Ahhhh, Canadian football... or as I like to call it: the NFL Rejects League...

In spite of its lower skill level, the CFL holds a special place in the hearts of Canadians.

Let us dedicate this thread to the CFL and its activities.

Topics (not an exclusive list):

1. Will the CFL undergo a revival in Toronto, where the Argos are under new ownership? I saw a picture of a game at Exhibition Park from a number of years ago: it's hard to believe that Torontonians once cared enough to brave the inclement weather and pile up to watch the Boatmen take on the rest of the country. Will the proposed new stadium do for the CFL in Toronto what the Als move to Molson Stadium did for it in Montreal?

2. Ditto for Hamilton, where the Tiger-Cats are coming off a dismal 1-17 season. Will Bob Young's ownership bring back butts in Ivor Wynne Stadium? Is Danny McManus finished at 39 years old? Will Ron Lancaster survive another disastrous season at the helm? EDIT: where was I last winter... Greg Marshall's now in charge...

3. The Grey Cup is in Ottawa this year and after a 2-0 start, it looks like the Renegades actually have a decent shot at coming out of the East (of course, the Als will provide better opposition than the Argos and the Tiger-Cats). Can this third year team be taken seriously? Will Kerry Joseph, Josh Ranek and Pat Woodcock bring glory to the Bank Street Bunch?

4. There are rumblings of a proposed expansion to Halifax and/or Quebec. The East Coast metropolis has been passed over before and football is really taking off at the grassroot level in Quebec, where the Rouge et Or de l'Universite Laval frequently plays in front of 10,000 fans (a lot by canadian standards). A team in Halifax could represent the Maritimes, as the Roughriders in Regina are Saskatchewan's team. Quebec has a population in the same league as Hamilton and Winnipeg. Both markets are without appropriate stadiums. Ideally, the league should go with 10 or 12 teams, as opposed to the current 9-team league. Where would the 12th franchise land? Out west, to offer balance? Canadian geography is such that the only logical choices for a 12th franchise are Victoria and London. Victoria's population is similar to Halifax's, but there's already a team in nearby Vancouver, and it's not clear that the sport is that popular in the province (the Lions have a difficult time selling seats in cavernous BC Place). London, on the other hand, is right in Argos and Ti-Cats country...

5. Will the Esks repeat as Grey Cup Champs? With the departure of their star quaterback, will Maas be up to the task?

6. Matt Dunigan makes the jump from the TV booth to the coaching ranks. Will he see his success as a player translate to success on the field for the Stampeders? How long will Fedorik (sp?) stick around now that his son is not the 3rd QB in Calgary?

7. Can the Roughriders overcome the knee injury to Nealon Greene?

8. I can't think of anything to say for the Blue Bombers. Frankly, I'd be surprised if they win more than 4 games this season.

Grey Cup Prediction:

Montreal over BC.

I have tickets to Calgary's game on Sunday, but it's supposed to rain. Stupid Canadians. Now if it were snowing, I'd definitely be there....

I wish they showed it in the US. It's mighty boring in the offseason.

they show it sometimes. I've seen a game before. I'd rather watch that then arena league.
Did you know that the CFL almost put a team in America to make their league an even number?

For expansion, I really think that one more team is the best possiblity, instead of twelve. Unless they wanted to expand into the US again. On second thought...ten teams sounds good.

they show it sometimes. I've seen a game before. I'd rather watch that then arena league.
Did you know that the CFL almost put a team in America to make their league an even number?

We had a team in the US called the Baltimore Stallions. They moved to Montreal in 1998. (+/- a few years- I can't remember).

In fact, there have been numerous teams south of the border...

http://www.oursportscentral.com/cflinamerica/

has a detailed history

whoops. my bad. i thought they only talked about putting teams in Sacramento and Baltimore...I didnt know it actually happened

*shuts up*

How many Canadian colleges have football programs? If there were more colleges with programs, im sure in about 20 or less years the CFL wouldnt be an NFL reject league anymore.

Maybe we'd have the superbowl be between NFL and CFL teams :D

How many Canadian colleges have football programs? If there were more colleges with programs, im sure in about 20 or less years the CFL wouldnt be an NFL reject league anymore.

Maybe we'd have the superbowl be between NFL and CFL teams :D

The CIS has 27 Men's Football Programmes.
* Atlantic: Acadia, Mount Allison, St. FX, St. Mary's
* Canada West: Alberta, British Columbia, Calgary, Manitoba, Regina, Saskatchewan, Simon Fraser
* Ontario: Guelph, McMaster, Ottawa, Queen's, Toronto, Waterloo, Western Ontario, Wilfrid Laurier, Windsor, York
* Quebec: Bishop's, Concordia, Laval, McGill, Montreal, Sherbrooke

There are a bevy of college and junior leagues as well... but not enough to counter the US behemoth.

