A 2021 Fan's perspective to grow the CFL game

Now that the season is about to finally begin and as of a fan of the Canadian game, I thought it would be helpful to do our part with the biggest issue that we continuously hear, that is how can the CFL grown the fan appeal of the CFL in both Canada and the U.S. So with this in mind who better to ask than the fans. I believe it would be valuable for the league to hear from both sides of the border.

So for what it's worth, here my thoughts being an American.

1) Reclaim your identity. This is something that has really bother me for years. Why did the CFL ever abandon the helmet logo. This was the classic identity of the league from 1966 to 2002. The league logo inducted in 2016 does nothing for the league. Image the NFL changes it's iconic shield, how unimaginable would that be. Sure the shield has gone through some updates but they never abandoned their legacy and identity. It's time to reclaim the legacy and go back to future.

2) Expansion. As much as I would love to see the CFL in the U.S. again. It's more important to add the ten franchise within Canada to add balance to the force. It is my believe this club should be added to Quebec City and not Atlantic Canada. I know it would be nice to see to the league grow from coast to coast. But I think that Halifax would be a much greater risk than it's worth. The last thing your need is a another unstable franchise. They need a home run for credibility sake, which would be in Quebec City. You need to look no further the success of the Laval University football program. Add the natural rivalry with the Alouettes, and you have a great opportunity for success. Can you imagine adding the battle for "Quebec" as a labor day classic. Then maybe look at adding 3 to 4 clubs in the U.S. in very select locations, rather than a full blown expansion, to grow the league to 14 clubs max. In fact I would add an 11th club to Windsor before going back into the U.S. They would be used as a test case to sale the Canadian game to Detroit. Then look at places like Portland, OR; Grand Rapids, MI; and Salt Lake City, UT.

3) Appeal to the younger generation with social media. Today's world has many distractions. The young have many available avenues for entertainment, so make the CFL the cool thing, with web content and social media. Offer special discounts for regular season games to students and even free tickets for pre-season games. You can't make fans out of them unless you get them into the stadiums. Add an interactive app for game days. The greatest innovation from the short lived 2019 AAF (Alliance of American Football) was the introduction of their app which allowed fan to get involved in the game action and prediction of play calls on the field. What a better way than to get the generation of technology hooked on the CFL.

Well, there are a few ideas from my side. What to do think? Let's hear your ideas.

4 Likes

Love that helmet logo though.

Just needed to update it.

They’re already doing this. But my understanding it’s going to be the in-stadium party experience they’re going to be promoting and less about the actual football. I don’t think you can get young folk engaged with the CFL otherwise, as they’ve already tried web content and social media, as you’re mentioned, but no amount of web content will get someone interested if they’re simply not interested in your product.

The NFL has an inside edge over the years in this aspect.

Not about the game. It’s about an event feel and experience.

Like going to a theme park (Disneyland, Universal Studios etc).

A theme park has pirates of the Caribbean.

Isn’t that a part of Disneyland?

A CFL game would be more like going to a night club to me.

Didn’t think of it that way :beers:

I in agreement of everything you stated,