A Simple Plan

Here was a rule in my high school and probably yours as well. If you were going to have a party at your house, you checked to see if anyone else was having a party that same night. That way, you didn't end up with chips, dips and dorks in a virtually empty house on that rare Saturday night when your parents were out of town. Pretty simple, right?

So why do so many teams have trouble with their scheduling?

I know. There's building availability and broadcasters to worry about, but some of these games just boggle your mind.

For example... the Vancouver Giants want a packed house for their home opener this year. They'll raise their Memorial Cup banner and blow the doors off with their game presentation. So why would the Giants allow the WHL to slot them at the same time and on the same night that the Lions host the Calgary Stampeders in a pivotal West division showdown? Sure it's a Saturday night and both games should be well-attended, but a lot of people who attend Lions games also go to the Giants. Why should they have to choose? Plus, for a game like that, you want all of the media focus on your team. Instead, it will be split.

It's like the braintrust in Montreal deciding to play last Sunday's Lions/Als game at the same time the NFL kicked off it's opening weekend. Great decision; I'm sure no one will be watching the most popular league in North America that day. How many viewers and potential fans were lost? Could the game not have been played on Saturday or Friday? It's going to be tough to get a date with a girl when you show up with your good-looking, successful, single friend that she's always had a crush on. Same principle applies here.

Sure I understand that at some point you have to say "we're not going to let other events dictate what we do", but these examples seem pretty straight forward to me. And that's why I won't schedule my big press conferences to coincide with any of Britney's Comeback Tour dates. I need the publicity.