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CFL Canadian Football For The American NFL Football Fan

January 26th, 2010

While football in the United States is associated with crisp autumn days and cool nights, in Canada professional football begins in the summer time. While NFL training camps won’t open until mid-summer by then the Canadian Football League (CFL) will be well into their regular season schedule.

Most Americans dont realize that the CFL has a lengthy and storied history. The league itself has been around since’30, and the Canadian Football championship–known as the Grey Cup–has been contended since’09. More recently, American fans are aware that a number of NFL stars got their start in the CFL including Doug Flutie, Jim Kelly, and Jeff Garcia.

While the CFL plays football at the highest professional level of competition outside of the NFL, there are a few differences in the game:

First of all, the football itself is bigger–the CFL ball is larger than its American counterpart. If you know anything about rugby, its roughly the same as a #3 rugby ball meaning it is somewhat longer and fatter than the NFL ball. The CFL field is also longer (110 yards) and wider (65 yards vs. the NFLs 53.5 yards), and the CFL end zones are 20 yards deep as opposed to 10 yards in the NFL. The CFL goal posts are on the goal line, while the NFLs are on the end line at the back of the endzone.

CFL teams are allowed to have 12 players on the field at a time, one more than is standard in American football. The extra offensive player is a wide receiver, and on defense they’re allowed an extra defensive back. CFL teams allow a team only three downs to move ten yards as opposed to four in the US game–references to a team going “two and out” are common on CFL broadcasts.

A major difference in the scoring is the ‘single’ which awards CFL teams one point for a kick–usually a punt or missed field goal–that lands in the end zone. This will frequently produce partial game scores of 1-0 or 1-1 that are impossible in the US game.

Of all the rule differences between the NFL and CFL the one that has the most significance on the game isnt enforced on the field; its enforced in the GMs office. Canadians are big on laws and rules to protect their national identity–thats 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 90s white rapper Snow). The CFL has a similar rule which requires that’ 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.

Despite the rule differences that suggest a higher scoring, more wide open style of play than in the NFL it really doesn’t work out that way. Most games end up with a final score in the 40′s and have a similar pace to their NFL counterparts. There may be a few individual rule differences, but a strong rushing game and defense are tickets to success in the CFL as in the NFL.

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 dont think itll 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.

The CFL isn’t in a financial position to draw the top level US players away from the NFL or, in most cases, even a NFL practice or developmental squad. While some US players are uniquely suited to the CFL style of play, most of the US players that end up there are of a similar talent level as to that seen in Arena Football.

Despite some major differences, the NFL and CFL have more in common–they’re both high level, intensely competitive professional football leagues. Once you understand the rule differences and the unique and fascinating history of the CFL, it is a very enjoyable brand of professional football to watch.

In the pre-Internet era, it was often difficult for US fans to find information on the CFL. They don’t get coverage on ESPN, but they receive extensive attention in the Canadian press. Each CFL city has their own sports media, and the official CFL website also has many resources including previews and statistics.

Ross Everett is a freelance sports writer and noted authority on sports betting odds comparison. He writing has appeared on a variety of sports sites including sportsbooks and betting odds portal sites. He lives in Las Vegas with three Jack Russell Terriers and a kangaroo. He is currently working on an autobiography of former interior secretary James Watt.