The CFL May Have Stumbled on to Something!

 

 

Sports Addict                      B.H. Hub

 

October 27, 2024                        Article 6            The CFL May Have Stumbled On to Something

You know you are a sports Addict when you are aware that for decades the Canadian Football League had 9 teams with 2 of those teams having the same name – Roughriders!

The Canadian Football League allows the British Columbia Lions to play a home regular season game at an alternative venue in another city

The Canadian Football League has existed in one form or another for well over 100 years, originating as the Canadian Rugby Football Union and evolving into the CFL we know today. The players have been playing for a national championship and its trophy, the “Grey Cup,” since 1909, when Canadian Governor General, the Earl Grey saw an MGM Bet television commercial and was curious at the possibilities of easy money and placed a bet on line. It’s a good thing he won his bet, as his winnings inspired him to lend his name to a donated trophy symbolic of football excellence in Canada.

The Grey Cup itself has had an interesting history to say the least. It has been lost, forgotten, stolen, held for ransom, caught up in a compromising position with exotic dancers and even came under attack by the Taliban.

Both the NFL (National Football League) and the CFL (Canadian Football League) play the game similarly, but there are some interesting differences.

The basic similarities include:

-Advancing the football towards the opponent’s end zone by running or passing the football.

-Blocking on offence and tackling on defence are encouraged. Generally, the team that blocks and tackles the best, wins the game! (Unless you are the team that I chose to win in my football pool; if I chose your team to win, you will likely out-block and out-tackle your opponent, but you will commit 2 fourth quarter turnovers and find a way to lose).

-When on offence, your team must advance the football in 10 yard minimum increments, in multiple play attempts (or downs). The number of downs you receive by rule to advance the ball varies depending on what side of the Canadian – American border you are on! More on this later!

Penalties in both the American version and the Canadian version abound. To name just a few:

Offside

Encroachment (not to be confused with rolling over onto your partners’ side of the bed).

Lining Up in the Neutral Zone (similar to above).

Offensive Holding (not to be confused with first date issues).

Illegal Touching (seems to be self explanatory and related to explanations listed above).

Taunting (verbal abuse directed toward your opponent; an example would be, “I just scored a touchdown on you! I’m better than you; You’re no good and you’re ugly too!”)

Personal Foul – Piling On (When a defensive player leaps on to an already downed ball carrier; Kind of a shame, as I remember piling on  being a lot of fun when I played football many years ago; much like jumping onto a pile of raked leaves when you were a kid).

The NFL has approximately 50 different penalties in their version of football. The CFL has significantly more penalties (I lost count) as Canada is historically a much more bureaucratic society than the US. Canadians are the grand masters at regulating its citizens and their activities. Americans prefer to deregulate, so as not to spoil any long serving activities or existing traditions (television evangelism, gun control and political insurrection come to mind).

The American version of football and the Canadian version are similar but there are plenty of differences. Here are a few worthy of note:

 The CFL playing field is larger! A CFL field is 110 yards long from goal line to goal line and 65 yards wide from sideline to sideline. It also has 2 end zones that are 20 yards deep, which is twice the length of an NFL end zone at 10 yards deep. An NFL field from the goal lines is 100 yards long and is 53 and a bit yards wide. So an American visiting a CFL stadium for the first time will immediately be perplexed by the size of the field.

He or she will also notice that the CFL uprights are at each goal line and not at the back of the end zone as seen in the NFL.

The CFL plays with 12 men on the field per team rather than the NFL’s 11 men.

Canadian football features 3 down football to advance the ball in a 10 yard minimum increments rather than American football which allows 4 downs. This difference demands that the Canadian game take on a different offensive mentality, as with a fewer chance to gain 10 yards and keeping possession of the football on offence, teams implement a more pass oriented attack. American football teams have an extra down to achieve their offensive objectives and are more likely to run the football (the old adage – 3 yards and a cloud of dust; this should be amended for today’s game, 3 yards and an explosion of turf rubber pellets).

In the NFL, only one player can move in motion before the snap of the ball from the line of scrimmage. In Canadian football, if desired, all 6 eligible receivers can go in motion simultaneously before the ball is snapped, leading to American first time viewers yelling at the officials, “you can’t do that!”

No fair catch on punts and kick-offs in the Canadian game. When you catch a kick in the CFL, you’d better run like hell because there’ll be 12 guys on the opponent’s team chasing you. When they catch you, they will tackle you to the turf unmercifully.

The CFL also has a rouge rule, where one team scores a point or rouge, usually when one team misses a field goal. A successful field goal attempt is worth 3 points. A missed field goal is awarded a single point or rouge, when the ball being kicked at the uprights and into the end zone is not returned from it. The Canadian game evidently likes to reward failure. A rouge falls into the “nice try, Eh” category! “Here is a point or a rouge for your troubles!"                                                                                              It is important to have at least one French term in your game, so “rouge” is an attempt to satisfy the francophone population of the country. It’s Canadian football’s contribution to bilingualism!

 

In spite of the CFL’s longevity and reputation for producing a fun and entertaining product, the league’s attendance record is slowly but surely eroding. In the late 70’s, the league averaged over 30,000 spectators per game. By the 2010’s, the league average per game was 25,000 per game – with Montreal, Toronto and Vancouver, Canada’s 3 largest markets, attracting less than 18,000 fans per game. The 2024 season will average 22,300 fans per game.                                                                                                    So the Canadian Football League has a problem!

But an interesting event occurred in the 2024 CFL season. The CFL may well have stumbled onto a good thing this past regular season when the league allowed the British Columbia Lions to host a regular season game at an alternative city – the provincial capital of Victoria on Vancouver Island. B.C. Lions owner Amar Doman, who was raised in Victoria, seized the opportunity and along with the support of Victoria mayor and long time Lions season ticket holder, Marianne Alto, scheduled a CFL regular season game at Royal Athletic Park. A game against the Ottawa Red Blacks was scheduled for August 31. Temporary seating was installed to give the venue attendance capacity of around 15,000 spectators. The venue was not only sold out for game day, but the Lions were able to command premium pricing. Evidently a CFL regular season game played in a mid size town is a big deal to the local supporters. The event was a big success and a money maker. Surely every team in the league was watching and I am willing to bet that all other 8 teams in the league will be lobbying the league office to allow them to host a regular season game at a smaller nearby community. Possible scenarios include the Edmonton Elks play a game in Red Deer; Calgary Stampeders play a game in Lethbridge; Saskatchewan Roughriders who usually play in Regina could play a game in Saskatoon: Winnipeg Blue Bombers could play a game in Brandon; Ottawa Red Blacks could play a game in Sudbury or Kingston; Toronto Argos could play a game in Windsor; Hamilton Ti-Cats could play a game in London or St. Catherine’s; Montreal Alouettes could play a game in Quebec City.                                                      The Lions business model would suggest that these games in nearby markets will make money, and the respective clubs will create more interest for their team in the region and not just in the city itself. The CFL needs to embrace this alternative site home game concept and run with it! It may very well save the league, because in recent years, interest and attendance has stagnated or been in decline in virtually all 9 CFL markets.                                                                                                                                         The Canadian Football League may have stumbled onto something!

Favourite Sports Team Nicknames include – Hartford Yard Goats