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Yesterday there was a CFL game on the NFL Network, and it made me wonder if the CFL was really big to Canadians, or is it just something to do every now and then? In the game they were showing yesterday, the stadium was only about half full, but neither team had a very good record, so I though that could be a factor.
Do Canadians follow the NFL at all? Are NFL games regularly broadcast in Canadian cities?
Also the thought occurred to me, do any Canadian universities have football teams?
CFL is alot diffrent game then NFL but it is were former NFL stars that never really made it in the NFL or are over the hill go to play. got to remember hockey is our national sport/pastime so football is not as big in canada and no most canadians follow their hockey teams and no one I know follows the NFL unless at a sports bar during the superbowl or something.
NFL:
11 Players on the Field
Tight-End Position
The ones I know are
100 yard field
4 downs
0 points for missed field goals
Touchback if ball falls in endzone during punt
Fair catch
Endzone is 10 yards deep
30 seconds to put ball into play (before delay of game)
Missed field goals are dead balls (cannot be returned)
CFL:
12 players on field
Slotback position
110 yard field
3 downs
1 point for missed field goal 1 point if you punt the ball and player cant get out of endzone
No fair catch, their is player immunity for 5 yards though
Endzone is 20 yards deep
20 seconds to put ball into lay (before delay of game)
Missed field goals are live (can be returned)
Yes, they are Canadians that following the NFL. If I have to rank the popularity of sports in Canada (my observations) first will be NHL, then NBA, then NFL and MLB would be tied.
Yes, NFL games are showed regularly here, we get American TV channels.
and Yes universities do have football teams, my schools homecoming was 2 weekends ago
As previously mentioned, hockey is the national sport up here and is more popular than football (in general). The stadium had low attendance because the Ti-Cats don't have a huge fan base and yep the are not doing so hot again this year! If you want to see a team thats fan's are as obsessed as NFL fans that would be the Saskatchwean Roughriders! Check out this website, every home game sold out: CFL.ca - Official Site of the Canadian Football League
My husband is waiting to inherit his parents season tickets one day (and we live 9 hours away!), I have a feeling he will have to fight his brother to the death for them.
In our house NHL is a curse word and Sunday is a day God gave us to watch football. But we are far from your average Canadian household. We get more popular NFL games on our feed of ABC, CBC etc. We also order from our cable provider, NFL Sunday Ticket which gives us pretty close to every game (go Fish!). College football does exsist here but again, does not get the fanatical following that you see in the U.S.
The BC Lions are playing in a temporary stadium this year while BC Place is overhauled, but they have still drawn over 21,000 fans for all of their eight home games so far, with an average attendance of 24,600 per home game, including one preseason game (out of a field capacity of about 28,000). And the BC Lions are not exactly having a great season - they have a losing record and are third place (out of 4) in their division right now...
My impression is that the CFL is kind of a niche interest in Canada, but it does have quite a few fans, and many of the fans who do show up are fairly dedicated.
The BC Lions are playing in a temporary stadium this year while BC Place is overhauled, but they have still drawn over 21,000 fans for all of their eight home games so far, with an average attendance of 24,600 per home game, including one preseason game (out of a field capacity of about 28,000). And the BC Lions are not exactly having a great season - they have a losing record and are third place (out of 4) in their division right now...
My impression is that the CFL is kind of a niche interest in Canada, but it does have quite a few fans, and many of the fans who do show up are fairly dedicated.
That was probably the worst game to watch under the worst circumstances possible if you really wanted to get an idea of the popularity of the sport here.
Mr Augusta watches both the CFL and the NFL. He much prefers American football. The Alouettes and Calgary are playing in Montreal today; last I heard, the Als were winning.
Bomber fan here, born and raised... 20+ years without a championship... ugh...
When I lived in Canada I just couldn't watch NFL, I found it too low scoring, dull, boring, incredibly uneven on the score line.
However, when I moved to DC and you can't escape the drama that is the "Redskins" I got more involved, even had friends ask me to join their fantasy leagues. That was a real great way to get involved with other teams and their stars. Now I am into NFL big time (still can't cheer the Skins cause of their owner, maybe I'll be cheering the Ravens if I move back to Maryland).
That said the few times I would see CFL (mostly when I went back to Canada) on TV it now throws me. The ball is snapped and everyone just scatters. Where the heck did everybody go? NFL is more like a strategic chess match, the CFL is a bit faster paced and lost of kickin/punting.
The Grey Cup games though have been just memorable to me most of the time, and the Super Bowl has just been overhyped beyond belief with a game often that was a blow-out. Luckily some of the past Super Bowl games have been fantastic. However, the Grey cup is a much more AWESOME looking trophy!
Other notes I think a previous poster got the time clocks wrong for NFL but GTO has got it pretty much covered.
NFL is 40 seconds
NFL Rules Digest: Timing Time between plays will be 40 seconds from the end of a given play until the snap of the ball for the next play, or a 25-second interval after certain administrative stoppages and game delays
CFL is 20 seconds
Article 9 – Time Count (2009) The Referee shall allow Team A 20 seconds in which to put the ball into play. If the stadium countdown clock is not in operation, the Referee shall be the sole judge as to when the time count shall commence, after allowing both teams reasonable time in which to line up after the preceding play.
This makes for much faster and some would argue a more enjoyable game in Canada depending on who you talk to (fan or basher).
Last edited by smakawhat; 10-12-2010 at 11:02 AM..
Reason: formatting
Everyone I know follows the NFL. The cfl isn't known as the Crap Football League for nothing. The players are nfl rejects, guys that couldn't make the picks, mixed in with a couple canadian kids that have no better options. No kid out of college from the states chooses the cfl as a first option, they only come here after trying to make it in the NFL. Ricky Ray was a potato chip packer for Lays before he was QB, if that tells you anything about the level of talent.
The NFL gets my vote.
Quote:
Originally Posted by iknowftbll
Yesterday there was a CFL game on the NFL Network, and it made me wonder if the CFL was really big to Canadians, or is it just something to do every now and then? In the game they were showing yesterday, the stadium was only about half full, but neither team had a very good record, so I though that could be a factor.
Do Canadians follow the NFL at all? Are NFL games regularly broadcast in Canadian cities?
Also the thought occurred to me, do any Canadian universities have football teams?
I look forward to your answers!
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