Does anyone have an arguement of why anyone should watch the CFL.?

Answer 1

First up, I am American born and now live in Canada. I grew up watching the NFL and college football. I had watched very little CFL before moving to Canada.

I am now a fan of the CFL. I am a staunch supporter of the BC Lions. Through the powers of PVR and the Internet, I have watched EVERY CFL game this year.

In the end, we watch sports due to its competitive nature. The CFL delivers that. It is exciting and while the players are not "NFL quality" they are superb atheletes. I am a football fan and the CFL delivers football. I also like the fact that the season is off-set from the NFL's season.

Another reason I like the CFL is the size of the league. While other leagues have grown to 30 teams, the CFL has remained relatively small. Which means I can watch every game with every team. It makes it easier for me to know the ins and outs of each team. I would like to see the league grow to ten teams but have little interest in seeing it grow beyond this. When I first started watching the CFL I saw the league size as a negative but now I see it as a positive.

And yet another reason is that in an age where sports has become dominated by money, it is refreshing to see a sport played with passion by atheletes who are (for the most part) doing it for the sake of the game. This brings a human face to the CFL that is often missing in some of the higher profile sport's leagues.

In the end though, it is my love of football that keeps me watching.

Answer 2

First of all, I'm going to assume that the asker is American. I highly doubt that a similarly-worded question would be posed by a Canadian sports fan.

Now, as to why an American would want to watch the CFL, well, to be honest, I don't think that the casual football fans, who don't follow the game beyond the Super Bowl, would have much interest in it. Even as a long-time Canadian football fan, I'm the first to admit that the talent level in the NFL is much, much higher than it is up here. So if you aren't a football die-hard, then the CFL likely won't appeal to you.

Now, if you are a die-hard football fan, then you probably can't stand the long wait between the Super Bowl in February and the start of the NCAA season in August. Since the CFL season starts in June, it helps to fill the void created by the NFL/NCAA off-season, and also gives you another four games a week for a couple months once the stateside leagues get underway. Because, let's face it, the Arena League isn't real football. It's hard to take a game seriously where the field's so small that teams can kick field goals from their own goal line. The CFL does have different rules than the NFL, but it's a lot closer to football as you know it than the AFL is.

There is also the alma matter appeal, as well. Because when there are 120 schools playing Division 1A football and only 30 NFL teams, a lot of your school's stars won't make it in the pros. But, chances are, a few of them are playing up here, along with that Canadian kid who was your backup tight end. I'm the CFL Editor at an online sports website, and our assistant site editor, who's a proud Northwestern alum, has totally caught the CFL bug. Nevermind that there's only one former Wildcat (I think that's what NU's team is called?) in the league right now, and he sees limited action as a special-teamer and blocking back. Or that he amassed less than 100 yards during his college career. Being Canadian, I'll never be able to fully understand the pride that Americans take in their college football programs, but I do understand that for many people, it's a way of life. And for those of you from smaller schools whose stars were never given a shot at the NFL, well, the CFL's eight current starting quarterbacks went to Temple, Utah State, Illinois State, McNeese State, Oregon, Rutgers, New Mexico State and Sacramento State. Other than Oregon alum Jason Maas, who could possibly be the league's weakest starting QB, none of them come from major conference powerhouses.

So there you go, instead of getting an argument why anybody should watch the CFL, you got two. And those were only arguments geared at Americans. There are certainly more reasons why I feel Canadians should watch, but I won't bother going into them here.

Answer 3

Teams can come back easier than the NFL with the shorter play clock an 3 downs. Amazing comebacks happen 10 times more often in the CFL than the NFL. And being able to return missed field goals creates extra exitement. Also it gives Canadians football we can go and watch and the skill level is much higher than NCAA and Americans go bonkers for that. So because Americans love NCAA it makes them hippocrits for saying that the people shouldn't watch CFL cause it's a 2nd rate league. Although that is true NCAA is a 3rd rate league and below the CFL. Many NCAA stars come to the CFL so this gives Americans a reason to watch it since they already know the players.

Answer 4

Well, I live in Indiana, but Comcast Sports Net shows some CFL games on it, and that's how I got hooked on the CFL. Like everyone's said, it's faster paced with only 3 downs and a shorter play clock, and I think it's alot more fun to watch than the NFL and College Football.

Answer 5

Well the CFL is always fun because you get to see the imports play. All of the guys you remember from college in the USA go to the CFL to play. Also it's just fun to watch football during the summer, it gets your ready for the NFL season.

It's also cool because you are watching the NFL of Canada. This is the real deal for football up north, it is cool to see new teams with a different style of play.

It is interesting to see how different leagues play the game. With so many different rules, it's something to get into and enjoy. It's fun to see how different leagues are different and alike.

Answer 6

CFL is fast-paced. The 3-down series really opens up the offense. So does the wider playing field. It's not the Ice Bowl (or any number of classic NFL tilts), but it's a great way to beat the summer heat.

Answer 7

Typically, there is more action in a CFL game than in the stilted style they play in the NFL.

Answer 8

Many reasons, a few are:
1. Toronto Argonauts
2. Damon Allen
3. There aren't any Terrell Owens type attitudes.
4. Good clean football
5. Its Canadian

Answer 9

Simply put--more scoring and wild action. Sure it's not the NFL but it's damned decent action esp. the Grey Cups (vs. Uber Bores which tend to be overhyped blowouts).

Answer 10

It's football of course! It doesn't matter even if there are only 8 teams. It's a great sport. I conisder it to be a little more challenging to play as well, since there are only three downs.