CFL Is All We Have Left In This Country

AFter attending the Pittsbugh-Flyers snooze fest here in London last Sunday night, that use those new fangled rules so Americans might watch hockey, I realized that the CFL is the only team sport left we can claim as our own.

So no American expansion please. No rule changes. The game is great as it is. Because look whats happened to hockey?

This "new" NHL, with their no-hit, no excitement snoozefests I saw last year isn't the great game Canadians grew up with. In fact I doubt the Americans running the game even care what we think, as long as the guy in Alabamie might watch.

The CFL has to stay 100% Canadian. So that this gret game won't end up being totally bastardized the way hockey has. Because the CFL is all we have left.

berezin, are you from London? I was born and raised in London but now in live in Hamilton, since 1986.
I would love for London to get a team in the CFL, nice new stadium, TD Waterhouse in London, just needs some expansion.

Too right berezin99. The CFL gets in the blood and stays there like a benevolent virus. Once you get it, you've got the fever.

Unfortunately for us, there are more people working to destroy everything good and Canadian in this country than there are people trying to preserve it. And, they're winning by strength of numbers.

I agree 2Much. You are speaking about our journalists and media for the most part I assume who are influencing a lot of young people out there that the CFL isn't big-time enough to be worthy of following?

Ill be a devil's advocate here. You want to the NHL to return to the defensive trapfests they used to play? Those were even more boring than what they are playing now. The move to more offence was just a step, now they need to balance that with allowing defenceman to clear the front of the net, and it should be some better hockey.

Hi Earl

That and then some. Take ESPN North (TSN) for example. They get the bulk of their content from the parent network. Spend any time watching Sport Centre (and it's supposed to be spelled that way) and a person would be convinced that Canadians are all huge fans of NFL, Nascar, baseball and (choke) golf. CBC is the only network paying real attention to anything in this country, and the USAnian wannabees are working on killing that.

Hi Earl.
Yes I do live in London.
And London would be a great CFL town. We could expand that aluminum band box the Mustangs play in to 25-30,000 seats with no problem.

My preferance would be to have the team play at Labatts Park, like the London Lords used to. That would be an ideal setting for CFL games, with the downtown buildings as a background.

Labatts Park is currently being used for kids baseball and nothing else. All the pro teams we had folded because nobody showed up.

Problem here is London thinks too small time. We have the new John Labatts Centre, and they only put 10,000 seats in the place becuase they thought they couldn't sell anymore than that, beleiver or not. Thing is they could have put at least 15,000 seats and the place still would be sold out for all the various events, including the London Knights.

So I don't think we'll see the CFL here soon. Unless one of those groups who wants a team for Ottawa comes here.

:thup:

Don’t expect much from pre-season hockey.

berezin,
Funny you mention Labatt's Park, my high school, Catholic Central, we used to play some of our home games there, it was cool. And I used to go watch the London Lords play there in the old ORFU.
But TD Waterhouse is in a good location on the university grounds.
My brother who works part-time for the London Knights as a scorekeeper said what you are saying, they should have built JLC larger. Oh well, what can you do. London is crying to get bigger time and there is money there. I'm not sure if it could be a CFL city or not but I think the ex game there a few years back got a excellent attendance.

The CFL would be huge in London. The Mustangs average 6,000 fans a game. The Knights sellout every game with a waiting list for season tickets. The CFL would be the show in this city, and they would challenge Hamilton for best attendance in Ontario.

The new NHL is a vast improvement over the old. I'd much rather watch a 6-3 barn burner than a 2-1 trapfest.. do you remember 2003? Do you remember how many ties there were? Ah, the excitement of the 0-0 tie! But at least when a big tugboat like Derrian Hatcher got burned at the blueline, he could just stick out the ole' hook and yank the guys feet out from under him! You sound like an NFL fan complaining that the CFL is stupid because it's too easy to score.. as if scores of 9-6 are somehow preferable.

Canada still has the Governor General.

I agree that the new NHL is better without all the stick work which slows down the skilled players in the game unnecessarily, along with the clutching and grabbing. Sure, it will take a few seasons for the players to adjust but they will.

The lack of hitting is a result of what I think is a longer schedule now in the NHL. Hockey, unlike football, while hitting is allowed, isn’t necessary, so with an 85 game schedule or whatever it is, they just aren’t going to be hitting games night after night. I think this is one problem with hockey, it’s like the playoffs and regular season are almost two different sports, whereas the other sports you don’t see the differences nearly as much. I love hockey but a football game is much better value for the money IMHO.

i agree, regular season hockey isnt worth watching...not until about a month b4 playoffs.

I agree and disagree.. I agree that as the season goes on, so the game ramps up.. I don't agree it takes until a month before playoffs to be worth watching. I start watching as soon as the Grey Cup ends.. and I enjoy just about every game.

i dont even want to hear the word ’ hockey’ until 1 week after grey cup.

I didn't mean to suggest I don't like it, I love watching hockey even during football season. But there is a lot of difference between regular season and post-season with hockey and I personally would not pay the big bucks to go to NHL games, even if Hamilton had a team, because of this perceived lack of instensity. Watching hockey sometimes now without a whistle puts you in a daze, you watch a stretch for say about 5 minutes and nothing has happenned except the puck going back and forth. Now this is ok, but not for the money I'd have to pay, I want to see guys getting hit, I don't know what it is, maybe I've just become too much of a football fan lately to watch sports where on every play, guys are not getting hit.

Hockey in a word...crap.

No way.

Hockey is the ultimate skill sport.

Sure, and played by a bunch of overpaid prima donnas.

I can do without...forever.