Oorts

Reebok

YOUR
AD

Brady

Stark

Team Member

mil

Toothless Timberwolves

Brady Stark
Team Member

he UNBC Timberwolves are now well

into their third season in the top tier of
Canadian university soccer; the CIS. It’s all
well and good to say that you have made it to
the big show, but then you have to perform
when you actually get there.

Over the last couple years, the fans of the
Timberwolves have accepted that there
would be growing pains after making the big
jump; unfortunately the honeymoon is over.
The past three weeks of competition has been
hard on both the men’s and the women’s

teams as only the men have managed a single
win this season thus far. When you look at
the stat sheet, you would see that the goals
for column and the goals against columns are
severely lopsided against the UNBC squads.

That doesn’t exactly tell the whole story.
While watching the squads a couple of weeks
ago, it was clear that even though both teams
tried their hardest from whistle to whistle,

it was the fluidity and organization that the
opposing teams constantly attacked with that
made all the difference. A perfect example of
the higher tier that most of the other teams
have been playing with, comes in the form

of the transition game. Like most transition
strategies in sports, a lot of soccer’s

ockey has always been a game of tradition. Off ice, there have been many changes to how the
franchises were run since the time Ed Schneider bought the Philadelphia Flyers for a cool two
lion back in the 60’s.

In the latest talks with the owners of all the teams in the NHL, an idea has sprouted up
that has caused hockey fans to see red. A proposal was brought forth to sell advertising
space on NHL jerseys. Doesn’t Reebok already advertise on every jersey in the NHL?
The answer is yes, because they are the ones making the actual jerseys.

The NHL wants to have multiple advertisements all over their team’s jerseys
in order to create extra revenue. The estimated revenue generated would
equal around four million in additional revenue per year for each team in the

league; that’s enough for a solid second line center on most teams.

Here is one of the main problems with that idea: fans won’t buy the jersey
if they are playing “where’s Waldo?” with the team’s actual logo.

If you take a gander overseas and see a European jersey, you will see that the whole jersey is
advertisements and that the logo of the team almost seems to be an afterthought. I purchased
a Modo jersey from the Swedish elite league team, not because it looks good, but because I
wanted a souvenir. I can’t even wear it around town, because I feel like a walking billboard sign.

If the owners want to put advertising on the jerseys, make them small
and only have a couple, or you will have a mutiny on your hand.

Soccer fans are probably asking; what’s the big deal? We have giant logos on the front of our

jerseys and they still sell like hot cakes. The problem is when I am watching Manchester United
lose to some lowly team because their coaching sucks, I want to believe I am watching the Reds.

transitions comes off of errand passes. When

the UNBC Timberwolves squads were making
errant passes, the other team’s defense would
quickly pass the ball up to their forwards

in order to get a solid chance on goal.

rather than the small puppies that
were lucky to be invited to lunch.

The frustrating part about the UNBC
squads were that they didn’t seem to be
able to quickly take advantage of their
opponent’s mistakes. The coaching staff
lead by Alan Alderson and Andy Cameron
have worked diligently to try and work
on all aspects of the game, but the fans
are not seeing the bite that they are
expecting in the third season of the CIS.

The UNBC Timberwolves should
be teams to be feared on the pitch,