Ryan Reynolds in one corner; Snoop Dogg in the other. How on Earth are these two top-level celebrities fighting over the Ottawa Senators?
Snoop Dogg and Ryan Reynolds Bring the Spotlight to the Sens
Hockey is not known for its celebrity fans. Sure, there have always been some out there. Trading Wayne Gretzky to the Los Angeles Kings brought a lot of attention to the heart of Paparazzi Place. And anywhere with that many cameras is going to notice.
Snoop Dogg on ESPN’s ‘First Take’ this morning talking about his interest to purchase the Ottawa Senators. pic.twitter.com/4qg7h98GQ3
— Russell Morgan (@NHLRussell) May 2, 2023
Beyond Tinseltown, though, famous fans of other teams are harder to come by. There is the contingent from Toronto (Mike Myers, Jim Carey) of course. New York always has a few around (Susan Sarandon, Robert DeNiro with the Rangers, Leo DiCaprio and Christie Brinkley follow the Islanders).
Hollywood North doesn’t lack for the occasional glamour shot with Cobie Smulders wearing a Roberto Luongo jersey on her show and Michael Bublé always happy to talk up his local team.
And, of course, there’s Los Angeles itself. The Kings has regular appearances by all sorts of celebrities from Tom Cruise to Emilia Clarke. There is always a tinge of “oh, they’re fake” in the comments when celebrity fans in LA are mentioned, but that’s gotta die. The team passed their half-century mark, and they have some lifers – even celebrity ones.
Some other towns have a couple of famous fans, too, of course. But the newer the team and the smaller the town the harder they are to come by. So when you try to think of an Ottawa Senators fan, it’s easy to draw a blank. Even Ottawa-raised Matthew Perry has split loyalties between there and LA since the Sens rejoined the league.
And yet. Here are two of the most famous people on the planet with opposing bids for the Senators. They aren’t the only ones, but they’re probably the only ones most fans know.
Oh! Oh, Hello! I Know, Right?
Let’s start with the earlier arrival. Ryan Reynolds is part of the Remington Group, owned by Markham-based property developers the Bratty family. Chris Bratty is leading the purchasing group, and if they succeed you have to know a new stadium will get pushed for – hard.
But those aren’t the folks were concerned with, here. As Reynolds put it on Jimmy Fallon, he needed a Sugar Mommy or Sugar Daddy to help buy an NHL team. There’s celebrity rich, then there’s multi-billionaire rich.
Having a celebrity on the ownership/management team is going to be about, well, having a celebrity. Reynolds has a strong argument that he might be more than just a pretty face – but that face doesn’t hurt.
In Reynolds’ favour is his production company, Maximum Effort. If there is a need for attention, he can get that done. Not only “legit” projects like music videos or commercials, but Reynolds got a Deadpool movie made. Blessing or curse, he did that.
Add Welcome to Wrexham to his list of accomplishments, and it’s one hell of an argument. Not only did he and Rob McElhenney stabilize ownership for the National League (5th-tier) team, they ignited interest from around the world.
And now, in case you hadn’t heard, they won promotion to the English Football League League Two.
In the Business to Win
Don’t get us wrong – Ryan Reynolds is plenty wealthy. He and McElhenney bought the Wrexham team outright and own 100% of it. But it’s worth noting that much of Reynolds’ wealth came from selling companies he was just a part owner in.
He owned just 25% of Mint Mobile before its sale and 10% of Aviation Gin when it was bought out. But the new owners of Aviation aren’t fools – Reynolds remains on the board of directors and is the brand’s public face.
Neither of those businesses is anything like a sports team, of course. But from a management perspective, it speaks volumes. With Wrexham AFC, he was smart enough to know his limits while knowing nothing about soccer. Yes, they spent money. They also asked people who knew the sport the right questions.
That might be a bit tougher to do with the Senators, as Reynolds – like many Canadians – knows something about hockey. Every NHL city has a million or more who think they can do a better job. so the temptation is there. But he should have learned the best approach by now.
