Oilers… cup within reach?

I saw this ad on facebook and it made me smile.  It proudly proclaims that “The Stanley Cup is within reach” and goes on to advertise great seats to Oilers games.

A bit premature isn’t it?  It’s:

1. The beginning of the season so it’s hardly within reach and
2. The Oilers missed the playoffs last year and will probably miss them again this year.

Funny…

Sporting Events

Last year a couple of friends of mine from the UK came over for a visit.  I took them to two sporting events so they could get a taste for north american sports.  A CFL game (Edmonton V Calgary) and a NHL game (Edmonton v Phoenix).

What really struck me about both sporting events is the advertising that was involved.  The CFL game was the worst offender of the two.  Every break in play seemed to have a “sponsored” message and the adverts and buy/buy/buy messages were non stop throughout the game.  You spend around $50 on a ticket to watch a game and get bombarded with non-stop advertising for your trouble.  My guests commented on this and I have to admit they had a point. 

The NHL game was not as bad (although they did the usual wait for the TV ads breaks).  Hockey has more flow to it than a CFL game as there can be 5-10 minutes of play before a break in play.  There were still plenty of plugs but it wasn’t as bad as the CFL game (again, probably more to do with the nature of the sport).   The hockey game would have been more enjoyable had Mr. Alcohol and his co horts not been sat directly behind us giving us loads of hassle.  I really should have talked to a steward to get then chucked out.  I guess it’s that “Canadian” tolerance thing. 

The games were enjoyable and we had a good time but I don’t think I’ll be in a rush to go back to a CFL game; the advertising did spoil it for me somewhat at that event.

On a related note I was in Calgary visiting my family the weekend befgore last for my Brothers birthday and noticed that a Pre-Season hockey ticket from a game they had been to had a price of $140… each (they were tickets he got from work).  This is a Pre-Season game…. it’s meaningless and more than likely alot of the star players won’t be playing anyway as some of the young talent will get a run out; apparantly a glass of beer went up to about $7.50 or so too.  I think pro sport is in danger of pricing itself out of the market but that’s a story for another day.

Any opinions on this?  Are you happy to spend $50+ to attend a game where ads are bombarded at you non-stop?  Is that just the way it is now?