orts Lions’ fans get Grey Cup bash It may not be a parade, but the Grey Cup champs had their own celebration at BC Place on Wednesday By EMMA CRAWFORD B.C. Lions fans, who were invited to join the festivities at The Cele- bration of Grey Cup Pride at B.C. Place on Wednesday evening, free of charge. The event was a large indoor party to commemorate the Lions’ winning the 99th Grey Cup after their victory over the Winnipeg Blue Bombers on Sunday, and to thank fans for their sup- port. “Our fans have been the foundation of our success in 2011 and this event is about celebrating a championship to- gether as one,” Dennis Skulsky, Lions president and CEO, said in a statement earlier this week. Scheduled events at the celebration included introductions to players, vid- eo presentations and the opportunity to pose for photos with the Grey Cup. A limited number of commemorative posters were scheduled to be handed out to lucky fans as they left the venue. Wally Buono, the Lions’ general manager and head coach, addressed concerns earlier this week as to why there would be no parade for the home- town heroes, saying he didn’t feel it was necessary. “Is a parade the only way to share what we have accomplished with the help of our fans?” asked Buono. “We want to celebrate and we’re going to do that.” Andrew Harris, running back for the B.C. Lions, said earlier this week he feels the celebration is a good way to recognize the support they have re- ceived from the team’s fans. “T look forward to...giving back a lit- tle bit,” he said. Unfortunately, there was some con- fusion as to when the celebration would take place. Originally the Lions said it would be on Tuesday at 11 a.m., how- ever they eventually changed the date and time to compensate for working Vancouverites. First-year business stu- dent Zach Noso would’ve enjoyed at- tending, but he heard about it too late to make plans. “Td probably would have had some- one to go with,” said Noso, whose fa- vourite B.C. Lion is Travis Lulay, this season’s Most Outstanding Player. The Lions have Grey Cup titles to date in their history: 1964, 1985, 1994, 2000, 2006 and 2011. T: has been a grrrrreat week for ie EMMA CRAWFORD photo Lions receiver Akeem Foster does a celebratory dance for the cameras. : 4% wee LANGARAS BASKETBALL JEN ST. DENIS photo The Falcons hope to have another raucous crowd when they face the Kwantlen Eagles tonight. Falcons hope for full house tonight Coaches want b-ball fans to show their support By CARLY WIGNES hen the men’s and women’s Langara Falcons basketball blew out Columbia Bible College on Nov. 26, 200 bois- terous fans were there to cheer them on. Both teams hope that atmosphere continues tonight versus the Kwantlen Polytechnic University Eagles. “It’s always nice to play in front of a bigger crowd,” said men’s head coach Jake McCallum. He believes the play- ers fed off of the positive support. “They like having their friends and families out as well as supporters from the student body.” The majority of the stands were filled with high school students who were specially invited to the games last Saturday to get a glimpse into college life. Women’s coach Mike Evans said it got “a little hectic” in the gym when free pieces of pizza, promised to the high school guests, were distributed in- between the men’s and women’s games. “It was a good atmosphere,” he said. “There was lots of positive energy in the gym.” McCallum said he hopes to see an- other big turnout at tonight’s games against Kwantlen, but with exam time fast approaching, he doesn’t know what to expect. However, because the teams typical- ly only play on Fridays and Saturdays Evans said the mid-week games might attract more Langara students than usual. “Kwantlen is one game ahead of us in the standings so it’s going to be a huge game,” Evans said. McCallum is confident the Falcons men, who beat KPU 111-78 in an exhibi- tion game last month, will be ready to meet the “up-tempo pace” of the Ea- gles. “We're looking to take advantage of that [speed] because we like to run as well,” he said. The women’s team tips off at 6 p.m. in the home gym and the men tip at 8 p.m. 66 It’s always nice to play in front of a bigger crowd. JAKE McCALLUM, men’s basketball coach ‘Caps ready for 2012 It may be months away, but the Whitecaps are ramping up for their second year in the MLS By MORNA CASSIDY caps Football Club kick off their 2012 season on March 10, 2012 at B.C. Place and the deadline for renew- ing season tickets is today. The team’s communications depart- ment is making a big push to re-sell the seats to previous holders in anticipa- tion of the second season of play in the Major League Soccer and the first full season in their new home at B.C. Place. “We are less than four months away from First Kick, the start of our first full season downtown in our world class home at BC Place. The club is ex- cited to welcome back our great White- caps FC fans, whose support helped us establish one of the busiest buildings in MLS, while creating our own unique soccer experience,” said team manage- ment in a press release yesterday. After the Dec. 1 deadline the seats will be open for public sale. Although the move to a larger stadium gives the team room to increase the number of seats sold, the team’s management is planning to maintain a 21,000 soccer stadium configuration; 15,000 of those seats are designated to season tickets holders. “Tf the demand is such that we need to sell more season tickets, B.C. Place gives us the room to increase the num- bers, but right now we are planning on maintaining the current seating lay- out,” said Nathan Vanstone, media re- lations manager for the Whitecaps. In their first season in the MLS, the Whitecaps drew an average of 20,136 fans per game, with peaked support at 27,500 for the match against the LA Gal- axy. The numbers rank them third in the league for attendance; impressive turnout for a team who finished their inaugural MLS season at the bottom of the standings. The Whitecaps are working hard this offseason to ensure their fans stick around. Yesterday they traded mid- fielder Shea Salinas to the San Jose Earthquakes to improve cap space. The team’s most renowned support- ers club, the Southsiders, is not wor- ried about the team’s performance and plan to extend their membership to new fans. “We presently have 750 paid mem- bers, with most owning two or more season ticket package. Almost all are in the process of renewing. We are a com- pletely inclusive group, with members of all ages, genders and_ ethnici- ties,” said John Knox, 2011 president of the Southsiders supporters club. At the Southsiders annual general meeting on Dec. 5, the club will be re- newing memberships for 2012 and sign- ing up new members. After one season at Empire Field the Whitecaps are ready to move their team and fan- base into BC Place. S:: fans get ready; the White- VANCOUVER WHITECAPS FC f