# The CFL is WAY more fun than the NFL - change my mind. :-) **URL:** \ **Category:** The Game Room\ **Tags:** football-nfl\ **Created:** [July 6, 2025, 5:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-cfl-is-way-more-fun-than-the-nfl-change-my-mind/1020560 "2025-07-06T17:25:26Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Gorsnak](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gorsnak/32/7587_2.png) [@Gorsnak](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gorsnak)\ **Post date:** [September 2, 2025, 6:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-cfl-is-way-more-fun-than-the-nfl-change-my-mind/1020560/41 "2025-09-02T06:18:27Z")
> [@Mallard](#): > > And the game in Winnipeg the weekend following Labour Day came to be known as the “Banjo Bowl”. Note: the Labour Day Classic between the Riders and Bombers alternates between the two cities each year, and the Banjo Bowl the following week does as well. Next year will be in Winnipeg on Labour Day and Regina the week after. ---
**Author:** ![Northern\_Piper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/northern_piper/32/5304_2.png) [@Northern\_Piper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Northern_Piper)\ **Post date:** [September 2, 2025, 10:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-cfl-is-way-more-fun-than-the-nfl-change-my-mind/1020560/42 "2025-09-02T10:40:43Z")
No, the Labour Day Classic is always in Saskatchewan. The Riders go to Winnipeg the week after for the Banjo Bowl. ---
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [September 2, 2025, 1:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-cfl-is-way-more-fun-than-the-nfl-change-my-mind/1020560/43 "2025-09-02T13:26:16Z")
Thank you all for the clarification. I was having trouble parsing @Mallard’s predictions for a game that, as best I could tell, @Northern_Piper had just given us the rundown and finals of. Holy timeline twister, Batman! Of _course_ a league with a small number of teams will play one another repeatedly even in a short season. 🤦‍♂️ Doing so on successive weekends is extra spicy for the fans. ---
**Author:** ![Horatius](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/horatius/32/3572_2.png) [@Horatius](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Horatius)\ **Post date:** [September 2, 2025, 2:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-cfl-is-way-more-fun-than-the-nfl-change-my-mind/1020560/44 "2025-09-02T14:24:14Z")
> [@mnemosyne](#): > > Of course other stats favour the NFL but on just pure “throw the ball a lot” the CFL shows up! Speaking as a RedBlacks fan, i have to add that our kicker Lewis Ward broke almost every field goal record, both CFL and NFL, his first year and a bit playing. I’d cut and paste it here, but it’s too long. > **[Lewis Ward (Canadian football) | Professional career](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lewis_Ward_(Canadian_football)#Professional_career)** > > Ward went undrafted in the 2017 CFL Draft and instead returned to school for his fifth year of eligibility. Following a successful 2017 season, he signed with the Ottawa Redblacks on 3 January 2018. Following the departure of 2017 kicker, Brett Maher, the Redblacks had an open competition for their kicking position between Ward, Richie Leone, Sergio Castillo, and Mathieu Hebert. He went 4-for-4 on field goal attempts in the pre-season and won the starting placekicking job with Leone handling p On... I’m a super fan of Ward. ---
**Author:** ![Northern\_Piper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/northern_piper/32/5304_2.png) [@Northern\_Piper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Northern_Piper)\ **Post date:** [September 13, 2025, 11:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-cfl-is-way-more-fun-than-the-nfl-change-my-mind/1020560/45 "2025-09-13T23:10:10Z")
I have turned into a fair-weather fan. It has been raining in Regina since 8 a.m. I am not in the stands. Watching it from a nice warm tv room. ---
**Author:** ![John\_DiFool](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_difool/32/19543_2.png) [@John\_DiFool](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_DiFool)\ **Post date:** [November 4, 2025, 3:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-cfl-is-way-more-fun-than-the-nfl-change-my-mind/1020560/46 "2025-11-04T15:00:35Z")
This thread ironically died 12 days before the CFL announced a bevy of changes over the next two years, that I just found out about today (if Discourse search continues to be imperfect and this was already discussed, again I’ll endure the soft cushions): - Goal posts are moving to the back of the end zone - End zones will shrink from 20 yards deep to 15 to accomodate the goal post movement - 100 Yard Fields, same width (so no more 55 yard lines) - Automatic 35 Second Play Clock - Rouge isn’t fully dead but you no longer get a point if it’s kicked out the back of an endzone (or even the sides) on any sort of kick, but only if it lands inside and the defense can’t get it back out - Team benches must be on opposite sides of the field Judging by r/cfl, Canadian football fans are up in arms. I can grasp the goal post thing since the durned things simply interfere too much with play, but the continued decline of the rouge and the shrunken field certainly seem to take away a lot of the league’s character. Players aren’t happy either because they and their union weren’t consulted first. Thoughts? ---
