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Why I Love the CFL

A closer look at the Canadian game.

By Matt V. UngerPublished 6 years ago 3 min read
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I love the CFL, or the Canadian Football League, for those of you who don't know. I am, of course, Canadian and that's why I got into it, but I've tried many times and have never fully been able to get into the NFL. It's just not for me. I love football, though, and think that the CFL sometimes gets made fun of without having someone to stick up for it. So, here are some reasons why I love the CFL and why I think you should give it a try.

1. Starts in June

I understand you love the NFL; the athletes are higher quality and everything, but the CFL starts in June, instead of September! So, if you are hungry for some football (come on, we all know you are) in the dog days of summer, try watching a CFL game. It might just give you what you need to hold you off until the NFL or college ball starts.

2. Big Field

The field is wider and longer. It just feels like the guys aren't as cramped out there. Yes, there is one more player on each team, but it's nice to see the receivers have some room.

3. The Three Down Game

Perhaps one of the biggest differences between the American and Canadian game is that the CFL only has 3 downs, and I love it. It makes for some extra pressure on the second down and, of course, there is more throwing. That doesn't mean there aren't guys who can run it, but the game leaves you that much more on edge when you only have 3 tries to get those precious 10 yards.

4. Small League

Some may think the CFL is so small it's laughable and I would, of course, love it if there were a few more teams, but I do like being able to keep track of everything going on in the game. One of the things that has kept me away from the NFL, and has caused me to back away from the NHL a bit too, is that there are just too many teams. It's impossible for me to keep track of how other teams are doing, what other players are doing well, and what is just generally going on in the game. In the CFL, it's not hard to watch 4 games every weekend and you are able to quickly find out who the stars of each team is, as well as some of their unsung heroes. It only makes sense that a huge country that is the size of Canada, yet has a pretty small population, would have an equally small football league.

5. Anything Can Happen

I love the way the clock runs in the CFL. In the last 3 minutes of the game, anything could happen. The clock is stopped after a player is tackled and doesn't start again until the ref whistles it in. This makes the last 3 minutes really matter. There have been multiple games I have seen where a team was able to come back from 10 points down in the final minutes, and I love that. No lead is safe. Literally anything could happen in those last 3 minutes. An example of this, last year my team, the Winnipeg Blue Bombers, were down 12 points with 1:40 on the clock and they somehow came up with the win. You can check out this video to get a taste of what it was like...

Whatever football you like, I hope that we can all be excited that spring is here and, in just a few more months, that great game will be starting up again.

football
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About the Creator

Matt V. Unger

I write about a variety of topics. Check me out on twitter @mattvunger.

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