With a third team for the CFL in Ottawa in the past 18 years, can the new expansion team, the RedBlacks, do what the other two teams failed to achieve: have fans at their games? The original team, the Ottawa (not Saskatchewan) Rough Riders were having financial difficulties in the final years of their 120 year-old franchise, then the Ottawa Renegades, in an attempt for revival, drew very poor attendance at Frank Clair Stadium, between 2001 and 2005, their active years. But can it be “third time’s the charm” for this Ottawa franchise?
The Rough Riders were founded in 1876, even before the current Saskatchewan Roughriders, and they were a Canadian Football League powerhouse for many years before their demise in 1996. They won 9 Grey Cup Championships (1925, 1926, 1940, 1951, 1960, 1968, 1969, 1973, 1976) including 5 during the 1960’s and 1970’s when the late great Frank Clair was their head coach and legendary Russ Jackson was the quarterback behind center. Canadian Football Hall of Famers Wit Tucker, Tony Gabriel, and Ron Stewart were also included in the offense of the team’s dynasty years.
The 1980’s is when everything started to fall apart for this organization. In their final 16 years they never finished above a .500 record, with only two seasons finishing at an even number of wins and losses (1983, 1992). Troubles in the front office from owner Bernard Glieberman almost forced the relocation of the team to the United States. Attendance also dropped by about 5,000 fans per game from the late 1970’s to mid 1980’s at the then-named Lansdowne Park. Eventually, after the lowest-attended season, with just 16,000 fans per game in 1996, according to cfl-scrapbook.org, the team folded.
The Ottawa Renegades began play in 2002 with a similar colour scheme to that of the Rough Riders, and once again playing at Frank Clair Stadium. Despite having a young Kerry Joseph as their QB for the last three of the franchises four seasons, the team failed to make the six-team playoffs from the nine-team league. Once again bad ownership from the Glibierman family and attendance dropping to 5,000 fans a game for the 2005 season, led to the demise of the team in 2006.
So what makes this RedBlack team led by Ottawa-based businessman Jeff Hunt different from the other two teams? For starters, the fans might be realizing that they don’t want a third team to slip right through their hands. Put it in comparison to the Winnipeg Jets of the NHL, the fans lost a team in 1996 due to financial instability, but once they returned to Manitoba via relocation of Atlanta in 2011, they were in the top 15 money-making teams following their first season. Can the new generation of fans of the new Ottawa team apply the same “you don’t know what you got until it’s gone” attitude?
A change in logo and culture may also just help to attract fans to the now-called TD Place Stadium. Just the name of the stadium itself may help with the financial stability of the team. With a corporate sponsor in TD Bank, it is the first sponsor for the stadium. It is unsure just how much money TD is paying for the naming rights, but it is certain that some of that money went to the renovation of the 24,000 seat arena and complete reconstruction of the south side stands.
A new logo and jersey design for the RedBlacks is simple and similar to the one in the Russ Jackson days, nothing too fancy like they tried with the Renegades. Merchandise sales started well before any part of management was even hired and it seemed to be an instant hit with Ottawa natives, both young and old.
With the CFL and TSN recently reaching a $40 million dollar TV contract, the CFL itself seems to be in a much better monetary position than it was 9 years ago. In 2005, the Hamilton Tiger-Cats and Toronto Argonauts were both ownerless and both received financial aid from the league, but the CFL refused to give any sort of aid to the Renegades, which led to it’s termination. Now with all other right teams having owners, new stadiums popping up in Winnipeg, Hamilton and eventually in Saskatchewan and Toronto, the league as a whole seems to be generating a lot more money.
On the field however, the Redblacks don’t seem as stable as the financial situation. With most of their players coming via expansion draft, they have the players that teams really didn’t want.
Their offense seems like an average offense but may be a very inconsistent offense, one night good, one night bad. The ever-so-cool 39-year-old Henry Burris will be the man with all the pressure to lead this team to a good first season, as he did lead the Ti-Cats to the Grey Cup last year. His understudy will be Travis Lulay’s former apprentice, Thomas DeMarco.
The running game will be lead by explosive Chevon Walker backed by John Delahunt, two former Ti-Cats and by a former receiver in Patrick Lavoie. That is not the strongest running game but enough to get by in this three down league.
The receivers are very inexperienced and possibly not the right fit for a veteran like Henry Burris. Led by Paris Jackson, he is one of two receivers born before 1986, with the other, Fred Rouse, born in 1985. A young receiving core like that may not work well with a former Grey Cup champ, but that’s why they have 25-year-old Thomas DeMarco waiting in the wings.
The defense is also very young, clearly indicating that GM Marcel Desjardins wants to build a nucleus for the future, possibly when Ottawa will host the Grey Cup (it’s a matter of when, not if), so they can participate in the Canadian Classic. Some veterans on the defense include Keith Shologan, Jovon Johnson, Moton Hopkins, and T.J. Hill.
Kicking will not be an issue for them as they have Justin Palardy doing the duties.
With a third CFL franchise calling Ottawa its home, can the citizens of the nation’s capital finally appreciate the team, whether it be the Rough Riders, Renegades or RedBlacks? We will have to wait and see until the end of the CFL season at least.
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