**Author:** ![Horatius](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/horatius/32/3572_2.png) [@Horatius](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Horatius)\ **Post date:** [November 4, 2025, 3:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-cfl-is-way-more-fun-than-the-nfl-change-my-mind/1020560/47 "2025-11-04T15:16:41Z")
> [@John\_DiFool](#): > > I can grasp the goal post thing since the durned things simply interfere too much with play, but the continued decline of the rouge and the shrunken field certainly seem to take away a lot of the league’s character. The goal post move also makes sense for player safety, so that change I’m okay with. Unfortunately, that means the rouge on a field goal no longer makes any sense, as virtually all of them will pass the end of the end zone. But they should keep the rouge on the punt. By definition, you punt from a distance at which you don’t think you can hit a field goal. So if you go ahead and smash a punt so far that it goes right past the end of the end zone, that feels like a punt that deserves a point. Shrinking the field is just nonsense, though. 3 downs and 110 yards have always been the most defining characteristics of the CFL game. ---
**Author:** ![kenobi\_65](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kenobi_65/32/13178_2.png) [@kenobi\_65](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kenobi_65)\ **Post date:** [November 4, 2025, 3:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-cfl-is-way-more-fun-than-the-nfl-change-my-mind/1020560/48 "2025-11-04T15:25:40Z")
> [@Horatius](#): > > The goal post move also makes sense for player safety, so that change I’m okay with. It’s a big part of why the NFL moved its goal posts to the end line, back in 1974. I’m not a big fan of these changes overall. It takes away quite a bit of what made Canadian football unique and interesting. I worry that it’s just step one in a plan to make the CFL into a farm league for the NFL. ---
**Author:** ![Northern\_Piper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/northern_piper/32/5304_2.png) [@Northern\_Piper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Northern_Piper)\ **Post date:** [November 16, 2025, 1:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-cfl-is-way-more-fun-than-the-nfl-change-my-mind/1020560/49 "2025-11-16T01:57:04Z")
Tomorrow is the Big Day: Grey Cup! ~~Canada’s annual piss-up!~~ I mean, Canada’s annual major football competition. Much more sedate. Saskatchewan Roughriders v Montreal Alouettes! Only the third time these two teams have met in the Grey Cup; previous ones were 2009 and 2010. We will not speak of the 2009 debacle. No sir. (Always makes the “worst championship game” in all those Top 20 countdowns on TSN Sports Centre, with a clip of the Riders’ offensive coach smashing his hat down on the desk.) I like the Riders’ chances. Finished first in the League, with a talent for pulling it out of the hat when needed. Strong running back; veteran QB who’s come off his best season ever; and one of the best defences in the CFL. But, the Als have a strong QB as well, just off the injury list, and also with a strong defence. This game will be won or lost in the trenches: smash-mouth football! ETA: it’s available online: CFL streaming, if any of you Muricans want to tune into real football! (Only 3 downs, as God intended, and none of that wimpy “fair catch so you can’t tackle me” nonsense.) > **[\- CFL.ca](https://www.cfl.ca/plus/)** > > CFL+ is the home for live streaming CFL games and events where you can watch LIVE from your desktop, mobile, or tablet device. It’s free; no account required! How to stream: Sign up by clicking on the event you want to watch below and completing the... ---
**Author:** ![mnemosyne](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/c4cdca/32.png) [@mnemosyne](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mnemosyne)\ **Post date:** [November 16, 2025, 7:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-cfl-is-way-more-fun-than-the-nfl-change-my-mind/1020560/50 "2025-11-16T19:52:32Z")
2009 was such a great year. The Thirteenth Man, such a hero! I have no detailed analysis to give, just a hearty Go Als Go! ---
**Author:** ![Spoons](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spoons/32/3141_2.png) [@Spoons](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spoons)\ **Post date:** [November 16, 2025, 8:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-cfl-is-way-more-fun-than-the-nfl-change-my-mind/1020560/51 "2025-11-16T20:19:47Z")
> [@Northern\_Piper](#): > > Tomorrow is the Big Day: Grey Cup! > > ~~Canada’s annual piss-up!~~ > > I mean, > > Canada’s annual major football competition. Much more sedate. Well, I’ve got my fridge stocked with Old Style Pil, so there’s that. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Northern\_Piper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/northern_piper/32/5304_2.png) [@Northern\_Piper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Northern_Piper)\ **Post date:** [November 16, 2025, 11:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-cfl-is-way-more-fun-than-the-nfl-change-my-mind/1020560/52 "2025-11-16T23:52:57Z")
