So-long Players

[Lightspeed]

Thanks to Players for the incredible support they have shown for motorsport in Canada. Without this support its is likely I would not have had the privilege of seeing a young Gilles Villeneuve racing in Formula Atlantics or have seen the awesome spectacle of Can-am cars racing here in Edmonton.

I hope that other large Canadian-based companies will take up Paul Tracy's challenge to step up and support racing as Players has.

[Jay]

Well said, I sheld out $75 for a Player's polo shirt in Toronto...needed somethign to remember them by. My get something more in Montreal.

Hopefully other companies will step up...

[macdaddy]

CART's popularity in Canada will surely wane if/when there are no native drivers. And I pray that doesn't happen, that somebody does "step up to the plate". Molson has such a huge stake in the three events that surely they don't want to see them falter, but they are also restricted by legislation in that they cannot sponsor an individual or a team. Therefore, they cannot set up a similar ladder system. And IMO those laws are totally, shall we say, dumb.

But who else is there to replace the big shoes Players leaves behind? We've discussed it in other threads, and the list is pretty short. Distillers such as Hiram/Walker are likely bound to the same legislation as the breweries. Tim Hortons already dominates their market, and so they don't really need to spend that kind of cash on advertising. "Rrrrolll up the rrimmm" does wonders for alot less money. They're American-owned now, anyway. Others have suggested that Roots could step in, but I question whether or not they have this kind of capital to play with. And their demographics might better fit with pro skateboarding. Again, something that requires a fraction of the cost. Bombardier, well they certainly have the bank account! But really just a fraction of their overall business is with the "general market". (Perhaps if Bridgestone offered them free tires for all of their military and civilian aircraft, and Ford donated a few dozen engines for their highspeed trains). Canadian Tire. Now that would be just too sweet. And "right-up-their-alley". Motomaster and Mastercraft. They market fuel, they market lubricants, they market tools. Performance parts. Tires. Even Bridgestones. And the service bay will be happy to tune up your Ford.

Gonna miss Players. Glad that I've got some memorabilia that actually says "Players" without the "Forsythe" or the ".ca" stuff.

Alas... I'd be remiss if I didn't appologize to y'all for my rambling.
Blame my friend Bud.

[Liz]

And Bombardier is teetering on the edge of Chapter 11 besides.

Roots has all the advertising it needs in its exclusive contract with the Olympics to supply uniforms and gear. This reach extends all over the world in every sport from that Scandinavian thing involving guns and skis, to ice dancing, to hockey. Why would they consider supporting a niche sport that wouldn't add appreciably to their bottom line? Remember, Canadians are not patriotic (patriotism is an American concept and therefore anathema); up here we don't stand together in times of crisis.

Everything in this country that is not forbidden to advertise in sports, for fear of corrupting one unsupervised baby, is owned by foreigners or already has either a monopoly in its field or is going bankrupt. Let's enjoy the current racing drivers above the CASCAR level, because unless they go to other countries and become Canadians in name only (like Jacques), there will be none to follow these.

It's a sad day for the world. But at least Canada will go down the memory hole as the first babyproof country -- but never forget the old saying "If you make a society foolproof, only fools will want to live there."

[billiaml]

Once again, government is increasing its role of "overprotective nanny of the governed." I shudder to think of what it will do next.

And, as much as we hate to be the second ones to do anything, I suppose we'll be the next to be babyproof after you guys.

[Liz]

An interesting story I just came across in the course of my work: back when Canadian Tire was a sponsor of Champ Cars and involved in Indy, they were also involved in a big takeover bid by Imperial Tobacco (IMASCO). There's an article in Maclean's Magazine, July 4, 1983, in the Business section, that discusses this extensively.

I take it they failed, but it does explain a couple of things, and raises a whole lot of other questions, IMO.

[paul-collins]

Two things:

Originally posted by Lightspeed
Thanks to Players for the incredible support they have shown for motorsport in Canada. Without this support its is likely I would not have had the privilege of seeing a young Gilles Villeneuve racing in Formula Atlantics or have seen the awesome spectacle of Can-am cars racing here in Edmonton.

GV was never sponsored by Player's. Player's was the title sponsor for the Atlantics series in Canada, though.

Originally posted by Liz
Remember, Canadians are not patriotic (patriotism is an American concept and therefore anathema); up here we don't stand together in times of crisis.

Speak for yourself, Liz. You Torontonians...

I lived in Ottawa during the ice storm. I saw some pretty good displays of solidarity then.

Of course, in Ottawa they only call on the army when they actually need it.

