Comments on Drunk Jays Fans: Boners Up: DJF 2009 Podcast #29 (Guest: Jeff Citro...

So we've got asshole Yankee fans making moronic ex...

2009-10-21T18:55:33.137-04:00

So we've got asshole Yankee fans making moronic excuses for Rivera and we've got idiot Americans telling us hockey isn't that big a deal in the GTA.

Fucking gold.

Torontonians don't give a shit about the blue jays...

2009-10-21T15:44:48.856-04:00

Torontonians don't give a shit about the blue jays anymore & it's starting to look that way with the leafs recently as well. This city is a hockey town though & the fact we're canadian plays the biggest part in that.

Turning the Dome into an old Busch Stadium isn't a...

2009-10-21T14:42:50.251-04:00

Turning the Dome into an old Busch Stadium isn't all that bad for concerts. A reduction of seats from 50,000 to 40,000 wouldn't hurt and would still be the biggest venue in the city. There's not many concerts that draw much over that (though this year there's actually been an unusual few..AC/DC, U2, Jonas, Coldplay) but 40k would still be sufficient to be a premium huge concert venue. The 40,000 lost ticket revenue for 4 concerts could easily be made up because it would hopefully be a huge improvement for baseball fans. As well tehre's enough technology to have concerts on grass fields: Fenway has had some amazingly kickass concerts with an intimate atmosphere and real grass.

And as for the hockey city adage...well no where else do people in Toronto actually get in competition with each of the city's teams. That attitude, that Leafs fans can't be Jays fans has actually turned me off of hockey entirely. James is right though, this isn't Cleveland and 5 million people in the GTA can more than support over 1 sport. Doc vs. AJ: The 45k on a Tuesday in May weren't accidental tourists. If you actually give them something to cheer for, they will show up.

I hate statements like 'this is a hockey city, not...

2009-10-21T13:17:19.619-04:00

I hate statements like 'this is a hockey city, not a baseball city. always has been always will be'. Brain dead, rural, hockey Dad bullshit.

Yes, hockey the most popular sport in Toronto, but that doesn't somehow exclude baseball or any sport from also being extremely popular. This isn't fucking Barrie, it's the 5th largest city in North America - one of the most diverse cities in the world. There's room for more than one sport to be popular. Do people in Boston dismiss the Pats or Celtics because 'it's a baseball city, always has been, always will be'? And by the way, take a look at the changing demographics within the actual city, because basketball may become more popular than both hockey and baseball in the city limits in the next several years.

Obviously hockey is enormous here, but if the Raptors, Jays (or potential NFL franchise) were contending teams they'd be absolutely huge (as the Jays were from 85 to 95).

How bout this, hes dumb, his black, and he missed ...

2009-10-21T11:27:39.478-04:00

How bout this, hes dumb, his black, and he missed the ball when spitting towards it.

It was ted rogers that wanted to buy an NFL team n...

2009-10-21T11:01:49.582-04:00

It was ted rogers that wanted to buy an NFL team not his company! If the NFL expands to canada it wont be rogers that will be paying for it, they are already having trouble running a baseball team that has been in the city for 33 years.

That "spit halo" think is hilarious, especially si...

2009-10-21T09:33:42.857-04:00

That "spit halo" think is hilarious, especially since the guy uses that as his main proof that some of the spit hit the ball... honestly, how can anyone be that stupid?

"These photo stills make it very obvious Rivera sp...

2009-10-21T08:47:24.451-04:00

"These photo stills make it very obvious Rivera spit directly on the ball, right after he very obviously turned his back to the home plate and 1B umpires and checked the 2B and 3B umpires before spitting.

http://www.halosheaven.com/2009/10/19/1092390/mariano-rivera-caught-doctoring"

like i said retard, go watch the video and watch it CAREFULLY - you can see him spit and the spit goes beside the ball...you can see the spit go OVER HIS FINGER, AND BLOCK OUT HIS FINGER WHILE IT PASSES. seriously, i don't get how difficult this is to understand? does it take an entire nation to realize that this is a non-story? i'd be so pissed if i was rivera.

also, the person who wrote the captions under those photos on your link might be more retarded than yourself - in the 6th and 7th photos, it's not the "spit halo" ("spit halo"? haha seriously?), it's the logo on scioscia's jacket.

I fucking hate Paul Shaffer.

2009-10-21T01:26:44.019-04:00

I fucking hate Paul Shaffer.

BC Jays Fan, It's ridiculous blaming the Rogers C...

2009-10-21T00:38:39.908-04:00

BC Jays Fan,

It's ridiculous blaming the Rogers Centre for the Jays "slide to oblivion". This is just not a baseball city, never has been and never will be. It will always be a hockey city.

Even during the championship years, the huge crowds were more attributable to the novelty of the new stadium than the performance of the Jays. On the rare occasions when the roof was opened or closed during a game, it grabbed more fan attention than anything happening on the field.

Mark my words, an open air stadium would be a huge mistake. Been there, done that, don't want to do it again.

These photo stills make it very obvious Rivera spi...

2009-10-21T00:27:09.653-04:00

These photo stills make it very obvious Rivera spit directly on the ball, right after he very obviously turned his back to the home plate and 1B umpires and checked the 2B and 3B umpires before spitting.

http://www.halosheaven.com/2009/10/19/1092390/mariano-rivera-caught-doctoring

Random thoughts: Skydome is part of every tourist...

2009-10-21T00:06:17.900-04:00

Random thoughts:

Skydome is part of every tourist marketing campaign for Ontario and Toronto, and it is certainly part of the City's identity..... but it really sucks for intimacy and baseball.

