We trying to be the North!
The Long Island Nets will kick off their second annual homestand in suburban Montreal on Thursday night with a showdown with the Wisconsin Herd. It’s the first of a back-to-back
and the first of four games this season at the Place Bell in Laval, Quebec, part of a partnership between Brooklyn Sports & Entertainment and Groupe CH, owners of the Montreal Canadians.
It’s no longer a canard, as the French Canadians might say. BSE, through their G League affiliate team, are trying to build an fan base in French-speaking Canada while Groupe CH is trying to prove that Montreal is an NBA city. So far, so good … very good.
Last season, the Long Island drew nearly 40,000 fans over six games, selling out Place Bell — and all its custom “Los Nets” gear. This year, there’ll be four, and Morgan Taylor, who runs the business side of things for both Long Island and the Liberty, has not ruled out the Quebec trip as a permanent feature of Long Island’s schedule, though BSE is taking it one year at a time. Nor did she rule out Long Island playing elsewhere overseas…
“We really want to bounce off of what we did last year,” Taylor told ND exclusively about goals for this year. “Make sure we’re continuing to make it feel like a home game, not only for our players and our staff that are there, but for the CH Groupe, who are our partners in this, and the fans. Last year, we had a record-breaking attendance, with over 7,700 people there. We sold out all of our merchandise with ‘Les Nets,’ and we expect to see people coming back and cheering on our team as if it were a home game.”
As for what kind numbers she and the organization have in mind Taylor said they’re “working towards that number” of 7,700 fans per game again. “To kind of meet what we did last year,” Taylor continues. “We are playing on January 8 and 9, which is a Thursday and Friday. Then, we play on Super Bowl Sunday on February 8th,” Although that might seem a death sentence for attendance in the U.S., it’s not a big deal in Frcnch-speaking Canada.
When asked if it’s a permanent fixture, Taylor told ND the organization is “continuing to take it one year at a time.”
“We’re really excited to be able to expand our game internationally, especially given the diverse roster that we have. It’s really important for us to do so. The G League is very accommodating for teams to be able to play in other arenas, other countries. I’m even hoping we get to play in Mexico City next year. So, we’re taking it one year at a time.”
Taylor said that although there will be two fewer games this season, there will be more community involvement.
“This year, we plan to connect with the community more,” Taylor said when asked what might may be different this year. “We already have another mascot visit to local Laval schools, which we weren’t able to do last year. We’ll also have a clinic during. We did it last year, and we’ll have another clinic this year. The other thing that we’re doing differently is continuing to have fans participate in our fan experiences during the games, the high-five tunnels, and post-game autograph sessions.”
Asked if we might see Canadian citizen Joe Tsai in Montreal, Taylor replied with a smile that “you might not” adding, “We’ll have organizational leaders from Brooklyn Sports and Entertainment in general who will be there. You’ll see other folks there from our team.”
One thing that may be similar — we won’t know till Thursday — is whether the Nets will have a native French speaker player on the court. Last season, it was Killian Hayes, this year it could be Nolan Traore. However, he played Wednesday night in Brooklyn.
Last month. NetsDaily got to speak with Traore, before his call-up, on his potentially playing in French-speaking Canada, whether in January or their second homestand in February.
“It’s great to see them come and support the Long Island Nets,” Traore said on potentially performing in front of his French-speaking crowd. “It’s going to be a good experience for them, and for us too.”
For the Long Island head coach, Mfon Udofia, this will be his second consecutive year coaching in Canada. In December, ND spoke with Udofia about his return to Canada, not only for himself, but also for his team.
“Super excited,” Coach Udofia told ND. “We enjoyed it last year. Just the love and support that we get from the fans. The atmosphere was crazy, electric. It felt like a playoff game every game that we played there. So, we’re super excited, and we’re glad that we’re able to go back there again.”
As for whether he’s looking forward to doing anything new or something he didn’t get to do last year, Udofia tells ND, “getting out a little bit more in the community.” “It was so new to us last year that we were just focused on the game,” Udofia continues. “Now we feel a little more comfortable and familiar there now, that we have a little more to sightsee, and see more.”
Looking at the bigger picture, Tyson Etienne talked about what his mindset is heading into the trip: it’s about the game of basketball and expanding it worldwide, even in places not seen as hoop havens.
“We have a responsibility to continue to expand basketball in that region, in that area. Being someone who loves the game of basketball, I want to represent the game at a high level up there, and I want to represent our organization at a high level up there. It’s a great partnership. The energy up there, you can tell they really want basketball up there. Every time we were up there, it was a home game for us. We play some of our best basketball up there, and the fans and the environment had a lot to do with that. But, we’re just very excited to go back.
“To me, it’s one of the main motivations and reasons why I play the game,” Etienne told ND. “I’ve been playing the game my whole life. The game has brought me relationships, experiences, and new places that I couldn’t have dreamed of going to. It’s a part of my responsibility, and all hoopers to leave the game better than they found it. I just want to continue to contribute my art to it. Whatever I can bring to the game and bring to the fans, I want to leave it better than I found it.”
The big picture with the Canada partnership is not necessarily growing the Nets brand; that’s just a huge plus. It’s to grow the game of basketball, and no NBA organization has been as internationally focused as Brooklyn, its last two owners being Russian and Chinese, both the first of their heritage to own and NBA team. The Nets franchise, going back to New Jersey days, has played 25 games overseas, more than any other in the NBA.
Now, the G League affiliate is doing the same, believing it can develop a fan base 370 miles from Brooklyn …. and 335 miles from Toronto. Groupe CH, Brooklyn Sports & Entertainment’s partner, is trying to demonstrate to the NBA that Montreal is ready for an NBA franchise. Groupe CH the owner of the Canadiens as well as Place Bell and Bell Center, an NBA-sized arena, would presumably have a role in any NBA franchise in Quebec.
Whether they succeed or not, Groupe CH and Brooklyn Sports & Entertainment will have proven that Montreal is yet another basketball loving city, which as Etienne said, is that the games are all about.
Both games start at 7:00 p.m. ET and can be found on Gotham Sports App. Thursday’s game will also by shown on ESPN+ while Friday’s can be found on the G League’s official website.
