CFL 2021 season?

[thurmas]

Football Canada unites stakeholders for national football summit

https://3downnation.com/2020/10/01/f...otball-summit/

Canadian leaders in football are coming together for a two-part Canadian Football Summit Meeting Series.

The first of the two-discussion series will be held remotely throughout the month of October. Stakeholders have identified five key areas of focus for the initial series of discussions. Within each area of focus, the group will review the current state of the game and collaboratively identify and explore key opportunities to further grow and develop the sport.

Leadership from Football Canada, the Canadian Football League (CFL), the Canadian Junior Football League (CJFL), U Sports and leadership from the Canada West, OUA, RSEQ and AUS have confirmed their participation for the first of the two-round meeting series.

“We have the opportunity to do something which is long overdue and that’s to bring this game together as a unified force. I get the sense from the isolation of phone and Zoom calls we are all sharing, that the desire to work cooperatively is at an all-time high,” Football Canada president Jim Mullin said.

“We have a unique opportunity for the sport to emerge with a renewed energy, organization and purpose. I want to ensure football is ready for Canadians when we fully step back into our communities and the game.”

The second set of talks will seek further detailed discussion and alignment on female tackle football, high school football, flag football, specific diversity issues and regional relationships. The second round will follow a similar format and will run over two weeks early this winter.

“We are thrilled to participate in these discussions surrounding the sport of football in Canada,” CFL commissioner Randy Ambrosie said. “This aligns with the CFL’s Try Football strategy and we look forward to working with the football organizations from around the country to build a better game for everyone.”

Key topics that will be on the agenda this month include:

1. Programming and New Engagement

Focus on enhancing, supporting, and promoting the existing grass roots youth football programming being delivered across the country, while also exploring ways to further introduce the game of football — contact and non-contact — to new populations of youth. The group will also discuss paths to coaching, officiating and diversity.

2. Competitions and Events

The group will review the current calendar of Canadian Football events and discuss opportunities to align operations that will build stronger revenue streams, increase media attention and broaden audiences.

3. International

Discussions will focus on how the Canadian Football ecosystem can further align to solidify Canada’s position as global leader in the sport while also supporting the globalization of the game.

4. Information and Visibility

Stakeholders will address opportunities to enhance the promotion and recognition of Canadian Football endeavours.

5. Alignment

Leaders will assess the possibility of streamlining and standardizing various processes to create resources that are beneficial to multiple parties.

This marks the first Football Summit Series since 2006.

[Acajack]

Originally Posted by osmo

NFL does not have a large following internationally. The league overwhelms the North American market but globally it is crickets aside from hot pockets in places like Brazil and Germany.

Foreigners who are getting their first exposure to gridiron football don't really know the difference of the leagues.

Probably not but if you are a German or a Japanese dude getting interested in gridiron, will you go for the NFL or the CFL? The answer is the hard truth.

The CFL's bread and butter will not be and cannot anything but Canadian fans. Lots of leagues in the world like Gaelic football in Ireland or Aussie rules in Oz survive and even thrive with little to no exposure or interest outside their country.

As I am fond of saying: you gotta find yourself interesting before others will think you're interesting.

I don't see why foreigners would take an interest in the CFL if Canadians aren't something like borderline bonkers about the sport. That's far from being the case at the moment.

Aside from perhaps Rider Nation/Pride in SK, where is the allure of being a CFL fan for a foreigner?

[Hackslack]

Originally Posted by Acajack

Probably not but if you are a German or a Japanese dude getting interested in gridiron, will you go for the NFL or the CFL? The answer is the hard truth.

The CFL's bread and butter will not be and cannot anything but Canadian fans. Lots of leagues in the world like Gaelic football in Ireland or Aussie rules in Oz survive and even thrive with little to no exposure or interest outside their country.

As I am fond of saying: you gotta find yourself interesting before others will think you're interesting.

I don't see why foreigners would take an interest in the CFL if Canadians aren't something like borderline bonkers about the sport. That's far from being the case at the moment.

Aside from perhaps Rider Nation/Pride in SK, where is the allure of being a CFL fan for a foreigner?

