CFL exploring opportunities for alignment with XFL ownership

Apparently this has been in the stages for months.

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People wondering about "how would the two league's use the Canadian ratio, or what field size would they use etc.....these were all the same questions & problems we ran into back in the early-mid 90's with expansion......what happened was a disaster....you had two sets of rules being played within your league.....the American teams had no Canadians required which also put them at a HUGE strategic advantage over the Canadian teams.

When the Canadian teams need to have half the roster made up of Canadians anytime a Canadian team gets numerous injuries to it's Canadian content, finding replacements significantly reduces your competitive ability, when the same injuries happen to American teams they can find any number of equally talented Americans as replacements......

NOWHERE in America do they have stadiums built for CFL sized fields, as such you had teams just trying to stretch end-zones out with tape to like 16 yards long.....the end line would be right up against a wall....also most American free agents would look to sign in their own country.....how would player salaries get paid? US or Canadian dollars.....you aren't paying players in Houston Canadian dollars.....this would be the beginning of the end for the CFL....mark my words.

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Welcome to the cXFL,
I think it's obvious who the small letter will be in this so called partnership

Nah, I think acronym shows the one driving the bus is north of the 49th.

CXFL

‘CX’ being roman numeral for 110. That’s going to be the length of the field in this venture :wink:

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Why don't we let it play out and see what they come up with before all the doom days talk.

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I am all for shaking things up. Same old doesn't work. I doubt there will be a full merger but rather two leagues working together when it comes to player development, innovation, and growing the game of football. You may (likely?) see inter-league play of some sort, which is the real intrigue (for me anyway). Let's see where this goes.

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Me thinks the XFL needs the CFL more than CFL needs the XFL.Let the XFL start up in 2022 and then quietly fold

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CFLPA last to find out, SHOCKING!!!!

I think the CFL and the XFL need each other at this point in time. I can see the XFL going to the 3 down game. They have never been shy about rule changes, on a side note maybe relocating one of the teams to Halifax

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Someone mentioned the teams playing each other. Well, I happen to have one of those AFL league guides from 1962 and there is a summary from a game played between Hamilton and Buffalo. My recollection is that it occurred during the AFL preseason from 1960 or 1961. I don't have the guide handy because it is in storage, but I do remember that one half was CFL rules and the other was AFL rules. Hamilton won decisively as you might expect from the days when the Cats were regularly playing in Grey Cups and the money paid to players in both leagues was competitive. Some of the historians in the crowd should look in newspaper archives for more information. Personally, I like the cfl game and want it to remain. Going to four downs just makes it like everything else and that is decidedly less exciting.

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If there is one thing the older fan base of the CFL likes, it is change. :woozy_face:

Eliminate the Rouge and I will organize a storming of CFL headquarters!

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But what about 4 Downs on a CFL sized field? the NFL plays with 2 fewer players on the field.
That would be wide open football that would be interesting to watch. A lot of people keep talking about the CFL needs a new business plan etc, this would be a huge shake up.

Relocating a team to Halifax? that doesn’t mean anything, it’s about building a stadium in Halifax and that will never happen unless an XFL owner paid for it

What the CFL once again is 'exploring' is how to not go broke, file for bankruptcy and and shut down for life. The CFL is the only professional sport in the world that has been trying to survive by selling this Canadian rule malarkey. For those that have not been following the CFL since the early 1950's do some research. The teams all brought up American players in those years. The team that was the most successful at it seemed to be the Tiger-Cats because as a thriving industrial center they set up these imports with local jobs in the community. Playing football was fun and a passion not a way of earning a living. These players loved it, they loved the game and they fell in love with the jobs and the community. After 5 years I believe they took out their Canadian citizenship and were then added to the Canadian list. In their wisdom the CFL then changed the rule. The Tiger-Cats were dominating. Could not have that. What Americans wanted jobs in Regina?? So ... instead of dumping the Canadian rule as it should have been never introduced, they instead ruined the entire league and sent it down the black hole of ruin in 1970 by no longer allowing naturalized Canadians to be on the list. The final result is what you are currently reading about today. For anyone that has played football in Canada most that I know love the game with the size of the field and 3 downs and the 1 yard at the line of scrimmage divide. I know that I did and still do. The only thing missing is that the absolute best players available to play are not playing. No one has anything against Canadian talent and there have been a lot of great players. But no one should get a free pass. Paying fans want to see the best available on the field. This one simple change would bring the CFL back to life. The competition would be terrific. The buildings would be filled the economics would generate better players with better salaries. End the charade. It is the only thing that will save our great game. People in Toronto will stop whining about the NFL not being in Canada and all those Canadians that want to play football will have a team that will sign them if the are good enough. Just look at the number of Canadians now playing in the NFL. If you were a competitive league and paying them the same amounts ... they would stay at home. I posted this same solution the last time they were on the verge perhaps 20 years ago. Also everyone that I knew in 1970 could see the ruin on the horizon. This promotion of Canadian players by the broadcaster's has to stop. Which one of them are going to step up and save the CFL?

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Most stadiums in the states cant fit a CFL size field, As far as relocating a team Moncton would work in the short term, and that’s kind of what I was thinking with regards to a Stadium in Halifax…

never happen unless an XFL owner paid for it

A few weeks ago when people suggested this I laughed it off
And TSN is a far more reputable source than our usual news page

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*edit removed TSN ref in title as other sources pick up story

https://www.xfl.com/xfl-latest-news/cfl-to-explore-opportunities-for-alignment-with-xfl-owners

Sure hope they don't implement XFL rules here or turn it into the WWE.

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