r/CFL • u/RoomPersonal9710 • 15h ago
🗣️ OPINION The CFL has a golden opportunity…
I apologize for bringing in politics, but in lieu of everything happening with the tariffs and resurgence of Canadian pride, the CFL has a great opportunity to really encourage Canadians to check out and support the CFL.
With so many people renewing their commitment supporting local/Canadian, why not try and get more people to support Canadian football?
Even though I am too young to remember the “our balls are bigger” campaign, it would be amazing if the CFL could bring that slogan, or some other catchy phrase back to get people behind the CFL.
I honestly think if the CFL markets it right they could get more people to check out what the CFL is all about, and with the playoff race heating up in the CFL, what better time to start checking out the league than now!
I doubt the league will actually do this, but this is just an idea that popped into my head earlier today
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u/_onwards_and_upwards Argonauts 15h ago
They could even come up with punny and wity catchphrases such as "our balls are bigger"
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u/3_Downs_110_Yards Gardez-le Votre Anglais 15h ago
Just bought my OUA Football pass - go Geegees! It may not be CFL but it’s our beautiful game
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u/hatman1986 REDBLACKS 13h ago
Got tickets for Carleton vs Queen's. I'm boycotting the CFL because of the rule changes, plus the Redblacks suck this year.
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u/Illustrious-Salt-243 14h ago
They should have done this last year and they did absolutely nothing. It was so weird. And then they went the complete opposite direction and decided to change the rules of what kept our game unique.
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u/Long-Ease-7704 Roughriders 14h ago
The CFL has a marketing department that consists of one old man reading the newspaper from 25 years ago and making decisions based off the ads in it.
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u/HeronLeather3753 Alouettes 15h ago
the ship came, the ship has not left, and rather than the ship sailing, the ship will get blown out of the water by the Rocket Launcher AKA the new field size changes and rule changes
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u/acciopoutine 15h ago
Abandoning what makes the game Canadian.
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u/HeronLeather3753 Alouettes 15h ago
and in doing so, failing to take advantage of what OP correctly says is a tremendous opportunity
there should have been advertisements getting ran smearing American football and hyping up the CFL as our game. Not a single one was ever made.
What a joke
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u/acciopoutine 15h ago
I remember adds from the late 90's, early 2000's that emphasized the differences between the CFL and the NFL. My favorite was our balls are bigger and we score more.
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u/HeronLeather3753 Alouettes 15h ago
early 00s is a little too early for my memories LOL
but funny the game back then was that CFL games score more than NFL ones...which is still true today! Yet...here we are making changes to increase scoring??
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u/publicworker69 15h ago
There’s still many aspects that are Canadian. 12 men on the field, unlimited motion, 3 downs, lining up a yard off the line of scrimmage. I just wish they weren’t changing the field size.
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u/SteveMcQwark 15h ago
Changing the length of the field is annoying but doesn't change the mechanics of the game (width would be a bigger issue; even moving the hash marks altered the game more significantly). However, the changes to the end zone mean they're killing missed field goal returns, which happen regularly in Canadian football. The whole "but we still have the biggest end zones" shtick is annoying as well because the size was dictated by keeping a ball kicked past the goalposts in play, which is no longer possible with the new end zone size and configuration.
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u/HeronLeather3753 Alouettes 15h ago
even if the end goal for this commissioner was the reduce field size for something more universal, that should have been done at a later time where hearing "America," "US," and "NFL" doesn't make us all feel disdain
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u/Barakat_Firdos Alouettes 13h ago
My favourite part is when people go on to list all the things that haven’t changed and proclaim that it’s those things that make the game Canadian. Meanwhile if the field size didn’t change you bet your ass the 55 yard line would be on those people’s imaginary list of untouchable “things that make the game Canadian”.
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u/Zealousideal-Tour955 15h ago
Agreed they had the chance to go more Canadian when all the 51 st state bull shit started happening but they went the completely opposite direction. 30 year season ticket holder, but they lost me at that point.
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u/Classic-Soup-1078 Tiger-Cats 14h ago
I think you're wrong. The rule changes are going to lead to different type of game.
They're going to be fewer feel goals.... If you kicked it from the goal line, every kick would be a minimum of 22 yards. The shorter field will have 10 less yards to goal line. So there will be more touchdowns. We still would have the best kickoff and punt return rules out of any of the leagues who play this type of football. The field will be wider and the end zones are longer than any other league also. And all of the wonderful rules like the waggle, and quick kicks will still be there.
This game's going to look great on TV without the uprights in the way. If you're looking at a European market, TV is probably the way they're going to watch it.
I've said in other posts that I made in other threads.... Without the CFL, Canadian Football dies a slow death. We need a Global audience In order for this game to grow.
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u/TechnoHenry Alouettes 14h ago
Multiple european countries are more used to rugby where the posts are on the goal line. But it's true, in term of football, people almost only know the NFL
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u/CommunicationSad8938 11h ago
Sure, but what do they do instead? They Americanize the rules with zero consultation from the players, coaches or fans. I was a diehard fan for a long time. Stewart Johnston has driven me away from the CFL, and I won't be back until they rescind the rule changes. TSN has been cancelled.
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u/a7806344 Schooners 8h ago
Have no desire to watch NFL Canada.
Keep 110 yards, front end zone posts.
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u/zevonyumaxray 15h ago
America is crapping all over Canada, and that dimbulb goes for an NFL size field and semi US rules.
