If you're a follower of this blog page then you will remember I was challenged in a YouTube comment to watch an entire XFL game to see what all the hype is about. So I did and here's what happened.
Spoiler: I watched an XFL game.
I set my PVR so that I could watch last Saturday's match up between Houston and Tampa Bay. It was on at 4PM Saskatchewan time on abc (no relation).
That evening I settled in to put my feet up and watch the game. My expectations were high.
I guess I chose the most CFL XFL game I could have. At first mass confusion ensued. It was like I was watching the Montreal Alouettes versus the Oregon Ducks. The Houston Roughnecks were the team in red, white and blue. The Tampa Bay Vipers were in green and white. To add to my confusion (and I did know this but had forgotten) Marc Trestman is the Head Coach of the Vipers meaning he's coaching the green team. Jaime Elizondo is the Offensive Coordinator while Jerry Glanville is the Defensive Coordinator. So on the Vipers we have an ex Alouettes Head Coach, and ex Redblacks coach and an ex TiCats coach. That's not all though because on the opposite sideline stood June Jones ex Ticats coach as Head Coach of the Roughnecks and there were a few ex CFL players in the lineup such as kicker Sergio Castillo.
Needless to say I was hooked because of all the CFL relatability. The TV shots even looked similar to a CFL game. The XFL does have some gimmicky rules but then it has to doesn't it because it needs something to be able to hold our attention and compete with the NFL which according to some is the best football in the world.
I found myself cheering for the green team. I mean that's only natural right.
My cheering for a great catch brought my husband back into the room for a replay.
I really really (did I say really?) liked the camera's in the booth during the reviews and they said every call was automatically reviewed. WOW. This seems like it's a huge effort to always make the right call and it's revolutionary to be able to hear and see the review happen and the referees discuss it. This aspect is fantastic. I didn't find it slowed the game down at all.
The thing was that initially I liked what I was watching but the excitement was short lived. After half time I got bored. The Vipers were losing and apparently aren't a very good team because they haven't won a game yet. My attention drifted to online conversations and I channel surfed.
What I didn't like was the television commentators refused to discuss anything CFL related at all. Apparently in the bio's of Trestman, Jones and Glanville there's a blank space where their CFL time existed. What's up with that? How can you be trying to inform viewers about something but leave out key information like where these men have been working the last few years?
I didn't watch the following game.
Please don't take this commentary as I want the XFL to fail. That's not the case. I want to like it but the truth is that I don't have a connection to the teams outside of these two which I happened to watch in Week 3. I would be likely to watch these two teams again. I would be likely to watch a game if I happened upon it on tv. I can't say that I'd honestly go out of my way to make sure I watched every game in a week.
What I do know is that attendance is declining over the 3 weeks and so is television viewership. I also know that is to be expected with anything new. It will be interesting to continue to follow the numbers. If the decline continues, regardless of the money Vince McMahon can inject into the XFL, we know what will happen.
As I've said before - if you like it then by all means support the XFL and watch all the games. Who am I to say you shouldn't? I was asked to watch a game and I fulfilled that promise. I was asked because I wrote a blog and posted a video discussing whether the new league is a threat to the CFL. I remain that it isn't. Please feel free to check out The CFL vs XFL: Should We Feel Threatened? Don't take my word for it. Check out the games yourselves and form your own opinions. Here is the TV schedule for the rest of the XFL season.
We are coming up on that time of year where we see new fans coming to the league. Twitter sees its round of "I'm going to follow the CFL which team should I be a fan of?" tweets. Then of course every Saskatchewan Roughrider fan within earshot puts in their two cents...er, well five cents (because no pennies) and pretty soon we are indoctrinating new fans to the nation. So what do you need to be a Roughrider fan? Well, nothing really. That would be the end of the blog and thanks for reading. No, of course you need things to show your solidarity with the green and white! Read on to find out what needs to be included in your Saskatchewan Roughrider Fan Starter Pack.
