CFL 2021

[officeglenn]

2021 schedule has been posted.

[monkeypower]

Not that this is necessarily a death blow, but maybe we'll have to try again in another 30-40 years?

 

[Red Comet]

28 minutes ago, monkeypower said:

Not that this is necessarily a death blow, but maybe we'll have to try again in another 30-40 years?

 

>In Halifax

 

Weren’t they also trying to get a stadium built in Moncton if Halifax failed? 

[Skycast]

Yea, Halifax was a longshot even without COVID I think.

 

Is it August yet?

[bosrs1]

Looks like the CFL/XFL thing is dead for now.

 

https://www.espn.com/nfl/story/_/id/31776392/cfl-xfl-jointly-decide-end-partnership-talks

[IceCap]

3 minutes ago, bosrs1 said:

Looks like the CFL/XFL thing is dead for now.

 

https://www.espn.com/nfl/story/_/id/31776392/cfl-xfl-jointly-decide-end-partnership-talks

 

[MJWalker45]

28 minutes ago, IceCap said:

 

 

33 minutes ago, bosrs1 said:

Looks like the CFL/XFL thing is dead for now.

 

https://www.espn.com/nfl/story/_/id/31776392/cfl-xfl-jointly-decide-end-partnership-talks

I'm kind of happy it is. What can they really do together if they aren't going to change the rules for how either league plays? 

[Jer15]

On 7/7/2021 at 12:30 PM, MJWalker45 said:

 

I'm kind of happy it is. What can they really do together if they aren't going to change the rules for how either league plays? 

I still think sharing resources with league offices seems like a good idea. Not as "sexy" as the leagues playing each other but seems like it makes financial sense to me. 

[MJWalker45]

https://www.instagram.com/p/CRH2Khds9Bd/?utm_medium=copy_link

What insanity is this!?!?!?!?!?

[monkeypower]

16 hours ago, MJWalker45 said:

https://www.instagram.com/p/CRH2Khds9Bd/?utm_medium=copy_link

What insanity is this!?!?!?!?!?

 

Shoutout to XFL Analyst on Instagram saying "multiple sources".

 

Going to both the CFL subreddit, which is where I find a lot of my CFL news actually, and the XFL subreddit, I found this "article" on PFT from Florio saying,

 

Quote

The announcement that the CFL and the XFL have ceased talks at a possible collaboration does not mean that the two leagues will do no business whatsoever.

 

Via Dan Ralph of the Canadian Press, lingering questions regarding the CFL’s Toronto Argonauts include the possibility that the Argonauts will join the XFL when it returns, as scheduled, in 2023.

 

Maple Leafs Sports & Entertainment owns the Argonauts, a team that has existed for 148 years. MLSE became the primary catalyst for the XFL conversations, as a way to rectify franchise operating losses of $12 million per year.

 

A sale of the team could happen, too. Or it could sit out the 2022 season and resurface as part of the XFL.

 

Regardless, as the CFL prepares to return after a lost season due to the pandemic, it could be losing a team to the XFL, in time.

 

Florio links to the Ralph "analysis" about the "long-term future of the Argos" (like those aren't a dime a dozen) which speculates, and yet doesn't speculate at the same time, that since MLSE, per sources, became a catalyst in the XFL talks due to the Argos losses, they could maybe possibly who knows? take the Argos to the XFL on their own to chase the XFL money if MLSE isn't able to sell the Argos before the 2022 season.

 

It's a whole lot of nothing based on wild speculation from one writer. Seriously read the Ralph article, it says a lot without saying anything. I sure wouldn't take that article as anything concrete and anyone with a basic understanding of media literacy also shouldn't either unless they just want some quick pageviews for little work (shoutout Florio) or some hot topic thing for their Instagram page citing "multiple sources" (shoutout XFL Analyst).

[Red Comet]

The Argonauts would sooner cease to exist than join the XFL. Isn’t there also a law in Canada that is basically protectionism for the CFL too? I’ll admit I don’t know much about it but it is something I’ve heard before. Even if it’s not the NFL, I doubt the Canadian government will let the team from their biggest city just leave to some upstart league with an at-best chance of lasting 5 years unless there’s some moron visionary that wants to lose hundreds of millions spread alt-football. The CFL at least has tradition and cache in Canada. Also, would the attendance issues of the Argos really be any better if they’re playing the St. Louis Battlehawks versus the Alouettes?

