams even manage to turn a tidy profit marketing themselves as the "loveable losers", it juat all depends on how you market yourself.

Whomever takes over the Renegades, I hope they have a real passion for the sport. I hope they can take that passion and apply it to marketing their team as the be-all end-all sports experience. And I hope they reallize (unlike people before them) that they have to address ALL the elements of going to a football game beyond that which takes place on the field. It's about tailgating parties with BBQ grills in the parking lot 4 hours before kick-off , fans dressing up in their team colors (and occational facepaint & costumes), and homemade signs with clever taunts. It's about team's rock themes, and players better known to their fans by their nicknames. It's about 30,000 stomping the drumline to "We Will Rock You" because they honestly beleive it helps their team on a goalline stand. It's about those who went to a game making those that didn't wish they had. It's about forming a micro-society with complete strangers within the confines of a stadium for 3 hours. It's about giving people such a feeling of satisfaction, that they don't care where their money went or even who might have won. And yes, it's also about football; Exciting, smashmouth, gladiatorial, glorious, football. Find me a person who beleives so strongly in all of that 24/7 and I can promise you the team will do well in the books if not on the field.

[Shane Does Art]

So who's gonna take Ottawa's place in Touchdown Atlantic 2?  (Taking place on my birthday, of all days.)

--Roger "Time?" Clemente.

That's been cancelled too, as a result.

Winnipeg has been the ones bouncing back and forth between divisions, but the feeling is that this year, they'll play a balanced schedule - i.e. no difference between divisions (except for standings).

The Gliebermans have once again screwed the league over, but the adage "Fool me once, shame on you; fool me twice, shame on me" comes to mind.

It's unfortunate that Ottawa (pop. 1.2 million) is such a bad sports city that it can't even support the most Canadian of all leagues. Excuses about years of losing aside, this team didn't work simply because the fans weren't willing to support it.

It's a blow to the league, but thankfully, the rest of the teams are in much stronger positions financially. It's a blow to Tom Wright's resume, but he's shown that he'll get things right eventually. The league is still much better off having him at the head than whatever puppets Braley (BC) and Campbell (EDM) would install.

The Renegades actually had a lot of support from the city of Ottawa it was the ownership that messed up most of it. I went to a lot of games this past season and there were alot of people there and a lot of crazy guys.

[Brian in Boston]

The Gliebermans have once again screwed the league over, but the adage "Fool me once, shame on you; fool me twice, shame on me" comes to mind.

Come on, SyPhi. That's far too simplistic an attitude to have regarding the plight of the Renegades.

Granted, the Gliebermans haven't exactly covered themselves in glory as the caretakers of CFL franchises. However, to blame them for the Ottawa Renegades' failure as a franchise is disingenuous. The Renegades were in disarray - and on the verge of folding - long before the Gliebermans took over in Ottawa. Previous ownership/management failed to put a winner on the field, come up with a solid business plan and galvanize long-term public support for the club. The end result was that the 'Gades were "skating on thin ice" almost from the get-go.

I'm certainly not trying to be an apologist for all that the Gliebermans have done in (to?) the CFL. However, in the case of the Renegades' failure, the Gliebermans simply wandered on to the scene for the team's last act. The team's previous owners, as well as league leadership, have to take responsibility for the franchise's failure.

As I've said before, granting the Gliebermans stewardship of the Renegades was like handing Joseph Hazlewood command of the Titanic. Sure, the "skipper" had a less-than-impressive resume, but the "ship" was already sinking when he took the wheel. Bottom line? League officials should have scuttled the team a year ago when it became abundantly clear that the situation in Ottawa was so bad that after all of the posturing of other groups the only potential owners they could get to take on the Renegades were the Gliebermans.

[Phil]

The Gliebermans have once again screwed the league over, but the adage "Fool me once, shame on you; fool me twice, shame on me" comes to mind.

Come on, SyPhi. That's far too simplistic an attitude to have regarding the plight of the Renegades.