Funny thing is in the 50s, when the NFL had a small number of teams (8 I think, mostly based in the East), the CFL and the NFL had a bididing war for talent that lasted for a few years. The Edmonton Eskimos and Montréal Alouettes probably would have been able to steal a game here and there agains the Eagles and the likes.

Cool, I wonder what would happen if the NHL went under like its threatening to do. Would any Canadians give the CFL a chance?

The CFL is already pretty popular here in Canada.

Well, the Calgary/Montreal game on Sunday was an interesting experience.. in my mind, it was on the level of seeing a mid-major US college game, albeit with a good rivalry (think NC/NC State). Marcus Crandell, who was a decent college QB at East Carolina, showed nothing and i don't blame Dunigan goign to the backup in the second half in the least.

Montreal didn't impress much offensively either. They should have been up by more at the half but their kicker went miss, block, doink off the uprights with his first three FG tries. In fact, they had a promotion during the second quarter where two fans got to kick 25-yard field goals off a tee and both of them made them, so we were expecting Montreal to be asking them to sign up for a contract!

I'm glad I was able to see a game however and enjoyed the experience.

* Quebec: Bishop's, Concordia, Laval, McGill, Montreal, Sherbrooke



If I recall correctly, the first ever football game was played when McGill came to Rutgers and they played a mix of soccer and rugby.

If I recall correctly, the first ever football game was played when McGill came to Rutgers and they played a mix of soccer and rugby.

I remember reading something like this, but I thought it was McGill and Yale.

Sorry for my unknoweladge, but is there some diference in rules between NFL and CFL in a sence of "game's rules"?
I think that I read somewere that there is some diference, but I watched one game (Montreal vs Calgary) and to tell you the truth I didn't notice any...

Sorry for my unknoweladge, but is there some diference in rules between NFL and CFL in a sence of "game's rules"?
I think that I read somewere that there is some diference, but I watched one game (Montreal vs Calgary) and to tell you the truth I didn't notice any...


number of downs: CFL 3 to NFL 4
field size: CFL 110 yards to NFL 100 yards
goal placement: CFL at the goal line to NFL at the back at the endzone
number of players: CFL 12 to the NFL 11

and some of the less obvious ones: (from Wikipedia)
in the CFL,
# there is no fair catch; instead all players from the kicking team except the kicker and any player who was behind him when he kicked the ball may approach within five yards of the ball until it is or has been in the opponents' possession
# all offensive backfield players, except the quarterback, may be in motion at the snap; players in motion may move in any direction as long as they are behind the line of scrimmage at the snap
# a missed field goal attempt can result in one point if the kicking team manages to keep the ball in the endzone.

All in all, it makes for games with higher scoring... although that could just be due to the lower skill level of the players...

:crazyeye: Thats how much I was concentrated on watching the game :mischief:
@pboily Thanks :goodjob:
...well at least I notice that the scores are much higher than in NFL...

Another questions : How many teams will be in Play Off, and what is the complete number of the game for team per season? Thanks.

Maybe I'll go to see some game in Toronto or Hamilton this summer :)

Another questions : How many teams will be in Play Off, and what is the complete number of the game for team per season? Thanks.

Maybe I'll go to see some game in Toronto or Hamilton this summer :)

16 games a season.

and now for the embarassing part: 6 out of 9 teams make the playoffs... so basically, you really, really have to suck not to make it... although if the league expands to Halifax or Québec, 6 out of 10 will be a little better.

If you have the choice, you should probably go to Hamilton... the stadium experience is better at Ivor Wynne than at SkyDome.

EDIT: your location says Golden Horseshoe.. is that the Niagara peninsula? If so, did you catch that game on the CBC or ESPN 17?

There is 18 games per season. 6 teams will make the playoffs. But it can get a little strange. 3 teams in each conference can make the playoffs. However, if the fourth place team in the west has more points than the third place team in the east, the western team can take the eastern teams spot in the playoffs. :crazyeye:

my bad, SuperBeaverInc. is right, it is 18 games. For some reason, I was thinking that the Renegades finished 7-9 last year, whereas they finished 7-11.

the western team can take the eastern teams spot in the playoffs. :crazyeye:

The way it's going this year, it looks like the 4th place team in the East will take the spot of a Western team...

Went to see Ottawa dismantle Edmonton yesterday... Joseph passed for 426 yards (3 TDs) and rushed for some insane number (3 TDs as well)

The big test is next week against Montréal, then we will see if the Renegades are paper tigers or Grey Cup contenders.