The Canadian Football League: The Future

[johnnysama]

Hi, all. I wanted to talk about the Canadian Football League, its future, and why NO other pro leagues have tried to challenge the CFL within Canada.

 

The CFL is in a rough spot ATM. I will ALWAYS be a fan, but I think that the league needs to market itself better towards younger people, is what I think should be done; I mean, don't get me wrong, I love the CFL and the NFL, but I do believe that the CFL and NFL CAN coexist with each other.

 

What else? A lot of people have said that the CFL is dying, and will go away in a few years- but they've been saying that since, what, 1980?! The league has endured. And I can see it enduring for a long time to come. All that is needed is that the sport's awareness should be spread. The CFL's game is NOT inferior to the NFL's.

 

Lastly, you might ask me, "Why has no pro football league cropped up in Canada to compete with the CFL?" Very simple, Canada's population is not as big as that of the U.S.'s, so there's room for just one pro league in Canada.

 

I hope you have some things to say, but please, NO rude comments. Thanks.

 

 

[GDAWG]

What are your thoughts on the CFL 2.0 initiative?  Like it? hate it? or too early to tell?

[IceCap]

14 hours ago, johnnysama said:

The CFL is in a rough spot ATM.

Is it?

 

14 hours ago, johnnysama said:

I love the CFL and the NFL, but I do believe that the CFL and NFL CAN coexist with each other.

Who has said they can't? It's like that one alternate football league junkie who kept saying the "American vs Canadian football debate needed to be settled."

 

Settled? By who? When did this become a conflict? The NFL and CFL (and American football and Canadian football) have co-existed through all of their shared history. The idea that there's this conflict is manufactured. 

 

14 hours ago, johnnysama said:

What else? A lot of people have said that the CFL is dying, and will go away in a few years-

So this and the "need to market to young people" remark are interesting.

 

Only a very vocal minority of people insist that the CFL is going to die despite it constantly drawing well on tv and holding steady attendance-wise. The Grey Cup remains one of, if not they, highest rated sporting events of the year in Canada. 

 

I appreciate the passion for the CFL but I'm unsure where this pessimism is from. The CFL continues to succeed in what it sets out to do.

The only people who preach doom and gloom for the league are either Canadians who want to hype up the "NFL in Toronto" pipedream (who have thankfully shut up in the wake of the disaster that was the Bills in Toronto series) or Americans who feel like the existence of two different forms of gridiron football on the North American continent represents a debate that must be decided. 

 

No, man. The CFL and Canadian football are healthy. Canada- having a smaller population and a smaller economy- will never support a football league on par with the NFL and the sporting culture in Canada means hockey will always reign supreme. 

That being said? The CFL manages to fill its niche nicely. It's not trying to compete with the NFL, it's trying to do its own thing. And it does that thing well. 

 

 

[Skycast]

I'm an American that has been an avid CFL fan for 5 seasons now, watch at least a portion of almost every game via ESPN+ and am happier than a pig in mud about it. I haven't watched a full NFL for several seasons now...to me, the style of CFL football is much more enjoyable to watch. They are two different animals and in my opinion there is nothing to be settled; for many positions they require a different type of athlete. Over the years there have been many successful NFL players go to the CFL and bomb...return to the NFL and then have productivity.

 

And I'd say it's pretty obvious why another pro football league hasn't started up in Canada...yup, population and number of athletes. The CFL has watched how many other alternate leagues come and go in the US and yet here they still are.

[MJWalker45]

22 minutes ago, Skycast said:

I'm an American that has been an avid CFL fan for 5 seasons now, watch at least a portion of almost every game via ESPN+ and am happier than a pig in mud about it. I haven't watched a full NFL for several seasons now...to me, the style of CFL football is much more enjoyable to watch. They are two different animals and in my opinion there is nothing to be settled; for many positions they require a different type of athlete. Over the years there have been many successful NFL players go to the CFL and bomb...return to the NFL and then have productivity.

 

And I'd say it's pretty obvious why another pro football league hasn't started up in Canada...yup, population and number of athletes. The CFL has watched how many other alternate leagues come and go in the US and yet here they still are.

I view the CFL and NFL like rugby union and rugby league. Each have a few different set of rules, but if you were uninitiated to either game you wouldn't immediately tell the differences.

[JackieMoon]

I'm an American and I absolutely cannot stand the NFL. The CFL style of play is more entertaining with three downs and returns. Just my .02, but I'm excited to see what becomes of Halifax.

[The_Admiral]

Canadian football is doing about as well as it should considering Toronto and Montreal have never been its bases of power.

[AnPheitseog]

9 hours ago, MJWalker45 said:

I view the CFL and NFL like rugby union and rugby league. Each have a few different set of rules, but if you were uninitiated to either game you wouldn't immediately tell the differences.

I wouldnt go that far.

 

For all purposes, rugby union and league are two different sports. 

 

Meanwhile, CFL and NFL only have tweaks

[bosrs1]

42 minutes ago, the admiral said:

Canadian football is doing about as well as it should considering Toronto and Montreal have never been its bases of power.

 

Yeah this notion that the league is in trouble... says who? It’s expanding, rating are solid as is attendance. And frankly it’s a more interesting, and arguably safer version of the game. 

[bosrs1]

9 minutes ago, DiePerske said:

I wouldnt go that far.