Perhaps foreigners would get turned off because of the differences in rules. Maybe foreigners don’t want to see punt returners simply wave their hand for fair catch, or take a knee In the end zone for free yards. Maybe foreigners would rather see a passing league over a running league. Maybe watching the clock just tick away for the last 2 minutes in an NFL game Would be considered boring, and they would rather watch football where that’s no really an option.

It’s not simply a choice between either or. They are 2 completely different leagues with 2 completely different rules, which any individual may prefer one over the other. To each their own.

The hype of the NFL beats any other pro league out there, but that doesn’t necessarily mean the game itself is more entertaining than other leagues out there.

Where is the allure for any foreigner for any pro sports team? Perhaps it’s the 60,000 that packed Coomonwealth 2 yrs ago that got their attention. Or watching Keith Urban at the last grey cup in Calgary. Or the media hype of Manziel when he took to the field and the eventual let down that story was. Or the revival of Mtl through Adams Jr. or maybe watching Chris Streveler take an absolute beating in the playoffs but being the man on top.

Or watching the CF-18s fly over McMahon on a labour day weekend with a packed stadium. Or brand new stadiums throughout the league that those alone bring excitement and energy.

The allure is everywhere.

[Acajack]

Originally Posted by Hackslack

Perhaps foreigners would get turned off because of the differences in rules. Maybe foreigners don’t want to see punt returners simply wave their hand for fair catch, or take a knee In the end zone for free yards. Maybe foreigners would rather see a passing league over a running league. Maybe watching the clock just tick away for the last 2 minutes in an NFL game Would be considered boring, and they would rather watch football where that’s no really an option.

It’s not simply a choice between either or. They are 2 completely different leagues with 2 completely different rules, which any individual may prefer one over the other. To each their own.

The hype of the NFL beats any other pro league out there, but that doesn’t necessarily mean the game itself is more entertaining than other leagues out there.

Where is the allure for any foreigner for any pro sports team? Perhaps it’s the 60,000 that packed Coomonwealth 2 yrs ago that got their attention. Or watching Keith Urban at the last grey cup in Calgary. Or the media hype of Manziel when he took to the field and the eventual let down that story was. Or the revival of Mtl through Adams Jr. or maybe watching Chris Streveler take an absolute beating in the playoffs but being the man on top.

Or watching the CF-18s fly over McMahon on a labour day weekend with a packed stadium. Or brand new stadiums throughout the league that those alone bring excitement and energy.

The allure is everywhere.

Hey, I actually prefer the CFL *game* over the NFL and I can't stand how some Canadians are "NFL only" football fans and diss the CFL.

But I am just being realistic here.

[esquire]

I hate to say it but I think the CFL is really going to be in a fight for its life. The steady stream of layoffs by the teams tells me that a lot of the institutional memory of the teams and the league is going to bleed away. Dwayne Mandrusiak in Edmonton is the most prominent example... some people might say he's just an equipment manager, no big deal... but guys like him, with almost 50 years on the job, are the lifeblood of the league. Lose a few like him and you go from being a league with a long history into just another startup.

[VANRIDERFAN]

The leaders of the CFL seem to be walking into the abyss and they are completely oblivious to it.

I pray that the upcoming summit will knock some sense into these guys. I'm sorry to say that I'm not holding my breath.

[esquire]

I am starting to think it may have been for the better that there wasn't a 2020 CFL season. Between what's happening with the NFL, and the recent trends in Canada (or more specifically Manitoba, as the proposed bubble province), I'm not sure that it would have worked out all that well.

The NHL made it work, but the CFL involves more players, way more Americans and fewer resources to deal with the situation. At this point you'd have to imagine that even a 2021 season is not exactly a given.

[UrbanClimate]

Nice looking plane for the Alouettes!

"ALOUETTES TO FLY IN STYLE FOR THE NEXT DECADE WITH NOLINOR AVIATION"
https://www.cfl.ca/2020/10/08/alouet...inor-aviation/

[Coldrsx]

Classic.

[esquire]

Sweet looking plane!