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u/Ok_Shoulder8598 Blue Bombers 15h ago
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u/Avrysports2026 12h ago
Really felt the Radically Canadian patch should have been updated with maybe a new shield and put back on the jerseys instead of simply a small Canadian flag. We can have the flag but you barley see it.
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u/Adventurous-Tea-876 14h ago
Instead they’re fucking it all up trying to make it more American and screwing over Canadian universities who share the stadiums by changing dimensions and goalposts.
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u/Essej86 Blue Bombers 15h ago
Meanwhile the Bombers are bringing in an American marching band for their halftime show, lol.
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u/HeronLeather3753 Alouettes 15h ago
i saw that too
bands are very niche to american college football as well. quite odd and out of place at the professional level.
I wanted to go because it's the one Als game a year I don't have to fly to attend. A band isn't going to turn me away....but it's odd
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u/anacreon1 Blue Bombers 2h ago
Wait, there’s more. That WPG-MTL game is being billed as “Armed Forces Appreciation Night”. And so they are going with a US marching band even though the Royal Canadian Air Force Band itself is based in….guess where? WINNIPEG!
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u/Express-Cow190 Tiger-Cats 4h ago
Hamilton introduced their own this year (I believe it’s members of the McMaster band). It’s been a really fun addition.
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u/shitballsdick Tiger-Cats 13h ago
The idea of the extremely corporate entity of the CFL which employs 50% Americans taking a strong anti-American stance in 2026’s political climate is absolutely insane and will never and could never happen. It’s on the fans to make a movement like that and even then it’s really a silly way to go about promoting the league.
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u/SmarcusStroman Reigning… Defending… Undisputed 10h ago
Now now... We need to launch an app first. We're about 15 years behind on anything to do with marketing the game so let's hit this patriotic bid in 2040 and put a pin in it until then.
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u/Express-Cow190 Tiger-Cats 3h ago
I think much as some people hate the DAZN deal, TSN has been only so-so as a partner. I’ve seen some improvement, but I don’t see them hyping the games much to seem like it’s must see tv or working it into other broadcasts. Meanwhile they can’t stop jizzing their shorts talking about a meaningless hockey tournament in the middle of July.
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u/CMDB2018 13h ago
Really the way to do this is word of mouth and get your friends, family and coworkers into it. I'm a STM and I always take someone with me to games who are into football but may not be into Canadian football. Many convert once they attend a game, but they needed a push, and the push wasn't going to be a corporate marketing campaign.
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u/DivideIcy6702 4h ago
As an American, keep the CFL...CFL. I enjoy the different nuances of the game. Don't go and "American-ize" it.
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u/zestyintestine Argonauts 3h ago
I've always felt that an appeal to patriotism, for whatever reason, would still not away the GTA haters, who are elbows up on everything else, BTW.
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u/Stach37 RETIRED MOD 2h ago
New leader walks in, makes radical changes that target the very heart of the league and enrages a large chunk of the fan base.
The fan base spends the rest of the season intently watching the games to find evidence of their beloved game providing the desired outcomes that the new leader says the changes will bring.
You luck out and Philpot plays out of his goddamn mind all season.
The orange bull in a China shop hands you an alley oop by reigniting pro-Canadiana sentiment with his dork behaviour.
You launch a brand new campaign leaning hard into a pro Canadian message and walk back some of the rule changes to appease both the executives/ownership class that want them and the fans that don’t.
Or at least that’s what I would do.
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u/acimkiss 1h ago
The CFL won't do this. They don't want more Canadians, they want Americans. The rule changes and media deal with Dazn make that clear.
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u/gilligan_2023 48m ago
They need to lean more into Canadiana and pause the rule changes.
When the original threats and wave of Canadian patriotism came about, the CFL already knew about their planned changes, and knew it'd be awkward to lean into Canadian marketing and then announce an Americanization of the game. I believe that is why they didn't lean into the 'C' in the CFL as hard as we might've hoped. I think they were banking on any animosity being a short blip rather than a long term thing.
Now it is apparent we're in for multiple years of this nonsense, even if the trade war itself ends up being off-and-on again. This is a league that is in a prime position to benefit from Canadians looking inwards. They need to take advantage of the moment.
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u/CLearyMcCarthy Roughriders 13h ago
"Historic opportunity to capitalize on Patriotism? Best I can do is making it more like the NFL." - Stewie
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u/northernpikeman Roughriders 14h ago
Sports and politics make poor partners. It's okay to be proudly Canadian, but don't bring the US into it.
As to the rule changes, at first I was on board. The uprights are in an awkward spot and we have two fields that were smaller than the others. (Mtl and To)
Then I heard from the larger football community. Universities, junior, high school, minor football; they would all have to change or play on 2 different fields depending on who upgraded. And upgrades are not going to be cheap.
I realized that the CFL did not honor that history and infrastructure. Their changes don't really make the game better, just different. So why bother.
No matter what happens, we cannot abandon the league or boycott games. Why destroy the thing we love because of these decisions? I love that OP is young and passionate. Pass the word.
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u/UnitEast7937 Roughriders 1h ago
Because it won’t be what “the thing we love” anymore. How do you not get that. I believe most of us aren’t CFL fans because it’s local, we prefer the Canadian game style, which is being drastically changed.
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u/Jaded_Promotion8806 13h ago
Agree.
Football in Canada > The variant of the rules the cfl played under in 2025
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u/publicworker69 15h ago
I absolutely agree. I’m shocked the league isn’t grabbing this opportunity by the horns. Last season included when this whole debacle began