I agree that the big thing will be what Roger's had in mind for NFL - a renovated dome, or a new 80,000 seat stadium. I personally cannot see them only packing in 58,000, when they could easily get 80,0000 a game while the halo effect is on. Couple that with a possible future bid for Olympics or similar - and new stadium to house the track, and the outlook for a change in venue for the Jays is pretty slim.

I think you could do a lot with the dome with 150 mil, making it a baseball only facility.... natural grass (I know some BC guys that could provide their grow-op expertise), no more 500 level, open the concrete up to see outside ala Miller Park, make it a little more asymmetrical like moving the bullpens and jumbotron both to one side, having a home run deck, etc.

However, I believe it was Godfrey who said that we need to bring more events to the dome in order to keep it viable, meaning that a transition to an intimate setting via reducing the 500 deck and going to real turf ala the old Busch Stadium is not ever going to happen.

But ultimately they will need a change at some point in the next 10 years, or the franchise will continue it's slide to oblivion.

I like the idea of building in a Wrigley like atmosphere.... I would actually consider moving to TO if they did that!

its hilarious the mariano rivera thing is even a s...

2009-10-21T00:04:28.643-04:00

its hilarious the mariano rivera thing is even a story- everyone who believes it is guaranteed either fucking stupid or fucking poor and cant afford television or HD..its clear that hes spitting beside the ball, you can see the spit go over his finger...not that difficult to figure out

These fucking umps. Unreal.

2009-10-20T22:16:38.109-04:00

These fucking umps.
Unreal.

Tim McClelland should retire.

2009-10-20T21:58:59.043-04:00

Tim McClelland should retire.

Not one fucking mention of Mariano Rivera getting ...

2009-10-20T18:34:17.514-04:00

Not one fucking mention of Mariano Rivera getting busted last night? Pathetic

KLAW on Fan590 soon, don't know exact time though,...

2009-10-20T17:53:53.891-04:00

KLAW on Fan590 soon, don't know exact time though, sometime 6-7

My understanding is the minimum capacity for the N...

2009-10-20T17:45:32.722-04:00

My understanding is the minimum capacity for the NFL is 50,000, but the NFL would definitely want something larger (smallest stadium's in Chicago and it holds 61,500)

As far as expansion fees go, I've heard for a new franchise you can expect to pay upwards of $1 billion and no the NFL won't waive that. That said most people who think the NFL might come to Toronto don't expect an expansion team, they expect the Bills to move.

They've built some NFL stadiums in the past few ye...

2009-10-20T17:08:43.588-04:00

They've built some NFL stadiums in the past few years with capacities in the low 60 thousands..

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_current_National_Football_League_stadiums

My understanding for the requirements the NFL is l...

2009-10-20T17:04:25.836-04:00

My understanding for the requirements the NFL is looking for in any expansion team are;

1) The stadium MUST have no less than 70,000 capacity.The dome won't expand to that supposedly.
2) I think for expansion they would prefer only individuals and not corporations, for ownership.
3) Expansion fee would be huge , I'm guessing.

Whether the NFL would waive those requirements is anybody's guess.

Somebody reading this knows better than me.

On top of what James said, I think there's more va...

2009-10-20T16:26:51.620-04:00

On top of what James said, I think there's more value to Rogers in building a baseball stadium and renovating the Dome fot football than building an entirely new football stadium. If a NFL stadium was built today and the Bills came here, it would no doubt become one of those places to be seen giant corporate galas of sporting events like we've all seen before here. But the Jays would stay the same, still drawing 23-28k if not an even negative change.

But if the NFL team goes to a 65,000 seat Dome, that place sells out and becomes tha giant corporate event Rogers wants it to be but the Jays are also capitalizing because they've got a swanky new stadium that cost less than an NFL one. In terms of strength of assets, I think that's the ideal scenario for Rogers. You would then have two unbelievable money makers.

never thought i'd hear jerry making a call after a...

2009-10-20T15:49:57.760-04:00

never thought i'd hear jerry making a call after a stooges song.

I think you're right, Jeff. I think that most fan...

2009-10-20T15:25:12.762-04:00

I think you're right, Jeff. I think that most fans would be satisfied with a major renovation as opposed to a new stadium. As you say, find a way to have real grass, a reduction of seats etc. It would make a big difference.

However, it seems to me that this really hinges on Rogers pursuit on an NFL franchise. If Rogers gives up its chase of an NFL team then I think a renovation of the RC to be more baseball friendly is realistic.

However, if Rogers is actually successful in bringing an NFL team here, then it changes things. Where does that team play? Since, I imagine, it would be cheaper to build a MLB only stadium than an NFL stadium, I could see the RC being renovated to be home to the NFL franchise (assuming that's possible) with the Jays getting a new stadium in that situation.

And further to what Jeff says, the East Bayfront i...

2009-10-20T14:56:42.615-04:00

And further to what Jeff says, the East Bayfront is the target property for Toronto's Pan Am games bid. I'm sure the stadium plays into those plans, as does the proposed housing, which will mean federal $$ if the bid is accepted.

http://ca.sports.yahoo.com/mlb/blog/big_league_ste...

2009-10-20T14:33:14.448-04:00

http://ca.sports.yahoo.com/mlb/blog/big_league_stew/post/Internet-controversy-of-the-day-Does-Rivera-thr;_ylt=AlaNyEMO61egP9RDLEhyoWBShgM6?urn=mlb,197070