[thurmas]

CFL dogged a real bullet with the 2020 season being cancelled as the Winnipeg bubble idea would have been a mess with the outbreak now here in peg city. CFL might be wise to push the start of the 2021 season to August so a vaccine will likely be in full swing by then. I guess the other 8 cfl teams propping up the Alouettes paid for that new plane? ugh that right there is another example of useless waste the CFL spends money on that does not bring in a dime back to league coffers.

[EpicPonyTime]

Originally Posted by thurmas

CFL dogged a real bullet with the 2020 season being cancelled as the Winnipeg bubble idea would have been a mess with the outbreak now here in peg city. CFL might be wise to push the start of the 2021 season to August so a vaccine will likely be in full swing by then. I guess the other 8 cfl teams propping up the Alouettes paid for that new plane? ugh that right there is another example of useless waste the CFL spends money on that does not bring in a dime back to league coffers.

The Als didn't buy a new plane. They signed a deal with an airline to provide charter services for them.

[thurmas]

Originally Posted by EpicPonyTime

The Als didn't buy a new plane. They signed a deal with an airline to provide charter services for them.

that's a relief

[isaidso]

Originally Posted by Acajack

Probably not but if you are a German or a Japanese dude getting interested in gridiron, will you go for the NFL or the CFL? The answer is the hard truth.

The CFL's bread and butter will not be and cannot anything but Canadian fans. Lots of leagues in the world like Gaelic football in Ireland or Aussie rules in Oz survive and even thrive with little to no exposure or interest outside their country.

As I am fond of saying: you gotta find yourself interesting before others will think you're interesting.

I don't see why foreigners would take an interest in the CFL if Canadians aren't something like borderline bonkers about the sport. That's far from being the case at the moment.

Aside from perhaps Rider Nation/Pride in SK, where is the allure of being a CFL fan for a foreigner?

I agree on some points but not others. Most people outside Canada/US don't even know Canadians play football. Even if they've heard of the CFL they won't know that there are 2 codes of football: Canadian and US. Hell, a good swath of Canadians don't even know this. So yes, someone from abroad is going to tune into NFL or the NCAA and probably not even know that there's a 3rd option, the CFL. That doesn't mean you give up before you've even tried.

I disagree 100% that international fans aren't important. Foreigners don't have the same level of negativity towards the CFL as Canadians do. They're far more likely to judge it based on entertainment value and be intrigued by the novelty of gridiron. It's true that they'll notice how much bigger and more hyped the NFL is but they're far less likely to discard it based on that. Canadians are famously self-deprecating. We grow up believing that if it's from here it's garbage, crap, and/or inferior. If it's foreign we assume it has to be superior and enthusiastically embrace it as the coolest thing ever.

If you show NFL and CFL to 100 foreigners interested in gridiron most will gravitate to the NFL but far more will watch CFL than we think. They simply don't view Canada/Canadian things as negatively or harshly as we do. I think Canadians would be both surprised and puzzled by how many foreigners would be interested in CFL. The majority of that 100 would watch NFL exclusively but a significant % would watch CFL or both leagues. Even if the number was as low as 0.1% of the 6.63 billion people beyond Canada/US followed CFL that represents 6.63 million new viewers. That would be MASSIVE to the CFL.

It would be utter stupidity for the CFL to not even try. Assuming that foreigners will think our culture has no value? Let them decide for themselves. It's been my experience that foreigners like Canada/appreciate Canada a ton more than many who live here.

[isaidso]

Originally Posted by thurmas

CFL dogged a real bullet with the 2020 season being cancelled as the Winnipeg bubble idea would have been a mess with the outbreak now here in peg city.

Wait what? I don't think you understand the concept of a bubble. It means players, coaches, staff all get tested just before they enter the bubble. They're not allowed in the bubble if they're positive. Once everyone is cleared to enter the bubble NO ONE goes in or out of that bubble..... not even to get a coffee..... not even once for 20 seconds. You only leave when you get eliminated from contention, you leave, and then you aren't allowed back in.

Winnipeg could have the entire population with COVID and no one in the bubble would get infected. It only falls apart if someone in the bubble breaks protocol (screws up). You can't get infection if you only come into contact withy other virus free people in your bubble. And a bubble only works if you never leave that bubble and no outside people ever enter that bubble.