You need a jersey. It doesn't have to be a Charleston Hughes customized jersey like the one in the photo. We all know that players tend to change teams often so no one can place blame if you don't want your clothes emblazoned with the name of the guy who just abandoned the team. You can't go wrong with a retro jersey and names like Lancaster, Reed, Aldag, Jurasin or Fairholm. Don't forget you may need more than one. If one jersey doesn't create a winning atmosphere and gets discarded to the depths of the closet, you're going to want to wear another one with better mojo. You are going to want to wear this jersey to every major event you attend world wide because there is no other brand that's as recognizable as that of the Saskatchewan Roughriders. Rider pride is world wide! I am not a drinker but even I know that Pilsner beer is synonymous with Roughrider fans. Roughrider fans flock to liquor board stores to purchase the coveted case of beer in hopes of acquiring the famed Pilsner Roughrider flag. Fans can go as far as choosing to watch games from Pilsner Place at Mosaic Stadium. Even this fan has a hard hat with the famed Pilsner rabbit on it. Bring 'em out! Bring 'em out! You are going to need a cowbell when the team gathers in the tunnel and we welcome them to the field. There is nothing more thrilling than when Rider Nation is standing and cheering and those pyrotechnics start going off. While cowbells are somewhat controversial and not everyone likes them you are going to wish you have something more effective than clapping and stomping from the opening kick off to the waning moments of the fourth quarter. Warning: You will go home with a sore throat and a lost voice but it will all be worth it and you will be anxious to do it all over again next week. Your smart device whether it be an iphone or android will be a necessity for not only in game interaction but for snapping those impromptu photos. Sure, I like to think back to that time but isn't it better when you have a photo too? Like last season when the 1989 Grey Cup team appeared on the field right infront of my seats or when the Stanley Cup was brought to the stadium or even when Gainer gets to drive around strapped into his car. Something exciting happen? Can't wait to share it online after the game...I mean if we don't talk about it immediately on social media did it really happen at all? Break out star Cody Fajardo has become known for a few things but none as viral as corndogs and sprinkles of jesus. In those dying moments when your heart is sinking but you are so hopeful the Riders can score and you look at the clock and say a little prayer...then you see Cody Fajardo take the ball and fly over the pilon in the endzone? Well that is what has become known as a sprinkle of jesus. In other words you don't really need a bottle of sprinkles but you need to have undying faith in the most dire of situations. When it happens and we are rejoicing in a walk off victory there is no better way to celebrate than with a corndog and according to Cody Fajardo himself a carnival corndog is the best but they are available at your local Co-Op in a pinch. Last but not least the watermelon. There's all kinds of stories about how the watermelon came to be known as the head gear of choice for the most rabid of Roughrider fans but no one knows the true story for sure. No we aren't interested in eating them. Didn't you know watermelon hats are the height of fashion from June to November?
Ok. Let's be real here, literally 3 CFL players have signed XFL contracts. Three. Is this reason to believe the XFL is a threat to the livelihood of the Canadian Football League? In my latest video on the ABC Football YouTube channel, I talked about this and I admitted that I don't have a full opinion on the XFL because I haven't dedicated any real time to watching a game and I've really only viewed a few minutes here and there and maybe five minutes in total. While we've heard for over a year about the XFL coming to fruition the league itself has only been in existence for 2 weeks. Without watching one can know what's going on. I haven't read Harry Potter but I get the gist of what it's about. *cue more shock and outrage* I know that Vince McMahon has poured a fortune into the venture. I know that it was advertised along side NFL...but guess what? The NFL season is over now. Yes, the XFL is on major networks like ABC, FOX and ESPN but again in Canada we get TSN as our major sports provider and all 5 channels are dedicated to curling right now. So as a CFL fan, I'm not seeing the talk that "KingOfGames2007" mentions in his comment on my video. All the discussion has been on social media sites. As well, we are assuming that Vince McMahon will be able to continue to support the league. It all depends on game tickets sold, merchandise sales and TV revenue. After only two weeks why would we believe the league can survive beyond a year or two or three? We have to wait for at least 8 more weeks to make that judgement and while week one saw large crowds week two had lower numbers despite their social media gains.
Reality check. The three CFL players to sign XFL contracts are SJ Green, Derek Dennis and Amanti Edwards. All three are CFL free agents. None of them were garnering interest from any of the 9 CFL teams. All of them are older than 30. Disclaimer: I am in no way calling them old or washed up. I am stating facts. Yes, every CFL player just like any regular human has to provide a life for himself and his family. If I was essentially laid off from my job I'd go in search of a new job too. We all would. The idea that these players are fleeing the CFL just isn't true. They are looking to make a livelihood just as an ex-CFLer might go into coaching or training etc. It's possible these three players believed they should be paid a higher amount in the CFL and priced themselves out of a job as well. Wouldn't that mean their only choice is the XFL if they wanted to continue their careers?
What we also know is the base salary in the XFL is $55,000 US and that's less than the base salary of a CFL player. An XFL contract might give these players a chance to be "home" or it may not but since many players are American it's logical they'd want to work and play near families. However, when an athlete signs in the XFL they sign with the league first and foremost and then they are delegated to a team. At least that's my understanding. So if a player has family somewhere it's also very possible they'd end up playing far from home anyway. I don't see this as a benefit at this stage at all. It would be no different than playing for a CFL team and living miles away from family with the exception they'd be paid in American dollars instead.