[SFGiants58]

Now watch XFL add a team in Halifax.

[monkeypower]

Anyone with a brain who knows the CFL knows that it has a not great business model and a problem where the three biggest markets in Toronto, Montreal and Vancouver are the three worst markets and those three markets, especially Toronto, are huge for the tv deal/sponsors/advertisers. However, all this recent talking from the talking heads is speaking in hypotheticals and is the annual "WiLl ThE aRgOs FoLd?" think pieces, just with a post-XFL deal end twist. I also don't think that moving to the XFL would improve the Argos standing at all in the stands, outside of MLSE getting into American money deals.

 

The CFL has to figure out their business plan and really painted themselves into a corner with groveling over the pandemic and then letting insiders get "XFL merger" on everyone's mind. It's on the league now to figure out how to fix the league.

 

The new owners of the Als seem pretty bullish on taking over and believes revenue sharing is going to be agreed upon this season, which should help. Canada also just legalized single game sports betting which those talking heads seem to believe will be a boon for the league.

[IceCap]

On 7/9/2021 at 6:44 PM, MJWalker45 said:

https://www.instagram.com/p/CRH2Khds9Bd/?utm_medium=copy_link

What insanity is this!?!?!?!?!?

 

 

"The Toronto Argonauts have betrayed WCW!"

"Toronto Argos, you can go to hell. Straight to hell!"

[DCarp1231]

Toronto leaving the CFL for the XFL?

[monkeypower]

The CFL can't afford to lose the Argonauts though.

 

Like I said above, for all the issues the Argonauts have, the CFL needs the GTA for the tv deal. If there's no CFL team in Toronto, there would likely be massive, potentially league ending, ramifications for the league's cash flow.

[MJWalker45]

5 hours ago, monkeypower said:

The CFL can't afford to lose the Argonauts though.

 

Like I said above, for all the issues the Argonauts have, the CFL needs the GTA for the tv deal. If there's no CFL team in Toronto, there would likely be massive, potentially league ending, ramifications for the league's cash flow.

So the Atlantic Schooners finally come to be and get moved to Toronto?

[Skycast]

Bwahahaha, clickbait man.

[GDAWG]

On 7/10/2021 at 2:32 PM, monkeypower said:

Anyone with a brain who knows the CFL knows that it has a not great business model and a problem where the three biggest markets in Toronto, Montreal and Vancouver are the three worst markets and those three markets, especially Toronto, are huge for the tv deal/sponsors/advertisers. However, all this recent talking from the talking heads is speaking in hypotheticals and is the annual "WiLl ThE aRgOs FoLd?" think pieces, just with a post-XFL deal end twist. I also don't think that moving to the XFL would improve the Argos standing at all in the stands, outside of MLSE getting into American money deals.

 

The CFL has to figure out their business plan and really painted themselves into a corner with groveling over the pandemic and then letting insiders get "XFL merger" on everyone's mind. It's on the league now to figure out how to fix the league.

 

The new owners of the Als seem pretty bullish on taking over and believes revenue sharing is going to be agreed upon this season, which should help. Canada also just legalized single game sports betting which those talking heads seem to believe will be a boon for the league.

 

So does the CFL have a deal with either FanDuel or Draft Kings?  If not they should get one.

[gosioux76]

On 7/11/2021 at 1:49 PM, monkeypower said:

The CFL can't afford to lose the Argonauts though.

 

Like I said above, for all the issues the Argonauts have, the CFL needs the GTA for the tv deal. If there's no CFL team in Toronto, there would likely be massive, potentially league ending, ramifications for the league's cash flow.

I agree. 

 

There seems to be a willful blindness on this board about the financial standing of the CFL, as if history and tradition is enough to withstand the economic forces at play. I, for one, didn't think the XFL merger talk was a bad idea. It at least hinted that anything and everything was on the table. If any of this is true, then the Argos ownership is sending the same message. 

 

And, to someone else's suggestion, what could the Canadian government really do to stand in the way of a private business making a decision in an attempt to ensure its survival? I don't see how a protectionist measure would help unless it involved some sort of financial incentives. 

 

I think it's likely the CFL will find some way to appease the new Argos owners and keep them in the fold. As @monkeypower said, it's imperative to the league's success. But you can't expect the Argos to just stand pat because the CFL has tradition and things can never change.