CFL FOOTBALL: UNIQUELY CANADIAN

The CFL kicked off their 2009 season on Wednesday, with Toronto facing Hamilton and Montreal traveling to Calgary.  Yesterday we examined some of the major rule and gameplay differences between the NFL and the Canadian game.  Today we’ll take a look at the biggest rule difference of all—the ‘non-import’ player quota.

Of all the rule differences between the NFL and CFL the one that has the most significance on the game isn’t enforced on the field; it’s enforced in the GM’s office.  Canadians are big on laws and rules to protect their national identity—that’s why their TV and radio stations are required to devote a certain percentage of their airplay to “Canadian content”.  That has led to a number of Canadian-only media stars both good (The Tragically Hip, Sloan) and bad (Avril Lavigne, early 90’s white rapper Snow).  The CFL has a similar rule which requires that 19 of the 40 players on a roster must be Canadian born.  This keeps the CFL from becoming a de facto NFL developmental league, and helps maintain its unique identity. 

Perhaps the greatest misunderstanding is that the average NFL fan looks at the rules of the Canadian game with more players, a wider field, and fewer downs and concludes that the game is a wide open shootout similar to Arena Football.  That’s not really the case—you’ll see some offensive battles but most games end up with final score totals in the mid to high 40’s.  In Arena Football, you’ll frequently see teams with potent offenses enforcing their will over and over again against teams with porous defenses.  You don’t see that too often in the CFL.  The rules may be different, but as is the case in American pro football you need a solid rushing game and a stout defense to win games and championships.

Furthermore, the parity that you see in the NFL where on “any given Sunday” any team can beat any other team is magnified in the CFL.  The primary reason is the rules mandating Canadian native players.  I don’t think it’ll offend any Canadians if I suggest that football is played at a higher level in American high schools and colleges.  That means that at least 50% of each team is of essentially equal level of talents.  Now that may be a bit of an oversimplification—certainly there are differing levels of talent among Canadian players—but the Canadian native rules do serve to further codify the inherent tendency toward parity that you see in most professional sports.

Considering the 21 “non- Canadians” on the team, it’s also important to remember that the CFL doesn’t get the “pick of the litter” of American football talent.  Certainly those who have the ability are in the NFL, or on an NFL practice or developmental squad, or playing Arena Football, or in NFL-Europe.  While some players are uniquely suited for the CFL game—former Clemson University QB Nealon Greene, for example, who couldn’t make the NFL but has had a lengthy career in Canada—most of the Americans in the CFL are players whose ability just isn’t up to NFL levels.  Remember Vince McMahon’s failed XFL experiment?  That gives a good indication of the type of American player that ends up in Canada.