Every CFL player currently under contract cannot sign with the XFL. Periodtt. There is the possibility of a player with the XFL also gaining a CFL contract and playing in both leagues. Think about this though... the XFL season is 10 weeks long plus the possibility of a week of play offs and another for the championship game. The CFL season is an 18 game schedule plus 2 weeks of playoffs and then the Grey Cup. If a player were to play in both leagues that's at least 28 games. Can a body sustain that? We already know the CFL schedule can be grueling. Injuries happen just in training camp alone. It might be a nice idea to try to gain 2 paychecks but at what cost to the longevity of a football career? How many ice baths does that equate? Furthermore, once under contract with the CFL unless it's only for one year, that player would have to become a free agent or be released to once again return to the XFL the following season. This sounds like a CFLPA nightmare.
So now I'm going to talk about me for a bit. I'm a busy person. I have a job which I am dedicated to. I have family responsibilities. I am a rabid CFL and Roughriders fan. I'm a blogger and administrator of ABC Rider Fans. I enjoy shopping and weekends often take me grocery shopping and to the horrors of Costco. It's currently the CFL off season but I also enjoy watching NBA and Nascar. I also don't like to spend my entire day glued to the television. We PVR a lot of things and we go out and live a life. The only XFL games according to the schedule I downloaded which I can watch in week 3 are Houston/Tampa Bay on ABC 2pm ET or Dallas/Seattle on FOX 5pm ET. If I intend to fulfill what "KingOfGames2007" asked me to do and watch an entire game - it will have to be one of these and it will have to be recorded too. There's a whole debate to be had about watching sporting events live... but that's another topic. It's difficult to fully commit. We've seen the XFL try and fail before. We've seen the AAF fold before barely getting off the ground. We've seen the AAFL go bankrupt after being somewhat established. The CFL is well over 100 years old and has a history and legacy. That doesn't mean it's on sure footing either but it leads me to think it's a more viable choice and it's where my loyalty stands. In the end, if you enjoy watching XFL then watch XFL. Who cares what I think? Is the XFL a threat to the CFL at this point? No, I sincerely don't think so. The CFL is quiet right now and Free Agency is basically over. If there is some panic it's because it's nice to have something to talk about at the end of February when winter has gotten old and us Rider fans are busy dreaming about gophers instead of groundhogs.
After the "legal tampering period" of last week, Free Agency opened up Tuesday with a flurry of signings. Some will say the LTP made Free Agency more exciting or in the very least more active. All I know is that in it's first day (February 11th) ABC Rider Fans saw 42 posts of signings from all CFL teams...and that was just from one member posting. It was hard to keep up and while day 2 of Free Agency was quieter there was still some activity.
Did the Toronto Argonauts leave anyone for other teams to sign? Do they know there's a CFL cap?
I jest.
This post will review who the Saskatchewan Roughriders signed and re-signed, fans reaction and of course my opinion...if that counts for anything.
The entire time Chris Jones was Head Coach of the Roughriders it was said he wanted James Franklin at Quarterback but he was never signed. I always said that if Jones wanted him here he'd be here. Then Chris Jones exited Riderville and Jeremy O'Day brought in Cody Fajardo. I thought we'd finally moved on from rumours. That was until LTP opened the first week of February and speculation resurfaced about James Franklin coming to Saskatchewan. *sigh* Fans thought "why WHY?!" 2019 saw James Franklin as a Toronto Argonaut and while he looked somewhat promising as an Eskimo all that hype was distinguished when his play suffered setbacks as an Argo. So you can imagine what we were all saying when news broke on Tuesday morning that the Roughriders had indeed signed James Franklin. Pretty soon the media was putting their spin on it and talking about Franklin being a solid back up for Fajardo and quickly demoting Isaac Harker. I think a lot of people forgot that the Riders actually already had 4 quarterbacks...Fajardo, Harker, Bennett and Hansen. Harker was a capable backup against the Edmonton Eskimos in the final game of 2019 while Bryan Bennett became a really great special teams player. Justice Hansen hails from Arkansas State and is a young 25 and if retained will be on the practice roster. So where does James Franklin fit into things? What we do know is that he worked under Riders new OC Jason Maas in Edmonton so there is chemistry as well as playbook knowledge there. Franklin has said that he knows what his role is and that Cody is number one. Isn't that what they all say? We all know there is no one more popular than the back up Quarterback so I hope there is no controversy brewing here.