PM Carney tosses the coin; Riders call “tails” and win it. They defer, Als will receive. Kick-off; pass by Alexander for the Als, picked off by Sayles on the Riders 15 yard line and the Riders are scrimmaging from the 35 yard line. ---
**Author:** ![Spoons](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spoons/32/3141_2.png) [@Spoons](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spoons)\ **Post date:** [November 16, 2025, 11:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-cfl-is-way-more-fun-than-the-nfl-change-my-mind/1020560/53 "2025-11-16T23:56:40Z")
And Saskatchewan gets a rouge! ---
**Author:** ![Northern\_Piper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/northern_piper/32/5304_2.png) [@Northern\_Piper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Northern_Piper)\ **Post date:** [November 17, 2025, 12:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-cfl-is-way-more-fun-than-the-nfl-change-my-mind/1020560/54 "2025-11-17T00:48:55Z")
Als got a TD. Riders got two. Ouellette just ran one in, untouched, from the 10 yard line. Half is almost over: 15:7 Riders, at the 2:50 mark. And the Riders end the half on an interception on the Riders 5 yard line. ---
**Author:** ![Spoons](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spoons/32/3141_2.png) [@Spoons](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spoons)\ **Post date:** [November 17, 2025, 1:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-cfl-is-way-more-fun-than-the-nfl-change-my-mind/1020560/55 "2025-11-17T01:13:48Z")
Good first half. In spite of the score (Saskatchewan 15, Montreal 7), the two teams look to be well-matched, both equally capable of winning the game. Saskatchewan did well to challenge the call that resulted in pass interference by Montreal. It set them up nicely for a TD. No complaints about the TV coverage, but I do wish our advertisers would do some special commercials for the Grey Cup, like advertisers do for the Super Bowl. I’m at the point where I’m muting the TV when I hear the first couple of notes of “Lean on Me,” for Bell, which launched a few weeks ago, and has been played incessantly since. ---
**Author:** ![mnemosyne](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/c4cdca/32.png) [@mnemosyne](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mnemosyne)\ **Post date:** [November 17, 2025, 1:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-cfl-is-way-more-fun-than-the-nfl-change-my-mind/1020560/56 "2025-11-17T01:35:27Z")
Not the game I’m hoping for of course but also omg it’s 2025 why does the sound and video keep cutting out? I blame Bell. ---
**Author:** ![Northern\_Piper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/northern_piper/32/5304_2.png) [@Northern\_Piper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Northern_Piper)\ **Post date:** [November 17, 2025, 1:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-cfl-is-way-more-fun-than-the-nfl-change-my-mind/1020560/57 "2025-11-17T01:39:27Z")
We’re having the same problem (the sound, not the way the game is going. 😉 ) I was thinking it was our local cable company, but it must be the feed from Winnipeg. In other news, Riders get a 35 yard return on the opening kick-off, and then march it down the field in a few plays. Ouellette does some good runs, then Tommy Neild catches long throw from Harris; Stevens runs it in from the 1 yard line. Riders, 22-7; 21 unanswered points ---
**Author:** ![mnemosyne](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/c4cdca/32.png) [@mnemosyne](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mnemosyne)\ **Post date:** [November 17, 2025, 1:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-cfl-is-way-more-fun-than-the-nfl-change-my-mind/1020560/58 "2025-11-17T01:40:28Z")
I’m also content blaming Winnipeg. Seems like a reasonable thing to do. ---
**Author:** ![Spoons](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spoons/32/3141_2.png) [@Spoons](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spoons)\ **Post date:** [November 17, 2025, 1:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-cfl-is-way-more-fun-than-the-nfl-change-my-mind/1020560/59 "2025-11-17T01:40:30Z")
It’s got to be the feed from Winnipeg. I’m getting sound and video cutouts too. ---
**Author:** ![mnemosyne](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/c4cdca/32.png) [@mnemosyne](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mnemosyne)\ **Post date:** [November 17, 2025, 1:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-cfl-is-way-more-fun-than-the-nfl-change-my-mind/1020560/60 "2025-11-17T01:41:42Z")
I’m now picturing Collaros up in the TSN booth just wiggling cables out of spite. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-cfl-is-way-more-fun-than-the-nfl-change-my-mind/1020560.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-cfl-is-way-more-fun-than-the-nfl-change-my-mind/1020560.md?page=4)