If everyone (no exceptions) in Canada followed strict pandemic protocols every minute of every day COVID would have been over in this country in May. The reason we haven't is because we don't have 100% compliance. You only need 1 person to spread a virus. 1 can quickly become 10 which can quickly become 100 which can quickly become 1000 infected people. Unfortunately Canada had only about 3-4 million people (much much higher now) who don't follow strict pandemic protocols so we're in this till an effective vaccine is developed. As a country, we've proven ourselves incapable of following pandemic protocols.

[VANRIDERFAN]

Originally Posted by isaidso

Assuming that foreigners will think our culture has no value? Let them decide for themselves. It's been my experience that foreigners like Canada/appreciate Canada a ton more than many who live here.

This.

We are gushing over the success Shitts Creek, but the producers felt that they had to make it set in the US because our cultural "leaders" devoutly believe that our country has so little value that they have to disguise the setting to make it saleable.

[esquire]

Originally Posted by isaidso

Wait what? I don't think you understand the concept of a bubble. It means players, coaches, staff all get tested just before they enter the bubble. They're not allowed in the bubble if they're positive. Once everyone is cleared to enter the bubble NO ONE goes in or out of that bubble..... not even to get a coffee..... not even once for 20 seconds. You only leave when you get eliminated from contention, you leave, and then you aren't allowed back in.

Winnipeg could have the entire population with COVID and no one in the bubble would get infected. It only falls apart if someone in the bubble breaks protocol (screws up). You can't get infection if you only come into contact withy other virus free people in your bubble. And a bubble only works if you never leave that bubble and no outside people ever enter that bubble.

The trouble is I don't think the bubble would have worked particularly well... the big difference between the NHL bubble in Edmonton and the proposed CFL bubble in Winnipeg is that there are no hotels adjacent to IG Field. It would have involved either players living in the student residences on campus (not the greatest living situation for professional athletes) or living in random hotels around Winnipeg (logistically difficult in terms of containment/isolation from the public).

In some respects Vancouver may have worked better as a CFL hub city as there are some hotels close to BC Place.

[osmo]

Originally Posted by esquire

The trouble is I don't think the bubble would have worked particularly well... the big difference between the NHL bubble in Edmonton and the proposed CFL bubble in Winnipeg is that there are no hotels adjacent to IG Field. It would have involved either players living in the student residences on campus (not the greatest living situation for professional athletes) or living in random hotels around Winnipeg (logistically difficult in terms of containment/isolation from the public).

In some respects Vancouver may have worked better as a CFL hub city as there are some hotels close to BC Place.

It doesn't matter how far the hotels are located what matters is you can create a hotel bubble. The team's all transport by bus to and from the arena/stadium.

[esquire]

Originally Posted by osmo

It doesn't matter how far the hotels are located what matters is you can create a hotel bubble. The team's all transport by bus to and from the arena/stadium.

The problem is that the more distance you introduce between sites, the more sites you add that have to be controlled, the more bus rides you rely on, the weaker each link in the chain becomes. That's not even getting into the larger roster sizes and the large number of players coming from the US.

I'm not saying it couldn't be done...but I do think that it would have been an enormous challenge for the CFL... it would have been significantly more difficult than the already challenging circumstances that the NHL was in.

[Antigonish]

Originally Posted by Coldrsx

Heard an interesting perspective on the future of the CFL.

Owners become league shareholders with class B shares available.

It essentially becomes the AHL for the NFL. Some preseason NFL comes to Canada.

4 downs coming our way?

I'd like to see a few changes in the game but not make it exactly like the NFL. Rules like:
-4 downs
-Add in fair catches on punts/kickoffs
-Shrink endzones from 20 yards to 15 but keep goal posts on the goal line like normal.
-Remove the rouge point.

-Keep remaining standard field dimensions.
-Keep 12th player/extra receiver.
-Keep standard play clock.
-Keep 1-foot in bounds catches.

I'm sure there are other rules from the Canadian game worth keeping but I'd prefer a hybrid of the better Canadian rules but mix in a few of the better American ones.