Game Thread: Edmonton Elks @ Toronto Argonauts

[Will]

The announced attendance was 10,857.

Where are you getting the 7,000 number from?

[GreyCup1971]

Well, the east stands had crickets. The usually full end zone was 1/3 capacity. West side was 1/2 full? Only BMO Field knows the answer. Others on social media question the paid attendance number too.

Even 10,000 people attended, which they didn't, why are the other two talented and entertaining teams selling out? Or in BC case getting 40,000?

[paulwoods13]

Mtl and BC aren't likely to sell out again any time soon, IMO, but they are certainly drawing better than Toronto. There are many possible reasons for that, including an absolutely terrible performance in front of a crowd of 26,000 that included many potential new fans, a front office that divides its time (unevenly, it seems clear) between two franchises, and (IMO the most important reason) an off-season in which any potential marketing plan fell completely off the table because of the Kelly lawsuit. Not saying we would be drawing 20k against Edm, but I suspect we'd be at 13-15k if there had been a concerted marketing effort through the winter and spring. Instead the org went silent and had to put the face of the franchise into hiding.

[GreyCup1971]

I thought the second game of the season should have been much better than the first game (+12,000) where the Argos delivered an entertaining win against the Lions. The Lions being a strong contender for the Grey Cup.

No competition in town. Stanley Cup had a night off.

Weather was expected to hold off and it did.

This was a perfect night to build on the strong start to the season.

A number of fans stated on social media that they were going to take a pass on this game for personal reasons.

The game itself was very entertaining. A lot of talent. Entertaining style of football. The team continues to build on their strong start.

The attendance was very disappointing.

I expect more than 12,000 at the next game.

[kellynjk]

Another thoroughly entertaining game.

Dukes remains cool, calm and collected, and the o-line is opening some huge holes for the RBs. It appears MacKellar has graduated to FT starter at RG; Ciraco did not get on the field. Nice to see a gadget play with Grant, but Dinwiddie almost outstarted himself with that terribly ill-advised option throw by McMahon. You do that in the opponents' end of the field, not your own 20. That was a stupid play call and it put the Elks right back into a game the Argos had been on the verge of taking control of.

For the second game in a row, the defence fell victim to some precision long-range passes. MBT was really on his game, and did not deserve to lose. The Elks were ultimately killed by two plays in the final three minutes -- that weak contacting-the-kicker penalty and the boneheaded decision by Leake not to see if Haggerty's punt would land in the end zone. It sure appeared to be heading there as it bounced, and while I know JH has already had two punts stay in play just shy of the goal-line this season, the smart play IMO would have been to try to give up the single, go down by a point and gain 40 yards of field position. With 1:30 left, there was every reason to think MBT could get the Elks 30 or so yards into Bede FG range. Before the punt, Jones and an assistant coach both raised their hands in a gesture that to my eyes seemed to be telling the two returners to give up a point if the opportunity arose. I think that was the right call.

Hilarious to watch not one but two Argos (separately) go into the tent to take a leak. It was blindingly obvious since the upper "windows" of the tent were open.

I also was impressed with Dukes and his composure and thought he played a great game. And the MBT and the Elks played much better than they have in the last couple of weeks. I didn't Toronto's defence played well last night and didn't put any real pressure for MBT. And they will need to play considerably better if they hope to have a chance against Montreal, who have looked really strong so far this season.

[kellynjk]

The attendance certainly didn’t look like 10,000 on tv and no doubt the poor weather didn’t help. I think the Argos have lost alot of fans because of the poor game they played in the Eastern final last year, combined with Kelly debacle. But hopefully if they continue to play great, entertaining games, the crowds will come back. I think management could also do some good marketing with Dukes, Carey, Coxie etc. They have alot of talented players on the team and it would be refreshing if the organization did more to highlight and promote them!

[AngeloV]

I truly believe a big reason we only had 10k last night was because there are a lot of Argo fans that are intolerable towards certain things. Last night being pride night, kept a lot of homophobic morons away. There weee a lot of negative postings on social media leading up to the game regarding this. To the people that stayed away for this reason, I beg you not to come back. I know it will take a lot of patience and time, but I think the Argos can weed these types of people out and build a bigger, stronger fan base.

[Will]

Did anyone see if Brissett returned to the game?

[AngeloV]

Did anyone see if Brissett returned to the game?

He did for just a few plays. Dinwiddie in the post game said he wanted to come back in but they decided to limit him and preferred to be cautious

[kellynjk]

I don't think Brissett returned to the game, but they did show footage of him standing on the sidelines, kind of stretching out his leg and smiling, so the commentators noted that it didn't look he has sustained any kind of serious injury.