NFL: Why the CFL is the cure for summer football blues
By Mike Majeski
Mid-July through mid-August is a dead zone for United States-based sports fans. With the exception of Major League Baseball, the rest of the big four leagues are deep into their offseason. The drafts have been completed, big free agents have signed, and the rumor mill has grinded to a halt as insiders have retired to the cabin / beach for vacation.
If you are an NFL fan looking for some form of football entertainment, pre-season is still a little over a month away. You can get your football fix by catching an arena league game on TV, but the quality of play is low, and the game resembles NFL football about as much as one-on-one resembles the NBA. Fortunately, there is a little known league just north of the border called the Canadian Football League with which you can get your football fix over the long summer lull in sports.
Prior to the 2014 CFL season, ESPN signed a multi-year agreement with the league in which ESPN will air at least 86 games on the main channel, 17 more on ESPN, ESPN2, ESPNEWS, and 69 additional games on ESPN3. ESPN also will air the 102nd Grey Cup. Essentially, if you are in the United States and have cable, you can watch every CFL game. This is a vast improvement over the contract that existed with NBC Sports Network. ESPN works with TSN for game coverage and their commentators call the game. I have caught a few games since the schedule kicked off on June 28th, and the quality of coverage has been right on par with the NFL.
One familiar face in the CFL this season for NFL fans will be Chad Johnson (who has shed the Ochocinco moniker) who is currently playing for the Montreal Alouettes. Besides some parking ticket issues, Johnson has fit in well in Montreal.
For NFL fans tuning into the CFL for the first time, there are some key differences to the game that must be understood.
With three downs instead of four, the Canadian version of the game relies heavily on passing, and is therefore fast paced. It isn’t as ridiculous as arena football, but you will immediately notice the quicker changes in possession and quicker game pace. With a 110 by 65 yard field, the players have more room to work with and get open. With the quick changes of possession, this means leads that are seemingly out of reach in the NFL, can be made up quickly in the CFL. There have already been several games this season where a team will open up a three or four touchdown lead, only to find themselves in a tie game by the fourth quarter.
The “rouge” or single is another major, but exciting difference in Canadian Football. A single is awarded when the ball is kicked into the end zone by any legal means (excluding a successful field goal) and the receiving team does not return or kick the ball out of its end zone. A single is also awarded if the kick travels through the end zone or goes out of bounds in the end zone without being touched (excluding kickoffs). The ball is still live after a missed field goal, so if it goes through the end zone or the defending team does not return it out of the end zone, the kicking team gets a point. In close games, the defending team sometimes will put their punter in the end zone in order to punt a missed field goal away. After conceding a single, the receiving team gets possession of the ball at the 35-yard line.
I understand that the casual NFL fan may have little interest in watching the Calgary Stampeders take on the Montreal Alouettes, but if you are the type of fan who tunes into Thursday Night Football to watch the Bills play the Dolphins in November, CFL football should provide enough entertainment to carry you over until the NFL season begins. It has never been easier for US-based football fans to tune into CFL action, and when your choice is watching last years “A Football Life” documentaries for the 10th time or arena football, the CFL is a viable choice to get your football fix over the summer. The CFL isn’t another gimmick league trying to replace the NFL, it is well established with over 100 years of history.