CFL Week 7 Predictions

Maybe Taylor Swift is cheering for the Argos…?

Ummm, probably not.

This season for the Argos has just been sad. I have nothing fantastic to say about them (does anyone though?) and with Kevin Eiben out for the season – I think we should put them on perma bye week. But, I love a good underdog, so start fighting, Toronto. You can do it! Whoa! *pom shake*

In other CFL news, former RB Jesse Lumsden beat Mantracker on the weekend (or last fall). He had a fundraiser to premiere the episode in Calgary for two very good causes. Want to donate? Click here. I’m sure he would thank you, with a high 5.

As for week 7 – well, this should be interesting. Edmonton and the Als is probably my favourite match-up of the week. With Stamps out, and “No-Pick-Rick” quickly shaking off that title, it’s hard to say whether or not Edmonton can keep a float. At the same time, the Als haven’t proved to be anything worth writing home about lately. Beating the Argos doesn’t mean you’re “rolling off a high”, and Edmonton is looking to wipe away the wrongs of last weeks loss. I say Edmonton, yep, I’m calling it.

Week 7 Picks:

Edmonton vs. Montreal: Please find your bike boys, please. Edmonton in a really close match.

Calgary vs. Saskatchewan: 429 yards last game, folks. Those are big numbers to be putting on the board and I am happy to see Henry Burris and his team blowing it up on the field again. Calgary takes this battle in the west.

Toronto vs. Hamilton: Oskee Wee Wee… I’m gonna be in so much trouble in Toronto. Hamilton takes this game in the best rivalry match in the East.

Winnipeg vs. BC: Where do I get my Swaggerville T-shirt? I was cut up since Week 1 for picking the Bombers, look who is swagging on now. Winnipeg takes this if they stay FOCUSED. Bye week comes after boys, not before.

Enjoy the games, I’ll be hiding out in Hamilton for the weekend, where Argo fans can’t hurt me.

The Baby of the Sports Family

I have a dream. Where jersey colours don’t matter and the blue jerseys can tweet with the red ones.

I have a dream. Where baseball fans and hockey fans can come together over a pint and root for a lacrosse team.

I have a dream. Where sports teams in Toronto come together as one and kick social media ass.

I HAVE A DREAM!

Ok, so maybe it’s not so much a dream as it is a wish, or a hope for the future. Last night I attended #SCTO aka Sports Connect TO where panelists from sports teams and leagues in Toronto discussed social media and what it means for their brand. As the video blogger and in-game “host with the most” for the Toronto Rock, I was ecstatic to see what other teams (who I follow on twitter) thought of integrating social media strategies to be one big fierce social media family. Toronto is already seen as the sports hub for Canada, we have teams in all leagues truly holding it down on the sports scene, so why not show people we care about all of our fans by promoting each other.

Panelists Jaime Stein (@CFL), Rob Jack (@BlueJays) and MLSE’s Jonathan Sinden (@BigThinkerJon) discussed the in’s and out’s of using social media. My favourite recent initiative was discussed, #TweetingTuesdays that the Jays implemented this season. Giving tweeting fans an opportunity to have priceless experiences simply by tweeting their seat location. Even I have been tweeted back by the Blue Jays, something as a 9-year-old picking dandelions in the outfield, I wouldn’t have dreamt of. It is that fan engagement that is taking sport watching to a whole new level. This was also the case for Grey Cup this past year as fans got a behind the scenes look at the week leading up to Grey Cup. Not only could you watch the game, but you could feel like you were there; minus the cold and the expensive beer.

While I may be the baby of the bunch in the social media world, I feel like my role with the Toronto Rock is like the youngest sibling who dominates all her brothers at Nintendo. My team wins, but we have a lot to gain by learning from our older more established siblings.

 Side Note: Thanks to the organizers of #SCTO for bringing sports leaders and enthusiasts together to talk shop. The pizza and beer was icing on the cake.

So you didn’t know cheerleaders were porn stars?

Well I wasn’t a soft porn star back in my cheerleading days. Didn’t have time , since I was too busy getting an Honours Degree in University,  and attending post-graduate studies. I now have a career and do charity work. Sorry you thought otherwise.

I thought by 2010 there would be an about-face with certain stereotypes. Like blondes have more fun (they don’t, I now know that). I have been living and breathing them for years, but this is just ridiculous. A group of Toronto Sun readers, you know, the uber intellects of our city who despise half-naked women (the publication you read has one every day), are appalled by a recent news article showcasing the Toronto Argos cheerleader photo shoot for 2010. Heaven forbid they videotape our city’s CFL cheer team getting ready for their upcoming season, after all, what kind of sponsors do that?

I would like all of you who posted negative comments to collectively give your head a shake. Not only are you completely offensive, but you are demonstrating how narrow minded Torontonians can actually be, tsk tsk. I will be the first to admit that not every cheerleader is the brightest pencil crayon in the box, but judge them all? Really! I was a Toronto Argonauts Cheerleader from 2006-2008, crowned Miss Argo 2006 and I am more than proud of that. Just because women are beautiful, doesn’t make them unintelligent. Could it be true, I now MC for another sports team? That’s right folks; I can walk and talk – all at the same time!! A woman can wear a push-up bra, fake eyelashes and still discuss Tolstoy; can I get an amen?! She can also represent numerous charities, all while performing a classic “kick-ball-change” with a smile from ear to ear (showcasing our lovely pearly whites, thanks to our team dentist). What a crazy concept this all is.

