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Why Skulsky’s Guarantee is Brilliant

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Social media erupted Thursday following a guarantee from BC Lions President Dennis Skulsky that the Lions would win Sunday against the Saskatchewan Roughriders. Most of the uproar came from Rider Nation who took great offence to Skulsky’s declaration, but really they’re being a bit hypocritical.

The Riders recently bought some billboard space near BC Place Stadium proclaiming that “Green is the new Orange”. It’s not the first time the Riders have felt the need to invade other teams’ markets; they’ve been buying billboards in opposing prairie cities for years. They don’t need to do it, they sell more merchandise than all other teams combined and their fanbase is dedicated and loyal. Yes there are many Saskatchewan ex-pats who now reside in beautiful British Columbia who still bleed green. None of them needed to be reminded that the Riders are coming to town by a billboard.

The Riders are holding a “Riderville” party at the Commodore Ballroom prior to Sunday’s game and if they had used the billboard to advertise that instead of taking a perceived shot at the fan base here, perhaps the Lions would not have felt compelled to jump into the fire.

But they did, and good on them for doing it. This is their market, their stadium, their fan base and Skulsky stood up for his club and this province.

“Bulletin board material” screamed Rider Nation. How dare they be so cocky against the mighty Riders! Even former Lion Ricky Foley got riled up on twitter…thanks for drumming up the hype Ricky! If this serves as bulletin board material for the Riders, than make no mistake the billboard serves the same purpose for the Lions and it should be one intense game, not that it wouldn’t have been anyway in a big West division clash.

Meanwhile talk radio and social media have been flooded by talk of the guarantee. The Lions are the biggest story in town because of it and that doesn’t happen very often in hockey crazed Vancouver.

Skulsky is really in a no lose position here. He doesn’t care about putting himself on the line if it means getting more butts in the seats. With the biggest crowd of the season expected Sunday, many will be casual fans who come out for the bigger games of the season. And many more who weren’t considering the game Sunday as an option, now may do so.

This was a marketing move, plain and simple. The Riders felt a need to be cocky with their billboard, the Lions responded with a guaranteed win, and they’re putting their money where their mouth is. Who knows, those “thousands” of Rider fans may even get a free game out of it…maybe a few of them will decide that ORANGE is the new GREEN.

Well played Mr. Skulsky, well played, and for the record, I’m not expecting my free ticket. ROAR YOU LIONS ROAR!

BC Lions Notebook: April 27th

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With just over a month until training camp gets under way in Kamloops, what better time for a blog about what’s been happening in and around the Lions Den in the last few weeks.

Giving Back

Ryan Phillips gave back to the community with his charity basketball game featuring the likes of Geroy Simon, Travis Lulay, Paris Jackson, Ernest Jackson, Adam Bighill, Andrew Harris, Courtney Taylor and others playing basketball against local DJ’s  in support of Make a Wish in BC and the Yukon. “Dunks for Dreams” is just another example of how involved the Lions players are in the community all year round.

“It’s a great opportunity for us to give back to the community that supports us year round,” said Ryan Phillips. “We’re hoping to give a big cheque to the Make-A-Wish Foundation at the end of all this.”

“I’ve always wanted to do something like this,” Phillips said of his charity game. “I don’t think we have enough events in the city like this.”

Getting on the Offensive

The Lions which will hold a three day mini-camp  at their Surrey practice facility this week. The camp will only feature offensive players, as the team tries to insert the offence of new coordinator Khari Jones and see what they have with the QB’s they have assembled heading into 2014. One of the key questions heading into Kamloops is who will emerge as the Lions backup to Travis Lulay to start the season. Chris Hart will be one of those players vying for the job and seemed excited on Twitter after initial meetings heading into this mini-camp.

John Beck, Jarrett Lee and CFL veteran Steven Jyles will also be looking to make an impression with the coaching staff this week and at least one of them has already impressed the man at the top:

Also on display will be four import offensive linemen recently signed by the team, who will look to compete for the tackle position vacated with the retirement of Ben Archibald.

Considering Khalif

micthellbcThe Lions are reportedly exploring the possibility of bringing back defensive tackle Khalif Mitchell. Mitchell who was traded to the Toronto Argonauts last off-season when he wore out his welcome with the Lions coaches and players, was released by Toronto to explore his options this off-season. It was reported that exploring would be south of the border, but with no workouts publicized, it seems as though Mitchell may be looking to move back out west and the Lions are at least doing their due diligence.

It would be a touchy decision for the club. There were players that were quite vocal about Mitchell during his last tour here, but there is no denying the presence he provides in the middle of a defensive line. Fresh on the Lions is mind is the fourth quarter in their semi-final game in Regina last season, where Darian Durant parted the seas and ran up the middle to end the Lions season.

Farhan Lalji of TSN tweeted on Sunday that Wally Buono has sensed change in Mitchell:

But at least one fan is talking consequences if the big man returns to BC:

Yes, Mitchell made mistakes in his first tour in BC and if he returns there will be a very short leash. He’s still a young man and people can change. Anyone that has had dealings with Mitchell away from the football field has seen the gentle side to the giant. If he can concentrate on being a good football player and team-mate, another look would be welcomed by this fan.

