OTTAWA — In a convention centre a few blocks from Parliament Hill on Friday morning, a crowd of Canadian Football League fans, dressed in a riot of colours and with no lack of fireman helmets, waited for the chance to enter a room where Randy Ambrosie would give the annual commissioner’s town hall address.

A league official gave the sign that the doors were open, and the crowd started to shuffle in. As the procession moved, the distinct sound of several tinkling cowbells could be heard. Never has the phrase “herded like cattle” rung quite so true. These people take their CFL fanhood very seriously.

The first evidence that this particular group of fans has a lot of time for Ambrosie, a former Grey Cup winner himself and someone who has made no secret of his love for the league, came the moment he walked in the room. He received a standing ovation.

So, there is that. Although Ambrosie has only been on the job for five months, taking over after a long search that began when Jeffrey Orridge left abruptly after two years, he has pulled off a masterful bit of retail salesmanship. He has shown up at a lot of games, partied with fans, and generally made himself an available face of the league. He’s also responded to fan concerns, whether changing the replay rules mid-season or talking the Hamilton Tiger-Cats out of hiring Art Briles. He’s given fans reason to believe that they are listening to him.

So it is not that surprising that, over his hour-long town hall at the Shaw Centre, there were as many heartfelt expressions of gratitude as there were tough questions. One fellow even asked the commissioner to sign his Randy Ambrosie CFL player card; Ambrosie managed to not appear shocked that someone would still have such a thing. (He retired in 1993.)

Still, there were some questions, and Ambrosie managed to defang the most aggressive of them by doing something else that is quickly becoming a notable trait: admitting when he doesn’t know something. Asked when Hamilton would finally get a Grey Cup — they haven’t had one for 21 years — the commissioner could have said “soon” or “gosh, I hope by 2021” or something similarly hopeful. Instead, he said he hasn’t looked at the Grey Cup bid process yet. The 2018 game will be in Edmonton, and beyond that they haven’t thought about it. So, he doesn’t know. Ambrosie probably does know that Hamilton presents serious challenges related to hotel rooms, but he’s wise enough not to mention that yet. He said, reasonably, that the “business season” will take place when the football season ends. Business season starts Monday at 8 a.m., Ambrosie said. Then, considering the likely post-Grey Cup party schedule, he adjusted that plan to Tuesday at 8 a.m. Wise plan.

Asked if the CFL would consider moving the season up a month to end before winter sets in, Ambrosie said they should think about it, and he asked for a straw poll in the room. (It was about 40 per cent in support of the change.) Asked if ticket prices were too high, Ambrosie said he didn’t know and plans to find out. Asked if there was a way to improve the instant-replay process, the commissioner said he thinks there are opportunities to have fans watching the game understand what officials are seeing when they are making the calls. Maybe the scoreboard in-stadium could show how the replay officials came to their decision, he said. This is nothing short of revolutionary, when sports leagues generally want officiating explanations to be totally walled off from the paying public.

It was part of a recurring theme on Friday: fan makes statement, Ambrosie says it was worth considering.

If he keeps this up, the good vibes won’t end anytime soon.

sstinson@postmedia.com

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