[MTLskyline]

This is a toss-up for me. Being from Montreal, I was a huge Expos fan, but I also miss the rivalry with the Nordiques.

Winnipeg Jets

Quebec Nordiques

Montreal Expos

Vancouver Grizzlies

 

[Penhorn]

Atlantic Schooners for me :tongue3: but since that's not on the list I picked the Expos.

 

[samsonyuen]

The Expos!

 

[Boris550]

I'm going with the Jets.

 

[Oaronuviss]

Winnipeg Jets for sure.

 

[Taller Better]

I'm originally from Winnipeg, so its Benny and the Jets for me!

 

[Oaronuviss]

They should all really come back though to tell you the truth...and add a few more.
Can Canada not afford it or something? :|

 

[ReddAlert]

I thought nobody in Montreal liked the Expos? There are towns in Nunavut that have more people then the average attedance at Expos games. That Rocketman guy was cool though.

 

[Taller Better]

^^ The death of the Expos was a long, and excruciatingly painful thing to watch.
The one that surprised me was how quickly the Grizzlies buggered off. I didn't think
attendance was bad...

 

[Doc Halladay]

Definately the Nords. They were my fav team and the Avs currently are.

It's a shame what happened in Montreal. The strike really killed that franchise (Bud Selig finished it off). The Expos were 34 games over .500 in 1994 with the best record in baseball, almost undoubtably on their way to winning the NL pennant and possibly the World Series before the strike.

Look at these attendance figures. They were pretty crappy to begin with but they were at least improving until 1994.

1991 - 11,612
1992 - 20,607
1993 - 20,265
1994 - 22,390
Strike
1995 - 18,189
1996 - 19,959
1997 - 18,489
1998 - 11,295
1999 - 9,540
2000 - 11,435
2001 - 7,935

By then they started playing some of their games in I believe Puerto Rico along with Montreal. 20,000 avg. attendance is awful but dipping below 10k is downright brutal. The strike killed what little momentum this team had.

 

[CrazyCanuck]

I remember after Boston won the world series, Pedro Matrinez dedicated the win to Montreal and said it was for them. Right there and then he became my favourite baseball player.

 

[sukh]

Well the only chance for any of those teams to come back is the jets or the grizzlies, i would say more so the grizzlies, i would want the grizzlies to come back first.

 

[vid]

Jets!!!

Though we're closer to the Wild now, but Jets would be cool to have back. And they have that new arena thingy in the peg, even if it's was designed really badly.

 

[whitefordj]

I couldent give a rats ass about b ball, but all those hocky teams need to make a grand re-entery. starting with Quebec. old school.

 

[Taller Better]

Definately the Nords. They were my fav team and the Avs currently are.

It's a shame what happened in Montreal. The strike really killed that franchise (Bud Selig finished it off). The Expos were 34 games over .500 in 1994 with the best record in baseball, almost undoubtably on their way to winning the NL pennant and possibly the World Series before the strike.

Look at these attendance figures. They were pretty crappy to begin with but they were at least improving until 1994.

1991 - 11,612
1992 - 20,607
1993 - 20,265
1994 - 22,390
Strike
1995 - 18,189
1996 - 19,959
1997 - 18,489
1998 - 11,295
1999 - 9,540
2000 - 11,435
2001 - 7,935

By then they started playing some of their games in I believe Puerto Rico along with Montreal. 20,000 avg. attendance is awful but dipping below 10k is downright brutal. The strike killed what little momentum this team had.

In the last few years, there were between 5-6000 fans who would actually
pay the $$ to watch a game in Montreal. Official attendance rose strictly
because of the Puerto Rican games. And there didn't even sign a contract
for English language television broadcasts. At that rate no team can possibly
survive in the professionals. I remember one game when only 2500 brave
people showed up. It is tempting to say the strike killed the team, but I
think if people are honest, it was the fans (or lack therein) who killed it.
One can only go on blaming the strike for so many years before you realise
there simply was not the fan base for a pro team. I was so sad to watch
it happen, as I was a big Expo fan back when they were a new team.

 

[habsfan]

The Expos.

The Strike is what started the death of the Expos. The Loria clan is what finished it off. ANd the numerous fire sales were the disease that ate away at the fan base.

From 92 to 97 the Expos were averaging around 20,000 fans per game. I agree, it's not that impressive, but it was not soo bad. Had the world series taken place in 94, the expos would have probably made it to the world series, and might have even won it...after all they were the favorites to win it.

With a world series win under their belts(and alot more cash) they could have kept their star players(Walker, Wetteland, Grissom, etc.) and the number of Fans would have had only one way to go...and that was UP!

Who knows what else would have happenned(construction of a real baseball stadium closer to downtown)??

 

[samsonyuen]

Very true. The strike killed off the last hope of the Expos. I went to a game in 2002, and the upper deck was closed off. It was very depressing.

 

[malek]

defiently the Expos.

Maybe one day when the higher management at the MLB will change, someone will wake up and apologize to Montreal's fan for all the shit thrown our way.

When I was young, I used to attend anywhere between 10 and 20 games a season... but after the strike, that was it... I just abandonned.

 

[Doc Halladay]

In the last few years, there were between 5-6000 fans who would actually
pay the $$ to watch a game in Montreal. Official attendance rose strictly
because of the Puerto Rican games. And there didn't even sign a contract
for English language television broadcasts. At that rate no team can possibly
survive in the professionals. I remember one game when only 2500 brave
people showed up. It is tempting to say the strike killed the team, but I
think if people are honest, it was the fans (or lack therein) who killed it.
One can only go on blaming the strike for so many years before you realise
there simply was not the fan base for a pro team. I was so sad to watch
it happen, as I was a big Expo fan back when they were a new team.

That's definately true. There's a number of factors that led to the downfall of that franchise. The strike and lack of fans were probably the leading cause along with the Loria's and Selig. Also not to mention the absolute dump of a stadium they had to play in. It was definately not a good baseball venue and was made worse when the retractable roof became not so retractable anymore.

Too bad they weren't given a chance. New management along with a new downtown stadium could have saved the franchise.

Would have been nice if this was built:

 

[Dino Domingo]

What happened to the Grizzlies???

:?