Running a smaller team – though a big fish in their league – was entirely about supporting the fans there. The pair invested in not only players and the stadium but the emotional hook of fan interest. Watch any of the Wrexham series, and you’ll see it.
Ottawa Senators a “small town” league? Even if you do think so now, you won’t for long.
Fo’ Shizzle Fo’ Real
It’s going to be hard to out-celebrity Ryan Reynolds, but Snoop Dogg is someone who can. And yes, that’s going to be the last time we use slang terms in this article.
If you need to know, it means that yeah, Snoop Dog is legit. He’s not just someone brought in to draw the eye to a rival bid. He is a long-time hockey fan – right from the “Gin and Juice” Pittsburgh Penguins jersey in 1994 – and a businessman in his own right.
So he’s no newly-minted fan. If you don’t believe me, you can ask Dogg Cherry. No relation to Adidas executive Daniel Cherry, though he is part of this consortium.
In a wide-ranging interview with The Athletic‘s Ian Mendes, Dogg talked about his memories of seeing Kings star Marcel Dionne at the old Forum and getting the chance to meet Bobby Orr.
Snoop Dogg is, of course, best known for his musical career. Or perhaps was, with his investments in various cannabis companies becoming more popular recently. His venture capital company. Casa Verde Capital specializes in exactly that thing.
Like Reynolds, Snoop Dogg has his own video production company, Merry Jane. Haven’t heard of it? If you heard of Martha & Snoop’s Potluck Dinner Party, then you have. Merry Jane produced 40 episodes of that and continues with scripted and unscripted shows.
Speaking of which – if you want a wide reach to the public, it’s hard to go wrong with 80 million Instagram followers. His Superbowl halftime appearance in 2022 tells you how mainstream Snoop Dogg is, whatever outdated concerns some folks might have about him.
Who’s The Man?
There isn’t a lot in the public eye about the organizer of this consortium, Neko Sparks. But that’s fine with him, as his work is mostly behind the scenes with iSparked Labs and Pixel Lime.
Their specialty is “technological storytelling” – using artificial intelligence to produce alternate means of getting tales to the public. Movies, interactive comics, and computer games are all in their purview.
Information is scarce for precise details on their purchase proposal, just like with every other one. We’re not going to find out much about ANY proposal until we have a winner. The biggest strength for this bid is Straight Outta – Oops, slipped!
So hard numbers aren’t going to be discovered until the deal is done, but it’s likely there are a dozen or so participants here. As mentioned, sports teams are EXPENSIVE to run, and a successful bit might top $1 billion US.
More to the point, Sparks isn’t going to be the public face of the franchise. Whispers of who else might be in the purchasing consortium have included Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson, and frankly, if you’re part of ANY group with him and Snoop Dogg, you owe it to yourself to step back. Let them handle the publicity.
But… Ottawa?
There is, believe it or not, a small Snoop Dogg connection with the Ottawa Senators. In 2007, during the Senators – Anaheim Ducks Stanley Cup Final, he received a Sens jersey from Ray Emery. As one of the very few Black players in the league, that has some extra weight to it. And it’s more than Ryan Reynolds can say about Ottawa.
It is an extra angle that Sparks’ consortium has over Reynolds’, too. There is a definite concern with reaching traditionally underserved markets. Snoop Dogg was emphatic about not just targeting a diverse audience, but having a diverse ownership group and staff.
Primarily, though, these two are in it for the same reason: Ottawa is for sale.
Both groups – as well as the other half-dozen or so rumoured to be involved – see the Senators as a distressed asset. The old investment advice of buying the ugliest house on the best street is the angle, here. From the bottom, where else can you go but up?
What that investment advice never mentions is that it doesn’t always work. The house can still burn down, or the neighbourhood can get a highway built through it. But they obviously see something here worth investing in.
The winning bid might not come in at $900 million, as is rumoured. But famous people fighting to own the Ottawa Senators is as positive as a franchise sale can get.
Main photo by: Marc DesRosiers-USA TODAY Sports
