Even if you don’t know the first thing about a football fan, you wouldn’t have any trouble tracking one down this time of year. What are they up to? Watching the NFL of course, with its full slate of opening-long-weekend games.
It’s hard not to get swept up in the atmosphere as the NFL kicks off. Football in the U.S. draws a following that rivals and exceeds that of many world religions; it is such an ingrained part of life for some that it’s probably tough for a casual-at-most NFL fan like myself to accurately describe “that feeling” NFL fans get in early-to-mid September.
But boy, those folks in Canada who choose to follow the NFL to the exclusion of all others are sure missing out. What they should they be watching — not instead of, but alongside, the NFL — is the Canadian Football League.
Instead, the CFL is generally held at arm’s length by Canadian fans, shunned like a socially awkward cousin who has his own merits in private but can’t be expected to impress anyone in public.
The mainstream argument, usually stated verbatim, is that “the CFL sucks.”
Those who claim “the CFL sucks” must surely be referring to the players (and they usually are).
For the most part, the players in the CFL are just not as good as those in the NFL. Many players actually come to the CFL having failed to make an NFL team as even a third-string player.
Granted, that is pretty “sucky.” A poor NFL team would kill an exceptional CFL one, no argument there.
But let’s extend that argument a bit further. Playing an NHL team, no independent or even minor-league hockey team would stand a chance. That does not, however, prevent OHL teams from becoming a deeply ingrained part of their communities.
The same idea extends to baseball. A dollar for every independent league in the United States that has an unfailingly loyal following would end global poverty, and yet an all-star team from any one of those leagues would be rolled up and smoked by the lowly Baltimore Orioles.
No one has ever made the argument that CFL players are the best in the world, and the above examples show that argument does not need to be made to validate the CFL.
So where does that leave the CFL? At a talent deficit, certainly. But “sucking?” Come on now, you’re smarter than that.
The CFL features just as many nail-biting moments as the NFL and the playoffs are fast approaching. Give them a chance.