 

For all purposes, rugby union and league are two different sports. 

 

Meanwhile, CFL and NFL only have tweaks

 

I don’t know if I’d call huge field size differences, the less down, single points, forward motion, more players, various clock differences, open field kicks, etc... “minor” differences. They’re very different games that only bear superficial similarity to one another. 

[johnnysama]

On 8/26/2019 at 8:19 PM, johnnysama said:

Hi, all. I wanted to talk about the Canadian Football League, its future, and why NO other pro leagues have tried to challenge the CFL within Canada.

 

The CFL is in a rough spot ATM. I will ALWAYS be a fan, but I think that the league needs to market itself better towards younger people, is what I think should be done; I mean, don't get me wrong, I love the CFL and the NFL, but I do believe that the CFL and NFL CAN coexist with each other.

 

What else? A lot of people have said that the CFL is dying, and will go away in a few years- but they've been saying that since, what, 1980?! The league has endured. And I can see it enduring for a long time to come. All that is needed is that the sport's awareness should be spread. The CFL's game is NOT inferior to the NFL's.

 

Lastly, you might ask me, "Why has no pro football league cropped up in Canada to compete with the CFL?" Very simple, Canada's population is not as big as that of the U.S.'s, so there's room for just one pro league in Canada.

 

I hope you have some things to say, but please, NO rude comments. Thanks.

 

 

I must be basing my opinion based on what I've seen about Toronto, Vancouver, those two markets. Shows what I know. Some people have said that the league is in trouble..... which is where I got that notion from; I was told that the recent Touchdown Atlantic game wasn't even a sellout!

[officeglenn]

9 minutes ago, johnnysama said:

I must be basing my opinion based on what I've seen about Toronto, Vancouver, those two markets. Shows what I know. Some people have said that the league is in trouble..... which is where I got that notion from; I was told that the recent Touchdown Atlantic game wasn't even a sellout!

 

Yeah ... no. 

 

 

You need to be more selective about who you're getting your information from.

[Wings]

If Toronto & BC are having attendance issues it's most likely because they stink.

[Discrim]

On 8/27/2019 at 9:43 AM, MJWalker45 said:

I view the CFL and NFL like rugby union and rugby league. Each have a few different set of rules, but if you were uninitiated to either game you wouldn't immediately tell the differences.

Basically this, without the two rugbys' historic hope that the other form would die in a dumpster fire.

[Wade Heidt]

1 hour ago, Wings said:

If Toronto & BC are having attendance issues it's most likely because they stink.

 

Both teams have been incredibly horrible on the field.  Definitely not helping attendance this year in Vancouver.  Lions have not had a record this bad at this point in the season in 50 years.  Their 1 win was by a rouge from a missed field goal.  They will have sufficient enough amount of fans bounce back once they start winning.  That is the nature of sports fans in Vancouver.

 

Even if Toronto has attendance issues and loses money, not as bad a risk as before.  Look who their owner is now.  That is just dropping change into the bucket for MLSE.

[TBGKon]

To someone who's an amateur to the CFL world, can someone explain to me what the CFL 2.0 initiative is?

[dfwabel]

43 minutes ago, AstroBull21 said:

To someone who's an amateur to the CFL world, can someone explain to me what the CFL 2.0 initiative is?

Just read it from the Commissioner himself.

 

Excerpt:

Quote

CFL 2.0 has four main pillars: operational excellence, international presence, regional market strategies and football participation.

Here’s a short summary of each one:

 

Operational excellence is a fancy term for what so many fans talk to me about at stadiums, on the phone, or in emails or letters. It’s how we can do everything better.

snip

Quote

When I talk about expanding our international presence, I’m talking about building bridges with the more than 30 other countries, outside of North America, that play gridiron football.

It means helping those leagues, some firmly established and others that are just emerging, to grow and develop by sharing the expertise of our coaches, officials and staff.

snip

Quote

When I talk about developing better market strategies here at home, I’m saying something that’s simple and profound at the same time: One size does not fit all!

This was certainly true when I was an O-lineman getting dressed for a game along side much smaller defensive backs. And it’s true when selling our game here in Canada.

For years, the CFL has marketed itself in the same way in all parts of the country.

snip

Quote

That brings me to the next pillar: Growing participation in the game at a young age is absolutely critical to growing a pipeline of not only new players but new fans.

To do it, we have to change the narrative surrounding football. We need to emphasize how safely tackle football is coached and taught today. We have to emphasize there are also great non-contact alternatives available for young and old, female as well as male, players, most notably flag football.

 

[monkeypower]

The commissioner, Randy Ambrosie, has been by and large very popular with fans since he took the job back in 2017. 

[Seadragon76]

I personally think the CFL is doing just fine. Being the only league in its style of gridiron football helps it a lot... I hope that the expansion to the Maritimes works out for them and maybe, expand to Victoria, BC and Windsor to help even it out.

[Luigi74]

8 hours ago, Seadragon76 said:

I personally think the CFL is doing just fine. Being the only league in its style of gridiron football helps it a lot... I hope that the expansion to the Maritimes works out for them and maybe, expand to Victoria, BC and Windsor to help even it out.

As someone who lives on the other side of the Detroit River, I'd love to see Windsor get a CFL team but I can't see anyone either public or private building a stadium.