Chadd Friend's Roar Profile

I would suggest however that we approach (and I say this with warmth filled in my heart as outside of my beloved Tribe, I’m quite taken with the Cubbies) with caution. Not too long ago the Red Sox were the fabled bad luck story as you have mentioned but in just 11 years have won 3 world series (Contrasting to the biggest behemoth of them all; The Yankee’s, winning only one in the same time frame) and whom in my opinion have become one of the more hated teams in Baseball (Due to said fabledness, success and what i’m about to delve into; Market Size)

They say Baseball is dying, I say bulldust. Baseball is not dying in the same way the Ice Hockey isn’t dying – It just has difficulty competing in places outside of its heartland. Sure, Baseball may be the national pastime but let us be realistic and acknowledge the fact that Baseball is exceptionally, stupidly, fantastically popular in the North East of the U.S. and doesn’t have the massive saturation and popularity anywhere except East of Chicago and North of Washington D.C. With that being said, Baseball is a game of have’s and have not’s. As the only league in America that doesn’t have a salary cap (as far as i’m aware (and I know the NFL and NBA and Co.’s ‘Cap’s’ are pretty dilute and weak)) Baseball lends itself to those with big markets and those with small ones (Case in point; Oakland A’s., See: MoneyBall).

What I’m trying to get around saying here is that The Cub’s strength is as the loveable losers. A lot of folks have a softspot for the Cubbies as they play in an antiquated, tiny Ballpark with a living, breathing (literally) outfield wall, their stadium not-succumbed to the folly of sponsorship naming rights. Their fan’s haven’t tasted success, their fan’s parents haven’t tasted success, their fan’s parent’s, parent’s… may… of seen a world series win but to put it in perspective, if you could remember a Cub’s world series at your earliest possible age, let’s say age 6; You would be 113 years old (and for the record you would of seen The Northside win when you were age 5 as well).

To look at it frankly and to hurry up and get to my point, despite all of those shortcomings and what not, The Cub’s represent the 6th biggest MLB Market (of 30). They represent half (if not more, infact, most definitely more) of the 3rd biggest city in the U.S. and their crosstown rivals come in at 10th (which is nothing to shirk at). This gives you some idea of the financial dynamo that you are dealing with when it comes to the windy city’s senior circuiters. In Arrieta, they trust. Rizzo, they believe. Invested in Bryant – if not this year, then the next, if not the next, then the next. The Chicago Cubs are ‘set-up’ for the foreseeable future, I would find it almost impossibly difficult to believe a World Series won’t take a trip to the banks of Lake Michigan between now and 2020.

So, will The Cubs suffer the same fate as I feel has besmirched the Olde Towne Team? Will success lead to resentment? Will the sleeping giant finally awake and inturn change the landscape of this game we call Base? For Cubs fan’s, who cares what I think. Sentimentality of the loveable losers be damned; They haven’t won a Fall Classic in over a century!

But it is something to consider as we see that the Cubs, at least not for too much longer, may not be the hibernating Little Bears we saw enter in a winter over 100 years ago, but may be emerging as a grown Grizzly.

A Bartman Championship is on the line for the Chicago Cubs

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US Sports

2015

I thought this was hilarious! Great article!

My foolproof plan to boost AFL's shocking crowds

AFL

2014

Crazy decision by Sage! Perth will now be stuck with the old boys club and now the incoming coach will KNOW that the board will choose the players over the manager. Perth had a really good chance to break away from some of the deadwood and have royally stuffed it up. Mind you Sage could of well done without his two son’s on board. Didn’t make a great impression…

Reports: Perth Glory sack coach Alistair Edwards

And while your at it; add;

http://www.transfermarkt.co.uk/en/tigres-uanl/startseite/verein_7055.html
http://www.transfermarkt.co.uk/en/cd-universidad-catolica/startseite/verein_3277.html
http://www.transfermarkt.co.uk/en/club-universidad-de-chile/startseite/verein_1037.html
http://www.transfermarkt.com/en/universidad-concepcion/startseite/verein_5622.html

BUT, there are a few key things that you need to remember when citing university football teams in South America.

1) These clubs have been around for a long long long time and have entrenched fan support, a lot of the time their fans aren’t graduates of the uni, or connected at all. Infact, the majority aren’t,
2) They play in the top flight divisions of their countries, which you could argue that this new comp might be, but the Super Rugby will always take precedence over it.

Other things to watch out for; I hope people learn from the Brisbane Roar experience. Now days crowds are pretty good and their is a broad base of support after going through some lean times. One of the things that I always encounter when talking to old school football types (Your Hungarians, Greeks, Italians, Croats, etc) is that they never attend Roar games because of the connection to the old Hollandia Inala/Brisbane Lions (The local Brisbane Dutch affiliated club). Would any of these teams fail to attract fans because of this? I.e Would supporters of other teams not support Uni, when just a few weeks earlier or later or whatever during the club season they were supporting their other team against that club (I assume the team put into the new ARC would still retain it’s spot in the local club comp, or no?) Either way, would historical prejudice not hamper support? The same could be said for a local Brisbane club promoted up.

National Rugby Championship to launch in 2014

Rugby

Interesting take on Racism in Canada; ‘aussieincanada’. I have no right or grounds to reject your own experiences with racism (or lack theirof) in Canada. I would however suggest that generalising Australia with being racist and generalising Canada as not is also appealing for the lowest common denominator. British Columbia is a nice place, but if you want to go see the ‘real’ Canada with ‘real’ Canadian racism, step outside the very multi cultural (very Australian oriented B.C.) and go talk with Inuits and First nations in the N.W. Territories and Yukon. Have a chat with Black youths in Toronto. Of course the grand-daddy of them all; go and see in all its glory, the nation within a nation; Quebec.

Racism is very very (very) much so alive and well in Canada. If anything I would regard Australia as being forward thinking when it comes to Racism. People here embrace the debate, I’m not sure if you were in Australia when the Adam Goodes-Collingwood Supporter-Eddie McGuire thing took place, but that was a brutal, honest and frank debate in public about Racism in Australian sport and Australia at large. Canada in my experience on the other hand sweeps this kind of thing under the carpet, look at the blackface in Le Hab’s crowd which received little if no attention, also the group of 20+ individuals who decided to paint themselves black face as a tribute to Usain Bolt at Universite De Montreal. Can anyone here, or yourself aussieincanada imagine in today’s Australia where you could get 20 university students to don blackface and go to any kind of public event? What’s particularly astonishing is that Canada has far more of a connection to minstrel performances than Australia. There was however that instance of Hey, Hey, It’s Saturday! a few years back. I don’t mean this to come across as pegging you down, but Canada has a troubled history with racism that shows no signs of abating, if anything, since Le PQ has been elected, it is worse.

If you were wondering what racism looks like - it's us, Australia

A good article for an outsider (of rugby) to read. I quite enjoy the game but there a few little complexities from which I don’t understand. What is notably pointed out in your article. I find it surprising that you find foreign based players as a negative trait. Admittedly the premier club comp in the world is the Super Rugby but players who are in Europe certainly aren’t in the doldrums and would arguably give this RSA squad a level of experience that can’t be matched by Australian’s; A player who has played oversea’s in a different culture and experienced a different style of play would provide a good even keel to the side.

I guess one thing Football which is different to Rugby and FIFA the IRB is recognised international match dates where clubs release players.

Springbok squad announced for Rugby Championship