Granted, the Gliebermans haven't exactly covered themselves in glory as the caretakers of CFL franchises. However, to blame them for the Ottawa Renegades' failure as a franchise is disingenuous. The Renegades were in disarray - and on the verge of folding - long before the Gliebermans took over in Ottawa. Previous ownership/management failed to put a winner on the field, come up with a solid business plan and galvanize long-term public support for the club. The end result was that the 'Gades were "skating on thin ice" almost from the get-go.

I'm certainly not trying to be an apologist for all that the Gliebermans have done in (to?) the CFL. However, in the case of the Renegades' failure, the Gliebermans simply wandered on to the scene for the team's last act. The team's previous owners, as well as league leadership, have to take responsibility for the franchise's failure.

As I've said before, granting the Gliebermans stewardship of the Renegades was like handing Joseph Hazlewood command of the Titanic. Sure, the "skipper" had a less-than-impressive resume, but the "ship" was already sinking when he took the wheel. Bottom line? League officials should have scuttled the team a year ago when it became abundantly clear that the situation in Ottawa was so bad that after all of the posturing of other groups the only potential owners they could get to take on the Renegades were the Gliebermans.

Agreed with everything you said.

It is a simplistic attitude. But mismanagement and lies are the two major causes of the demise, and those aren't exactly complicated problems.

The Gliebermans came right out and said that they were willing to absorb the losses, that they were in it for the long haul, and committed to making it work. Everyone knew that the Rens were in trouble.

Somehow, and this still baffles me with a $2 million salary cap, they were on pace to lose somewhere in the neighbourhood of $4 million. That's evidence of horrible lease agreements and little revenue support.

The CFL's mistake was believing them for the second time.

...and shanurr... the Bombers, with a market only a little over half the size of metro Ottawa, had 5x the season ticket base that the Renegades had even before this all started blowing up. There may have been passionate support for the team, but it wasn't stepping up to the plate either.

And it's not like there was a groundswell of support for a community-owned team. People outside of the prairies seem to forget that that's an option.

[Mac the Knife]

I offer to buy the Ottawa franchise. I'll pay a buck for 'em. Hell, I'll even make it an American dollar.

[appleclock]

I am sad that Ottawa is out for the season (or longer), but I'm glad they didn't beat around the bush this time. Back in 1996 they let the Rough Riders float for a year and it damn near finished the CFL for good (B.C. and MTL were in trouble at the time as well. You know it was bad because the Eskimos, the league's richest team, could barely afford to fly to the Grey Cup that year). The Renegades obviously were easier to let go this time because (1) the Gliebermans needed to go and (2) because they didnt have the storied tradition of the Rough Riders.

If and when this team relaunches, they should totally get the Rough Riders name back from Horn Chen. The Renegades thing never caught on IMO. People out west were still calling them the Riders by mistake all the time.

Bring back the Riders.

[Seadragon76]

I got an idea: Screw Ottawa. Look, they've lost two teams in the CFL (The RoughRiders and the Renegades). It must be a proven fact that Ottawa cannot keep a CFL team.

I got another idea: Give one of the cities out on the Meritimes a franchise. I'm more then certain that a team could survive in Halifax or St. John's in that league.

[Mac the Knife]

I got an idea: Screw Ottawa. Look, they've lost two teams in the CFL (The RoughRiders and the Renegades). It must be a proven fact that Ottawa cannot keep a CFL team.

I got another idea: Give one of the cities out on the Meritimes a franchise. I'm more then certain that a team could survive in Halifax or St. John's in that league.

Yeah. And Washington shouldn't have gotten a third shot at an MLB team, either, damnit!!!

Howzabout expanding back into the U.S.? Granted some saw it as a disaster, but in fact some U.S.-based teams did fairly well by CFL standards. Put a CFL team in Los Angeles and see what happens!

[DEAD!]

Howzabout expanding back into the U.S.? Granted some saw it as a disaster, but in fact some U.S.-based teams did fairly well by CFL standards. Put a CFL team in Los Angeles and see what happens!

Isn't Los Angeles in Mexican control right now?