Just going to chime in here quickly on the CFL / NFL squabble.
I do like the Eskimos, and the CFL is a decent league in its own right. The biggest thing that bothers me is the overall level of talent in the league. In the NFL, for example; every game you see at the very least two or three plays that are incredibly skillful. Whether they range from catches, to broken tackles or whatever; you just don't see the same level of athleticism in the CFL during the season. The game is played smarter and tougher in the states and it generally leads to tighter games and more exciting ball. High scores are good, but I don't generally like to watch mistake filled football. If you watch a CFL game and then an NFL game, the difference is night and day when it pertains to the number of mistakes made.
That said, both leagues are great and while the brand of football is different both of them have their pro's and their con's.
Very good post but I think the quality of officiating might be the most damning aspect of the Canadian game.
It's often atrocious but I guess that's what you have to expect from accountants and lawyers who are just working part time jobs. Let's hope the CFL really improves the use of video replay to bring some semblance of good refereeing to the table.
Why don't you watch Arena football then? Its even more "exciting" CFL, by your standards.
Its like saying the QJMHL is better than the NHL cause it has no touch iceing and higher scoring games.
not to nitpick, but the CHL can be considered a development league for the NHL or other professional leagues and the players are 15-19... a better comparison is the ECHL or any of the European Leagues.
The CFL is a league for castoff professionals that can't make the NFL.
not to nitpick, but the CHL can be considered a development league for the NHL or other professional leagues and the players are 15-19... a better comparison is the ECHL or any of the European Leagues.
The CFL is a league for castoff professionals that can't make the NFL.
Actually.. the CFL is a cast off leage for those who couldn't make NFL, NFL practice squads, NFL Europa, Arena Divions 2, and Arena Dvision 1 teams.
NFL Europa just folded, so I guess the CFL is in the top 5 leagues in terms of Talent.
Just to chime in on the debate I don't watch alot of football but this years Superbowl>>>>>>>>>>>>>This Years Grey Cup. The NFL is a better league anyone who thinks different has canadian bias IMO.
I prefer the CFL rules in most cases over NFL rules but I happily watch both games.
At the same time I won't slam the quality of players in the CFL as being some kind of rejects. Many CFL players could make an NFL team as a depth player, it is the top handful of players on most teams that make the big difference between CFL and NFL. Kind of like in NHL terms if you had a league where on the top 6 and first dman or 2 there is a marked difference but after that most players are interchangeable.
To say the game is unwatchable due to less talent is silly. Most the best QBs in the CFL set records at their respective colleges. So if you can't stand watching CFL due to a lack of talent, you better not watch a single college game because players in the CFL are more developed then the average player on a college football team
Right, because the Bills won all those championships in the... oh, wait. Nevermind.
The Bills won 4 AFC championships back when the big NFC empires ran payrolls that equaled entire AFC divisions. It wasn't just luck that handed the NFC umpteen straight superbowls and in the eighties the only game that was really important was the NFC championship.
I'm not trying to compare the great 80's Bills teams to the Oilers 80's dynasty because truthfully there are few teams that match what the Oilers did in that decade with a squad of 20 year olds. Find me antoher team that dominated like the Oilers did BEFORE they hit their prime.
But trust me Oiler fans and Bills fans are cut from the same cloth. I have never seen 2 sets of fans more insecure in their team identities. Bills fans will track down some beat writer in Sante Fe who picks them to finish 4th in the division and start a fourteen page thread to lament about it.
The Steelers organization has had a fairly substained period of achievement and Steeler fan has swagger something which sets them apart from the Oilers, IMO.
the NFL may have better talent, but the rules in the CFL make for a far more entertaining game. I've tried to watch the NFL I really have but it's just soooooooo boring and the excessive hype that they have is the stupidest **** going, in typical american fashion they prefer the game played on paper to the actual contest and that just annoys me.
And as for the talent difference, outside the very best players in the NFL the talent gap is not nearly so big as a lot of people want to admit.
but then again a lot of people just love to buy the hype the media sells them, and the NFL are the kings of selling their game, the CFL notso much
