THURSDAY COMMENTARY – A SUCCESS STORY
(Listen daily for the Rod Pedersen Commentary on Cat Country 98, Rock 98.5 FM & LTD Radio)
Sometimes you need something to restore your faith in humanity, and/or sports.
On Wednesday night, I got it.
I had occasion to attend basketball’s version of the Battle of Alberta as the Calgary Surge were home to the Edmonton Stingers in Canadian Elite Basketball League play.
Are you following the league? That really matters not because thousands across this country are and WinSport Arena – home of Hockey Canada – was jammed to the rafters for the must-win game for the home team. (The Surge have soldout pretty much every game, their first in Calgary after relocating from Guelph.)
The league’s gone over like gangbusters in Edmonton too, as the Stingers brought two buses full of boisterous fans to the clash.
Maybe you saw the game on TSN? The new national TV deal is a boon for the league, which is now in its fifth season and remarkably, people are just now hearing about it.
The highlight of the night for me was chatting with play-by-play man Rod Black ahead of the game; as nice a guy as you’d ever want to meet.
But there were many, many highlights. There were alley-oops and slamdunks a’ plenty, and Calgary pulled off a massive comeback in the fourth quarter to win, thanks to a 25-3 run.
That clinched them a home playoff game.
Best of all? You can get into the games for as little as 37-dollars per ticket. That may explain the popularity of the league across Canada as much as anything.
So why did this restore my faith in sports?
Well I regularly hear the fan complaints about the cost of pro sports and all Covid did was make the rich richer, and the poor poorer.
But people have found the CEBL and the league held on somehow through Covid. Now, it seems, they’ve turned the corner playing in packed arenas.
A true Canadian success story.
That’s today’s Rod Pedersen Commentary
(The Rod Pedersen Show airs daily at 12 pm ET on Game+TV, WQEE Radio, YouTube Live & Podcast)
This is an incredible league. I always just watched basketball on highlights. Then along came The Last Dance and on Crave there is Winning Time. Add in all the great basketball movies. The game before Edm/Cal was Scarbourough/Brampton and you would have thought it was 1984 Lakers/Celtics. That game was intense. They have that rule at the end where it’s final score is +9 for the team with the lead. That ratcheted it up. I caught my first live game in June in Edmonton when they played the Rattlers. I got in for $25 ticket and it was literally a… Read more »
When I attended a CEBL game and seen the kids and young families. I am thinking. This is the future. The hockey we knew is similar to the country music we knew. The game has changed. George Strait/Conway Twitty got up there and same as Don Williams…shut up and sing and give the folks a show. Today it’s all about sticking up for people’s gender journey or being the guy to tell you how a small town works – massive undertones. Hockey it costs an arm and a leg along with a second mortgage and part time job to pay… Read more »
CEBL fever has taken Winnipeg by storm as well! The Sea Bears are expecting over 8000 fans at their final home game this week. I took the family to one game a couple weeks ago, and what a great fun night out with lots of activities for the munchkins.
The Sea Bears are a throwback to how pro sports used to be. Passionate fans who were there for love of the game, not because they want to impress their clients or flex their prime seats on instagram. You can buy a good ticket without spending an arm and a leg (it starts at $24.00 here), the atmosphere is great and the games are entertaining. The fact that you can see all the games on TSN is huge for exposure too. So add it all up and it’s not surprising to see the Sea Bears, and the CEBL, catching on… Read more »