Time Out

It’s hard for someone to become aware of something they wished wasn’t true. It’s even harder when they’ve devoted a lot of time and effort to the cause. Now, this isn’t news to me. I know university sports in Canada is about as popular as the NHL in the United States. While this isn’t news by any means, there was a story this past week that drove the point home.
Erik Glavic, the 2007 Hec Crighton Trophy winner as Most Valuable Player in the Canadian Interuniversity Sport(CIS) league, will be transferring from the Saint Mary’s Huskies to the Calgary Dinos, joining his former coach Blake Nill.
Now, this is a pretty significant story don’t you think? Well both TSN.ca and The Globe and Mail had a little story, in the case of the Globe it was a brief in the back of the Sports section.
Now, imagine if this was in the United States and a former Heisman trophy winner wanted to transfer schools to play somewhere else.
It happens – don’t get me wrong, but if Urban Meyer gets a job somewhere else next year, you will not see Tim Tebow go with him. I’m fairly certain he would stay at Florida.
Of course, there is one tangible reason this could be done more in Canada – there aren’t full scholarships here.
Unfortunately for the players and the schools there is no money, or glory in Canadian Interuniversity Sport. There are no screaming fans, there is no national media coverage, it’s not a very glamorous position.
There is nothing I can think of that will actually change this. I just report on it after all, but it’s sad in a way. These athletes don’t work any less than their American counterparts.
But it’s a vicious cycle. Does TSN not cover the CIS because people don’t care? Or do people not care because the CIS isn’t on TSN and is instead on The Score?
No offence to The Score, but there is only so much you can do as Canada’s third-ranked all-sports network.
CIS sports definitely do have a niche market. There are tons of people you see at every game whether they are at McGill, Concordia or even at Laval in Quebec City. I see people at every game who are no longer students, and people who are just fans of the CIS. The problem is university students aren’t going to games, especially at Concordia.
You have parents, you have other varsity athletes, you have friends, but you don’t have the regular student going to games to see how his or her school is doing. A lot of that is also the school we go to. We’re not in a university town. We’re in a big city, and it’s made worse by the fact our school is separated by two different campuses and most of the student body have never been to or heard of the lovely Loyola campus.
Concordia held two tournaments over the last month. They held the Concordia-Reebok women’s basketball tournament where they had visits from the No. 2 Regina Cougars, No. 5 Alberta Pandas and the No. 8 Memorial Sea Hawks. Three of the top 10 women’s basketball teams in Canada, and no one showed up.
Fast forward to the Theresa Humes tournament. Once again, tons of family and friends, but Concordia students – not so much.
I’m passed telling you to go to games. I’ve done it for five years and it hasn’t seemed to change. It’s more than a Concordia thing. It’s a Canadian thing.
In fact, many of you don’t even care about the story you’re reading right now because you don’t know who Erik Glavic is and you have no idea what the Hec Crighton trophy is for.