The next signing came in the form of Defensive Linemen Jordan Reaves. He was signed to a one year extension. His impact was mostly on special teams and according to his bio recorded 12 tackles in 2018. This will be his third season in green and white after being injured at the 2019 training camp.
Another Defensive signing came in the form of Linebacker Solomon Elimimian. It was a little surprising that the Riders inked him because it was speculated that he'd be moving on. While I still struggle with pronouncing his name, I know he is a valuable asset to the Riders. He brings maturity and veteran presence at age 33. I'm not going to list off his stats because that information is available everywhere...I just know that I'm pleased to have him back in green.
So that was the news on day one of Free Agency. Some were critical that Jeremy O'Day didn't make a big splash but yet again in the media scrum February 10th he said they were mainly interested in bringing back the Riders own people. He mentioned moving on from Naaman Roosevelt as well as Micah Johnson. Those two big character names stir up all kinds of feelings among members of Rider Nation. Micah ended up signing on with the BC Lions but as of the writing of this blog (Wednesday 2:10pm) Naaman is unsigned. I think Naaman Roosevelt could be an entire blog topic on his own so I will leave it for another time.
Wednesday morning the Saskatchewan Roughriders announced the signing of Offensive Lineman Josiah St John. Many may remember him as the hold out in the 2016 CFL Draft. He was late to camp and many felt that because of these tactics never caught up with the team. Then he was plagued with some injuries and the Riders moved on from him in 2019. Before he was let go it did seem as though his play on the field improved and when I read his bio on the Riderville website he does sound impressive. From all the things I listed above many Rider fans are left scratching their heads and mumbling things I can't post here. After I put some thought into it and looked at what everyone else was saying I remembered that I myself saw his play improve when he was a Roughrider the first time but it was right at the end of his tenure. This makes me believe that he can learn when given the time to prove himself. In 2019 he worked under Jason Maas as an Edmonton Eskimo so there is some knowledge of scheme and playbook there with our new Offensive Coach. I'd like to believe that the Riders GM wouldn't make a decision like this easily or lightly and he obviously knows a lot more than I do. After all, JO get's paid the big bucks and...,well, I have this blog.
I love that Free Agency has everyone talking about football again. We often say that there is no off season in Saskatchewan but interest does wain for sure. If you are one of the people craving more football talk ABC Rider Fans is open for business 24/7. Check out my About page to see where you can find all my social media outlets and don't forget to check out my new ABC Football YouTube Channel.
The Super Bowl is barely over and once again there is outrage over liking the half time show or not. If you missed it, the show was Jennifer Lopez, Shakira and Guests. It was a spectacle. Some disliked it while others are out with pitchforks demanding you like half clad 40+ year old women.
Does it really matter if we agree?
As I stated on Twitter (@smilingsandra), We don't have to agree on whether we liked the half time show or not. People are diverse. We aren't all going to like the same things. So I got to thinking. What are the reasons I prefer CFL half time shows? After I thought about it of course I decided to write about it!
5. The CFL Grey Cup half time show is a celebration. It's a community of football fans coming together. That's not to say the Super Bowl isn't, but it appears to me that the Super Bowl is more about television spectacle and not in stadium entertainment. In the CFL, alliances are put aside all week and at the game to just have fun together. 4. The CFL half time Show traditionally features more music. Medleys and mash ups are fun but if you aren't already familiar with the artist dancing on their TV's they aren't going to do much to entice them to be sought out and added to their Spotify playlist. You just get into the song and then BAM! they're on to the next snippet. Artists don't have to perform their whole catelogue. We just want to hear some favourites and bop along! 3. There's no way JLo could have worn those outfits at a Grey Cup. She and Shakira look great but it doesn't leave much to the imagination. The temperatures at the majority of Grey Cups is in the minus Celsius temperatures. Let me be clear here, it doesn't matter to me if they are women or men...they'd be in completely different costumes for a Grey Cup because they'd have to handle the elements. 2. The CFL is for family entertainment. Everyone can gather around the TV with their snacks and enjoy. There's no explaining away costume malfunctions or stripper poles. Parties and gatherings for these events are advertised for weeks before hand but isn't it more fun when you can enjoy them with your kids and grandparents too? I know that's a reason we all enjoyed Keith Urban in 2019. 1. Dog sleds and flying snowmobiles. * mic drop * As you may be aware, the 2020 Grey Cup is once again in Riderville! *woot woot* Who do you want to see as the half time act?
