[RoyalHighlander]

Risque Renegades going mad?
WebPosted Thu, 30 Jun 2005 13:17:38 EDT
CBC Sports
The Ottawa Renegades are planning to launch a new in-stadium contest that may raise eyebrows and women's shirts.

In an effort to attract a younger audience to their football games, the Canadian Football League team will kick-off "Mardi Gras Madness" during their season-opener Friday against the Montreal Alouettes at Frank Clair Stadium.

Under the terms of the controversial contest, each male with a ticket in the upper deck of the stadium's notorious south side will be given beads as he goes through the turnstiles.

The woman who collects the most Mardi Gras beads from the guys will win $1,000.

The promotion has upset some fans because, traditionally in these contests, women have collected the beads from male fans by baring their breasts.

Renegades president Lonie Glieberman says that's not what he's encouraging. He says he just wants to create more fun and interaction for fans.

Glieberman is also reassuring families that the "fun" will be restricted to one specific area in the stands.

"It's only in the upper deck," said Glieberman, whose family took over the struggling franchise earlier this month.

"You know families have never been in the upper deck. It's really not a place...The target for families is [the] north side, and there's nothing going on in the north side like that. It's relatively quiet on the north side – quiet and simple."

Glieberman also says that fans that have already purchased tickets in the upper deck, but don't want to be part of Mardi Gras Madness, can exchange seats without any problem.

The idea has online sport chatrooms buzzing on the internet. Some postings support it as harmless fun. Others think it does little for the reputation of the team, or the game.

"It could be very distracting to true fans of the game, with women constantly in their face asking for beads," says Liz Sterling, who has played with the Ottawa Nepean Touch Football League for 13 years.

"I think there's just other ways to go about it. I think there are other games that could be played that are a little more appropriate for all ages and all genders," Sterling says.

It isn't the first time the a CFL club has considered using questionable tactics to bring in fans. Nearly five years ago, then-Toronto Argonauts owner Sherwood Schwarz toyed with the idea of staging wet T-shirt contests before Toronto games.

League officials doused the idea before it got off the ground.