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?
Last week the news came down that the AAF had closed down shop. It had seemed so promising and I admit it was exciting to have some football when nothing else was going on. Then when the league needed an injection of money, games weren't shown on regular network tv etc, you had to know it wasn't long for this world. So now we wait for the CFL season to start... But wait...the CFL is boring you say? At least that's what Ben Volin thinks according to his article Failures of AAF a Predictable Call. Well, Ben if there's one thing CFL fans do, it's defend the league they/we love so much so thanks for the apology but no thanks.
These are my 5 reason the CFL beats the AAF (and any league really).
5. The CFL doesn't proclaim to be a feeder league for any other league. The Canadian Football League is it's own league and doesn't try to be anything but. Yes, players sometimes come to Canada and become well known and then return to play in the NFL but that in no way influences the purpose of the CFL to provide Canadian rules football to it's fans. If you like high scoring, down to the last second, chew your nails off excitement then the CFL is a league for you.
4. The CFL is a small league. Because there's 9 teams (soon to be 10) spread throughout the nation it's easy to form a loyal allegiance. Many of us are born into fandom. It was difficult to choose an AAF team to root for and I found myself simply choosing a team based on who had the most ex Roughriders. NFL fans didn't even give the time of day to AAF so no one there chose a team. How do you choose a team when the league is brand new and you have less than zero feelings about it?
3. We were all afraid that the AAF was going to steal CFL talent from under our noses. That never happened. It did give some players an opportunity to play who wouldn't have gotten a shot any and otherwise. Let's remember that CFL players need to be great athletes. There's not only the Waggle to contend with but a lot of other movement that other leagues do not have. You have to possess great endurance and skill to be a great CFLer.
2. The Rouge. Some people don't like it but it can be used as strategy and I think that is the real essence of the CFL. There are subtle rules which set the league apart from others and those same rules make the game far more exciting during regulation time and in over time. The rouge itself can prove to be the difference between winning the game or heading to overtime.
1. TSN. The main reason the CFL is so successful is because of the big TSN deal to broadcast all games bringing the game into our living rooms and hearts. Even if you are a fan of one team you can watch and follow all league games easily. You can stream them on the TSN apps and webpages as long as you have a cable subscription. Because of such a great tv deal, the CFL is visible to anyone who wants to watch it.
If you liked this blog post you might also enjoy a previous post titled 5 Reasons CFL Trumps NFL. Need more football in your life? Don't hesitate to look up ABC Rider Fans on Facebook and join a great bunch of fun loving Rider fans.
Sunday February 3rd is Superbowl LIII (53) featuring the New England Patriots (patooey) and the Los Angeles Rams. This is one of the biggest events in sports in the world. It's true that I am a CFL fan and blogger so what does that have to do with the topics I generally write about most? Well, after I saw someone comment on one of the many (and they're growing) Facebook pages that Superbowl was like the American Grey Cup, I got to thinking, first that it was a hilarious statement but secondly why do we compare the two leagues and why do us CFL fans believe our league is better?
I present to you, this weeks Football Friday 5 aka 5 (tongue in cheek) Reasons the CFL Trumps NFL.
5. LIII Okay I know those are Roman Numerals but did you know that they don't even teach Roman Numerals in school anymore? It's true. Roman Numerals along with Cursive Writing has gone the way of the Dodo bird. I had to google it myself to see what number LIII actually is and found out it's 53. Why can't they just say Superbowl 53? Is it more prestigious to use Roman Numerals? Meanwhile, the last Grey Cup was 106th Grey Cup. It's so much easier to understand and fans who don't have one foot in the grave can read it and understand how many years the Coupe de Grey has been around.
4. The Superbowl victors call themselves World Champions. Forgive me, but world champions of what? The Superbowl is mostly an American game played in the United States except for the odd preseason game which is taken to Europe. They didn't have to play different countries to gain the title only teams from other conferences. Players in the CFL hail from many countries outside of Canada including Australia and in 2019 for the first time Mexico. If anyone can call themselves world champions it may be players in the CFL. However, we are far far too nice for that. Players merely say they are Grey Cup Champions and leave it at that. They're so humble.
3. Our balls are bigger...or are they? A few years ago the dimensions of the CFL football was realigned to be similar to the NFL ball. Instead we can look to other differences and how the rules differ. The size of the field is different, goal posts are located in different places and the number of downs is different just to name a few things that sets each league apart. The number of players on the field, the waggle and the Rouge are bigger differences. In my opinion, players in the CFL have to be better athletes because there is far more movement and because of that pre-snap movement both receivers and defensive backs have to be far more explosive. I also think the rouge is the most under rated part of the CFL game. Because of this little kicking strategy it's possible for a team to win by 1 point. 1 point can be huge when it comes to heading to over time or winning in regulation time. Oh and don't get me going on how much better over time rules are in the CFL than NFL. We witnessed that in action in the NFL playoffs this year didn't we.
2. The CFL Family. We are all fans of our own CFL teams but when it comes to someone in need or helping each other out there is no family like that found in the CFL. When it comes to picking a team we've seen posts from Joseph Lozito and Brenden Kudlo post on social media asking who they should align themselves with and oh boy does the CFL family ever respond. It shouldn't be that hard to choose because there are only 9 teams as of right now but in the NFL how does one choose? Colour of uniform? Favourite city? Warmer weather? One place the CFL fosters comradery is the week prior to the Grey Cup game. Every year there is a CFL festival held with each team hosting pavilions where fans can meet up, drink, eat perogies, share, win prizes and meet players. The cost of attending these festivities is much more pocket book friendly as well because you don't have to pay your life's savings to attend the game.
1. The number one reason that the CFL Trumps NFL is how accessible CFL players are to fans. I'm sure NFL players support charities and do player appearances but it's nothing like the contact we have with CFL players. In 2018, I was able to not only meet every single Saskatchewan Roughriders player at Training Camp. My American family always ask me how I manage to meet these players and honestly it's because they are just regular people like us. Kory Sheets needs a ride from Saskatoon to Regina and a fan steps up. Shawn Lemon bikes to a burger joint and fans meet him there. Duron Carter takes 50 fans to the movies. Do you want to work out like a pro in the off season and you can talk to Jovon Johnson and have him train you. CFL players are touchable and that's part of what endears them to us and in return we give them our hearts. While we do cheer for the name on the front of the jersey, the name on the back does a lot for community service and that's more important to Canadian fans that the dollars in their bank account.
