# CFL fans: field marked in yards or metres? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [February 7, 2005, 3:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cfl-fans-field-marked-in-yards-or-metres/288749 "2005-02-07T03:14:59Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 10\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Vlad\_Igor](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/7feea3/32.png) [@Vlad\_Igor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Vlad_Igor)\ **Post date:** [February 7, 2005, 3:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cfl-fans-field-marked-in-yards-or-metres/288749/1 "2005-02-07T03:14:59Z")
Well/Eh bien? Is the Canadian football field marked off in yards or meters? Vlad/Igor ---
**Author:** ![Declan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ecae2f/32.png) [@Declan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Declan)\ **Post date:** [February 7, 2005, 3:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cfl-fans-field-marked-in-yards-or-metres/288749/2 "2005-02-07T03:40:35Z")
> [@Vlad/Igor](#): > > Well/Eh bien? Is the Canadian football field marked off in yards or meters? > > Vlad/Igor The field is marked in yards , only difference being a hundred and ten yards , instead of american one hundred. Declan ---
**Author:** ![Bryan\_Ekers](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bryan_ekers/32/183_2.png) [@Bryan\_Ekers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bryan_Ekers)\ **Post date:** [February 7, 2005, 5:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cfl-fans-field-marked-in-yards-or-metres/288749/3 "2005-02-07T05:24:24Z")
> [@Declan](#): > > The field is marked in yards , only difference being a hundred and ten yards , instead of american one hundred. Well, it’s not the _only_ difference, since the Canadian field is 11.5 yards wider and the end zones are longer. Baseball outfield walls are still marked in feet. ---
**Author:** ![Bryan\_Ekers](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bryan_ekers/32/183_2.png) [@Bryan\_Ekers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bryan_Ekers)\ **Post date:** [February 7, 2005, 5:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cfl-fans-field-marked-in-yards-or-metres/288749/4 "2005-02-07T05:30:48Z")
By the way, [this article](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Comparison_of_Canadian_and_American_football) describes the differences between Canadian and American football. The impression I get is that American rules are designed to facilitate a much slower, more commerical-laden game. ---
**Author:** ![David\_Simmons](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/9de053/32.png) [@David\_Simmons](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/David_Simmons)\ **Post date:** [February 7, 2005, 5:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cfl-fans-field-marked-in-yards-or-metres/288749/5 "2005-02-07T05:41:15Z")
Well, it’s pretty close to 100 meters. That length equals 109.361 yards. And being 11.5 yards wider the width is 59.28 meters. It wouldn’t be much off to say that a Canadian Football field is 100 meters long and 60 meters wide. ---
**Author:** ![Bryan\_Ekers](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bryan_ekers/32/183_2.png) [@Bryan\_Ekers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bryan_Ekers)\ **Post date:** [February 7, 2005, 5:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cfl-fans-field-marked-in-yards-or-metres/288749/6 "2005-02-07T05:50:35Z")
Why don’t we just say the American field is 91.44 metres long and 47.1 metres wide? ---
**Author:** ![BobT](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/8e8cbc/32.png) [@BobT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BobT)\ **Post date:** [February 7, 2005, 6:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cfl-fans-field-marked-in-yards-or-metres/288749/7 "2005-02-07T06:19:05Z")
> [@David Simmons](#): > > Well, it’s pretty close to 100 meters. That length equals 109.361 yards. And being 11.5 yards wider the width is 59.28 meters. > > It wouldn’t be much off to say that a Canadian Football field is 100 meters long and 60 meters wide. When your favorite CFL player catches a pass along the sidelines, you will be grateful that the field is a little wider than 59.28 meters. ---
**Author:** ![Cunctator](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/43a26b/32.png) [@Cunctator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cunctator)\ **Post date:** [February 7, 2005, 6:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cfl-fans-field-marked-in-yards-or-metres/288749/8 "2005-02-07T06:46:33Z")
On a slightly different note - why are the fields numbered? Surely the players don’t need the numbers to tell them whereabouts they are on the field? ---
**Author:** ![BobT](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/8e8cbc/32.png) [@BobT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BobT)\ **Post date:** [February 7, 2005, 7:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cfl-fans-field-marked-in-yards-or-metres/288749/9 "2005-02-07T07:36:48Z")
The fields are numbered for the spectators and the media. Also the officials. It helps to make sure that the ball is in the right spot. Football likes to be precise. Or pretend it is. Some stadiums, like LSU’s, has numerals every FIVE yards. Apparently down in Lousiana, interpolation isn’t an important skill. ---
**Author:** ![brad\_d](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/50afbb/32.png) [@brad\_d](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/brad_d)\ **Post date:** [February 8, 2005, 7:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cfl-fans-field-marked-in-yards-or-metres/288749/10 "2005-02-08T19:25:20Z")
> [@Cunctator](#): > > On a slightly different note - why are the fields numbered? Surely the players don’t need the numbers to tell them whereabouts they are on the field? It also helps the television audience tremendously. The arrows next to the numbers (pointing to the nearest goal line) serve the same role. Location on the field, critical for context, is often hard to deduce from standard shooting views (or, it would be without the painted numbers).