[Jay]

I think Canadians are pretty good at standing together when it's something they feel passionately about...and yeah, the ice storm was a good example of that.

There;s a picture of Gilles in a Toyota Atlantic with 'Direct Film' on the nose, were they the sponsor that got things going for him? Too bad they're gone too...

[BSchneiderFan]

So no Molson Forsythe Racing, then?

[KC]

I had no idea that Canadian law proscribed alcohol companies from advertising on race cars. Does that same law allow the advertise their wares as they see fit in another country, say America or Mexico? That way they can run color branding as Marlboro does and PLayer's did at events where the name cannot be seen?

[Jay]

I don't think that law would restrict Molsons (or Labatt) from sponsoring Forsythe though....otherwise why would he be talking to them?

[Dov]

Originally posted by Jay
There;s a picture of Gilles in a Toyota Atlantic with 'Direct Film' on the nose, were they the sponsor that got things going for him? Too bad they're gone too...

That's right, Jay....I'm not sure if it was just a one-off deal, but Direct Film did sponsor Gilles in a Toyota Atlantic exhibition race that involved 3-5 F1 stars. James Hunt went back to Europe saying this kid (GV) has to be in F1! Btw, Gilles won that race.

P.S. I think Canadians are very patriotic and always stand together when it's important. We just don't feel the need to raise the flag every other second unlike many Americans.

[Dov]

[/B]

Originally posted by paul-collins
Of course, in Ottawa they only call on the army when they actually need it.

Hey Paul, we were in a crisis down here man! That snow was piling up. Besides, it's not like are army has anything else to do.

[paul-collins]

I don't think that was one-off, Dov - I have pictures of the car at Mosport.

That's the sponsorship he ran with all year in 1977.

Gaston Parent was the guy who funded his 3R run in 1976 as a one-off, and he secured the Direct Film sponsorship for all of 1977. He became GV's manager.

http://uk.sports.yahoo.com/030515/65/e0200.html

There are two Direct Film photos of GV from two different races, here:

http://www.ventisetterosso.com/english/galleria1.htm

[paul-collins]

Originally posted by Dov
Hey Paul, we were in a crisis down here man! That snow was piling up. Besides, it's not like are army has anything else to do.

By the time this storm came along, I was living in Richmond Hill. We got about 40cm of snow, and it was manageable.

My grandmother was in Leaside, though, and the snowbanks were 4+ feet high.

In Ottawa, they'd just get on with it - but they're equipped and prepared for big snow. It did make for some giggles, though...

And, yes, they do have something else to do, and it involves duct tape and Sea Kings...

[Dov]

Thanks for the info/links, Paul!

[Dov]

Originally posted by paul-collins
And, yes, they do have something else to do, and it involves duct tape and Sea Kings...

Oh my God, I forgot about that.
But seriously, God Bless are Army! Are government should be ashamed of themselves!

[macdaddy]

Reviving a sinking thread...

Here's something I've just read on TSN, an article about Montreal losing F1, that (maybe, kinda, in-a-way) makes me hope that (maybe, kinda, in-a-way) Player's might still be around next year.

Charles Lapointe, head of Tourism Montreal, said Friday his organization will lobby Ottawa and Quebec to try to save the race, which he called the most lucrative tourism event in Canada. "We want to save an event that brings in $80 million to Montreal's economy," Lapointe told a news conference. Lapointe said the Canadian Grand Prix could be given a reprieve if anti-tobacco legislation is harmonized with the European Union's deadline.

Yeah... I know... I'm a wishful thinker.
I even cut-and-pasted the article to suit my needs!
http://www.tsn.ca/auto_racing/formul...ng-formula_one

[Liz]

Originally posted by paul-collins
Of course, in Ottawa they only call on the army when they actually need it.

In Toronto we stand together in times of crisis and yell "Strike! Strike! Strike!"

Who's a bigger idiot than Mel Lastmans: NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOBODY! (Ontario joke)

============

It was Players that gave Gilles the chance to be noticed by Formula One, wasn't it? Trois-Rivieres was where they saw him race?

[Radioshoes]

Originally posted by Liz


Who's a bigger idiot than Mel Lastmans: NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOBODY! (Ontario joke)

I don't know, Liz, how about the guy who admitted on national tv and CNN that he didn't know who the World Health Org. was and where is Geneva anyway? He's a pretty big idiot. Oh wait a minute....it was Mel who said that wasn't it?....Nevermind.


(Sorry for keepng it off topic but I couldn't resist. I promise it will never happen again.... Ok, it will, but I won't make a habit of it.)

Cheers