“Haters everywhere we go,” didn’t start up because we thought we were better than everyone else, it is because of you lot. I’ll be sure to discuss this with my lawyer friend over brunch this weekend; she’s one of the half-naked girls you think is “so fat and ugly”. As for the comments about us not making it in the dance industry, maybe you should read the article again, Jorie Brown has quite the list of credentials – she’s also a former cheerleader.

So keep on keeping on girls. As for me, I keep my bikini calendars hanging on my wall, next to my degrees.

My favourite gifts not wrapped in a blue box with a white ribbon.

In the spirit of Mother’s Day, here are 5 gifts I received from my Mom over the years.

1. My grasp on the English language.  My Mom has always been a stickler for grammar which has in turn made me into the grammar police I am today.  “She did so good!” – or well, either/or.  Irregardless of that fact – hmm… not a word.  The there’s and the yours, the it’s and its and everything in between.  My Mother is the reason why I publicly correct people, and attack Blackberry messages with a fictitious red pen.  Blame her, not me.

2. My love for cooking but not cleaning. We both love cooking and wearing chic aprons. She learned from her Dad and in turn taught me how to work the stove, however, it is also due to my mom that I have never cleaned a bathtub. Spoiled, I know, but my Mom has passed down the most important value of all to me – hire a cleaning service. Thanks Mommy!

3. My overstocked book shelf. Reading is a huge passion of my Mom’s. I never see her without a book and she can read at the speed of light. In turn, I started reading from a young age which translated into my adoration of everything paperback. Bookstores are like a gateway to heaven and I can thank my Mom for one of my favourite hobbies.

4. The fact that I am a homebody. I go out often, we all know that. However, my favourite thing to do is curl up on the couch and watch a great movie or TV show. My favourite nights have been sitting with my Mom on opposing sides of the living room having a laugh over how into a reality show we both get. Home is truly where the heart is.

5. My ability to blow bubbles off my tongue. Yes it is saliva, and yes if it lands on you it is slightly gross. But what a great trick! One person in every generation of my family can do it and I happened to be the lucky girl in mine. It landed me my spot on the Argos Cheerleading team my first year (I guess I can thank my Mom for my looks that probably assisted with that), as well as the admiration of many onlookers who are perplexed as to where the bubble machine is.

So thank you Mom.

We Are Family

The boys club. I remember when that simply meant no girls allowed. Now, it means a multitude of things, however the boys clubs that resonates closest with me – is a football club.

The Toronto Argonauts have taken a lot of heat in the media recently as they have released numerous players with very little regard for the personal side of business. From Khalil Carter’s public tearing down of the organizations loyalty to those without an NFL title attached to their name, to the recent publicly debated hot topic on Off the Record -July 10th, 2008- of Michael Bishop being put on Waivers – it isn’t looking so pretty. But does it have to? After all this is a business, and how many times while growing up did the boys club oust its members. Problem is, this boys club has branded itself as a “family friendly” club, and living up to that has proven to be a tough task during the start of the 2008 season.

Over the past few years, the Toronto Argonauts Football Club have stated over and over again that they are a family… right. Now in light of my current situation with the organization, I am merely going to prove that brand loyalty is essential in building a relationship with fans – those are the people that pay the boys salaries by the way.

Here is the simple breakdown. You tell fans that the team is one big family. They, resonate with this idea and in turn buy into the brand. From here, they purchase season tickets, team merchandise and even show up to team events. What does this mean? Cash for the owners, and pay cheques for the players. Now here is the problem with this equation. When you do this, you create a relationship with these fans, this is called brand loyalty. When fans start hearing that you are not living up to this brand, they no longer trust you. Not trusting your brand means not buying into the brand and so on and so forth. This means no money.

Not a smart move. Brand loyalty is organization survival. Especially for the Toronto Argonauts who have struggled with establishing and maintaining a good brand, the last thing they want is the public questioning their intentions. I would love to say this is just a game, but it isn’t, it is a business – and a personal one at that. The flipside to this is that you have a lot of voice boxes – players and in the CFL, cheerleaders – who don’t buy into verbal diarrhea. Releasing a player from a team who claims to be a business is one thing, releasing one from a family – whole other ball game.

Family – a group of people who are related that treat each other with a special intimacy or loyalty. (Does related by double blue blood count?)

Last time I checked, releasing players means releasing families or trading them off to another part of the country. That isn’t business, that’s personal. As one family to another, wouldn’t it be appropriate to sit down your player and let them know why they are leaving your family? Maybe too much to ask, but hey you were the one who brought everyone to the Sunday dinner table.

Currently this boys club mentality has leaked into the girls club. “It’s business, it’s not personal,” tends to be the mind frame running consistent within their head office. Maybe they missed the class on the Golden Rule, “treat others as you want to be treated,” but treating those who represent your brand with anything less than respect doesn’t cut it. Your brand can lose loyalty from within and in turn that projects outwards losing loyalty from fans.

This post is not to discredit the organization as a whole. I believed in this brand for two years. However, the intention is to be a slight wake-up call for whoever may stumble upon it. Brand loyalty is important, that’s why the real boys clubs do so well.