MMQB Goes To Canada

I spent about eight seconds on it and yes he certainly would as would loads of other guys who were great in the 70s and early 80s when I watched a lot of CFL.

 

If its a matter of having just played in the CFL, then Joe Theismann might qualify as well

 

Just read Bruce Arthur's piece

http://mmqb.si.com/2014/06/25/canadian-football-league-cfl-small-town-charm/

Season opens this weekend. Hamilton against the Riders.

Oskeeweeweee.

And Huggy, will pass your list along to ER

 

For posterity sake, here's TSN's stab at the top 50 of all time from a few years ago.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/TSN_Top_50_CFL_Players

 

Why doesn't the CFL draw better. Average attendance is about 27,000. But most teams are in markets large enough to sell out for the NHL. I realize that hockey is the number one sport in Canada but given the absence of competition from baseball in all but one market I would think atttendance would be higher.

And just out of curiosity what are NFL ratings like in Canada. For example where does NFL Sunday football, the highest rated show in the United States rank in Canda.

 

NFL is definitely growing in Canada, in large part due to fantasy sports. And that definitely has an effect on the CFL numbers. But there are a few reasons the CFL only draws about 27,000 a game.

First of all, some buildings hold less than that. According to Wikipedia, Montreal holds about 25,000 while the new stadiums in Ottawa and Hamilton will hold about 24,000. Other stadiums, like in Winnipeg, Regina and Calgary, hold between 33,000 and 35,000. Only one of those sellout regularly, Regina, while Calgary usually averages about 30,000+, and Winnipeg, well it depends on the year. The other three -- Edmonton, Vancouver and Toronto -- hold between 52,000 and 60,000 and none of them ever get close to capacity during the regular season, except for Edmonton during good years when the Roughriders come to town and the annual Labour Day return game with Calgary, one of the great CFL traditions, where they will sell 54,000+ of the 60,000 seats. Other than that Edmonton will average about 30,000 in bad years and about 40,000 when the team is doing real well -- though it has been a while since they have been worth jack shit. Despite the much larger fields, the CFL is best in the more intimate settings, just because of the population numbers and the cost of building the giant stadiums. The CFL is still a very affordable game to attend, compared to other pro sports options.

Also, they play the bulk of their season during the summer when people are out camping and taking full advantage of the few good months of weather in this country. Often times, that conflicts with weekend games.

The game is plenty strong on the Prairies, but is often dragged down in attendance numbers by the big centres on the coasts, though B.C. has been much better of late, but the game still struggles to draw in the East, especially Toronto where it is viewed, unfortunately, as second rate football -- Anything outside the NFL is shite -- instead of as part of the fabric of the nation. It also doesn't help, from what I've been told, that the Sky Dome is a terrible place for football, especially when there are less than 30,000 in a 52,000 seat stadium with the roof closed. An open air stadium would do wonders for the organization, just as it did for the Alouettes when they moved from the Big O to the McGill Stadium.

 

I still have a summertime visit to the prairie provinces on my bucket list, but never considered a CFL game before. I'd love to see a game in person.

 

Ochocinco was so happy to score his first CFL touchdown tonight.....

"How happy was he?!"

He was so happy....he hugged the official.

http://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2014/07/11/chad-johnson-scores-first-cfl-td-hugs-official-who-doesnt-return-the-embrace/related/

 

I thought I read that the CFL has a 20 second clock between plays. But I checked a couple of box scores and the teams ran about 105-110 plays from scrimmage which is a little less than a modern CFL game which would be about 125-130, What are the timing rules. Ih there is a 20 second clock why aren't there more plays.

And when I retire I plan to spend a lot more time in Canada. I will drive across the country (probably in stages). If I go to one game which stadium should I visit?

 

The Saskatchewan Roughriders have the best game day experience, also the CFL city that a person would be least likely to visit.