Season Ticket Day

Once again the BC Lions will hold and ticket event for their season ticket holders at BC Place. This year’s event goes on May 25th. Fans will be able to listen to Dennis Skulsky, Wally Buono, coach Benevides and his staff talk about the upcoming season and they will be able to pick up their season ticket packages. There will be complimentary food and concession items and the latest merchandise for 2014 will be on sale at a discount. BC Lions players will be on hand as will the Grey Cup, and fans will be able to get autographs and have their picture taken with the cup.

You should have received an e-mail from the Lions about the event if you are a season ticket holder, and if you aren’t there is still time to get on board to support the pride and guarantee your ticket for the 102nd Grey Cup game in November. Ticket sales for the November classic have been reported as brisk, with ticket holders from other CFL teams getting in on the action last weekend. Public sales begin in June.

The Ugly Side of Social

The BC Lions recently posted some photos from the annual Felions calendar shoot but it didn’t take long for the ugly side of social to show itself. Classless keyboard warriors made fun of the girls appearances, questioned their intelligence and work ethic and referred to them as “Surrey Trash”. Others questioned whether the shoot was in contradiction of the Lions “Be More Than a Bystander” program. No, I’m not kidding.

People are entitled to their opinions, and they sure are brave when they have no one to answer to for their comments. The fact is these calendars help pay for these girls to finance their Grey Cup expenses. They volunteer as Felions, and represent the team at a ton of functions all over the city and occasionally the province. Regardless of what you think of dance teams, cheerleaders and how they are portrayed, no one is forcing these girls to do anything and they certainly don’t deserve to be belittled for their efforts. As one fan pointed out, no one seems to complain when the annual Firemen’s calendar is sold each year.

Congratulations

Congratulations to a friend of the site, Tyler Bieber for getting hired on at 107.5 Bolt FM in Humboldt, SK. You might know him from his blog CFLDaily.ca or from Twitter @CFLDaily. Tyler is a talented young man and we wish him well in this next step in his career. He’s been a guest on our pawdcast, and assures us he won’t forget us lowly bloggers now that he is mainstream media!

We’ll talk more about these topics and some others on the next episode of the BCLionsDen.ca Pawdcast, where we also hope to get an update from the Grey Cup champions in Regina.

Until then, Roar you Lions roar!

The BCLionsDen.ca Pawdcast – Episode 25

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In Episode 25 Brian and Mojo recap the latest news from the Lions Den. Lowell Ullrich, BC Lions beat writer for The Province newspaper and TheProvince.com joins for some Lions talk and they to talk to CHED 650 Eskimos colour man Dave Campbell for an update on the off-season of the Edmonton Eskimos.

To stay up to date with our podcasts, blogs and other Lions news, follow us on Twitter @BCLionsDen

Please leave us a comment on the site and let us know how we’re doing. You can also leave us a ranking and a review on iTunes, we would really appreciate it!

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The BCLionsDen.ca Pawdcast – Episode 23

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Nick MooreIn Episode 23 Brian and Mojo return from a hiatus to chat about the off-season of the BC Lions so far. They’re also joined by Ryan Ballantyne of the CFL Horsemen Podcast in Calgary, as well as Andrew Bucholtz of Yahoo Sports and the 55 Yard Line Blog to talk Stampeders and other CFL topics.

To stay up to date with our podcasts, blogs and other Lions news, follow us on Twitter @BCLionsDen

Please leave us a comment on the site and let us know how we’re doing. You can also leave us a ranking and a review on iTunes, we would really appreciate it!

Listen:

Listen and Subscribe on iTunes


BC Lions Social wins big on first day of #CFLFA14

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The BC Lions may not have come out winners when it came to getting the players they coveted on day one of CFL free agency, but they certainly came out the winners when it came to engaging their fans on Twitter and Facebook. Free agency had barely begun when the @BCLions tweeted this:

That’s the first time I’ve seen a professional sports team let their followers know what the they were working on during what is traditionally a top-secret operation for teams. It also has the interesting dynamic of letting the other teams know who they were after right off the bat. Fans and traditional media both got a kick out of the tweet:

Quickly though the players on that list started to disappear, one by one. The Lions further teased their fans by tweeting a picture of their own free agent, Keron Williams working out at the team’s facility in Surrey:

That caused speculation an announcement was pending on Williams re-signing with the Lions. It of course never came…TEASES!

And when they lost Nick Moore to Winnipeg Blue Bombers, the Lions broke up the disappointment for their fans with this little gem to remind Moore to buy some protection with his fat new contract:

And for good measure retweeted a Manitoba weather report:

Ahh, those Lions social media peeps are gold Jerry, GOLD!

And when the day was done there an interview with the big man, Wally Buono, who explained the club’s use of Social Media and how the day unfolded for BC.

I’ve been on Twitter as long as the Lions have. In fact before the league or the team ever had an account. From day one the Lions have always been the most engaging team on Twitter and continually come up with ways to engage their fans.

They may not signed any of the players they had on their list this morning, but when it came to social, they were clearly the winners of the day.

Now go be social, and share this blog would ya?

 

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