New CFL Fan

As Lions fan, of course I would say take a look - but they are controversial in many ways (I am sure there will be no argument from all you other CFL fans!)

The Ti-Cats are my second fave by a long shot and always have been (it took me a few years to forgive Angelo Mosca for that cheap shot on Willie Fleming in the 64(?) Grey Cup, but I applaud our new CFL buddy's choice of rooting for the Cats if that is the way he goes.

Until recently, I used to travel to the U.S. for business and I saw live CFL games from time to time on U.S. channels so, keep looking - Can't you also catch some games on-line? - Someone?

So, welcome Winterland - the CFL is the game that even if a team is up by 14 to 17 points with 3 or 4 minutes to go, the game is still not in the bag. I once saw two touchdowns in the last 43 seconds to watch the Sacramento expansion team (Gold Miners? - now defunct), down by a couple of touchdowns, beat the Lions, which was jaw dropping. David Archer was the QB and with that little time left, he threw the TD bomb, pulled off a two point conversion. And then Sacramento pulled off the most perfect on-side kick-off I have ever seen executed, where the kicker, kicked it up, the on-side teammate caught it like it was a pass, and ran it down to the 6 yard line with 3 - 4 seconds left. Next play was a TD toss and a Lion's loss . Stunning. This is what makes the CFL so great and so different!

Cheers all - Long live the CFL and it's fans! 8)

The Big Dog

Ti-Cats are my second favourite team too! RAWR!

For now at least I will just divide my interest between the Ticats and Esks then. In the States it's not as common to have a second favorite team.

So, for all of you in and around the Hamilton area ... Are you in favor of the Coyotes moving back up north or are most of you Leafs fans anyway ? I am not too familiar with the distribution of hockey fans in the area, so PLEASE forgive if I have offended anyone suggesting you might follow the Leafs.

Hi Winterland--
I am a CFL fan in Philadelphia
and I actually enjoy listening to games live online via team radio broadcasts.

Between the Eskies and Cats, I think the Eskimos broadcasts are more enjoyable.
However-- Of all the CFL teams, the Lions and Argos broadcasts have the most overall energy.

Argonauts

http://www.fan590.com/

Alouettes

http://www.cjad.com/

Blue Bombers

http://www.cjob.com/

Eskimos

http://www.630ched.com/

Lions

http://www.team1040.ca/

Roughriders

http://www.620ckrm.com/

Stampeders

http://www.am770chqr.com/

Tiger-Cats

http://www.900chml.com/

Welcome to the CFL fold, Winterland, and to your new life as a Tiger-cat fan. :smiley: This team has its history, too. It was originally formed as the Hamilton Tigers 140 years ago, then merged with the Wildcats in 1950 to become the Tiger-cats. Current fans have seen some lean years, but they had their glory days, too. In the late 50s and early 60s, they WERE the Eastern division, appearing in 9 Grey Cup games between 1957 and 1967, winning 4.

To answer your question, NHL fans in the Hamilton area are made up of mostly Leaf fans, though there are a lot of Canadiens fans as well. But I believe most of these would support a Hamilton team if the bid is successful.

And, TheBigDog, it was in '63 that Mosca laid that perfectly legal :wink: hit on Fleming, knocking him out of the game. Hamilton went on to win the game without the Lions' #1 offensive threat to worry about; but B.C. got even a year later when they beat the Cats for their first Cup win.

It would be impossible for me NOT to like the Ti-Cats - you guys are all very positive and enthusiastic about your team. Reminds a little of the Fullham supporters in the E.P.L. Just seem like a pretty good group of people all around.

Your best bet is the riders in the west and the cats in the east. They have very good fans, not that other don't. The rider fans are all accross north america and have a very active forum, unlike many others. The clf league is very exciting.

[url=http://www.riderfans.com/forum/forumdisplay.php?s=&daysprune=&f=4]http://www.riderfans.com/forum/forumdis ... prune=&f=4[/url]

Hey Winterland,

As a Stamps fan I have to begrudgingly admit that it would be hard to go wrong with picking the Eskimos. I used to live in Edmonton and, as a cfl fan, had Eskimo season tickets that always included a home playoff ticket. I didn’t even know that other teams did not do this and only found out when the CFL told the Eskimo organization they were not allowed to do this. The team was so good for so long that it was just a foregone conclusion that Edmonton would have at least one home playoff date. While the franchise has taken a bit of a hit in recent years both on the field and off I have a great amount of respect for what this community owned franchise has been able to do.

That being said…

…Go Stamps

Dude, I live in Ohio and I watch all the games live on line on Justin TV sports. They show all kinds of cool international sports like rugby, all kinds of soccer, etc. I once saw some crazy version of Australian rules football that was Irish and had soccer goals underneath the uprights that could also be scored in.

Since the CFL only has 8 teams, there's only 4 games a week. They are rarely, if ever, on at the same time so it's easy to watch all 4 games live. It will get you through the summer. Especially when your favorite baseball team is unwatchable crap like my Cleveland Indians this year.

I haven't found a favorite team either. There's good and bad about each of them. The closest team to me is Hamilton, but they look too much like the Squeelers and I am a Browns fan, so that wont work. Therefore I plan on following the Ottawa franchise once it gets going so that I can be on the ground floor of a new team. In the meantime I will enjoy watching the games with no true loyalty one way or the other.

[quote="buckeye47"]Dude, I live in Ohio and I watch all the games live on line on Justin TV sports. They show all kinds of cool international sports like rugby, all kinds of soccer, etc. I once saw some crazy version of Australian rules football that was Irish and had soccer goals underneath the uprights that could also be scored in.

That crazy version is, I believe, Gaelic football and has been around much longer than Aussie rules football.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gaelic_football

When is the Ottawa franchise supposed to start ? They used to have a team before, yes ?

The answer to that question Winterland is, well, how do you say, not exactly straight forward, I'll let someone else tackle it. :wink:

Well, Winterland, the CFL had the Ottawa Rough Riders until 1996, when the league revoked the franchise from owner Horn Chen. Then from 2001 to 2005, they had the Ottawa Renegades, so named because Chen still had the rights to the Rough Riders name. Prior to the '06 season, they suspended the franchise because the owners, Bernard and Lonnie "Cuddles" Glieberman, refused to pay the bills.

When will they get a new team? Well, 2007 was the original target date, but it was soon changed to '08. I think '09 may have been kicked around, but '10 seemed a certainty. Delays moved the date to 2011, largely due to the demolition of much of Frank Clair Stadium. I believe the current target is 2012.

I guess the short answer is, they'll get a team when they have a deep-pocketed owner committed to the team, the league, and the city, who has a viable financial plan and a lease on a CFL-sized stadium. I'm still holding out hope for 2012. But I've always been overly-optimistic.

Hopefully they will soon .. I was very impressed with Ottawa, very clean city, friendly people. Actually, everywhere I have been in Canada has been that way, but Ottawa really stuck in my mind for some reason.

Hi Winterland welcome to the CFL, truly one of a kind entertainment.
Speaking of which, were you able to see yesterdays classic and so far the game of the year, Calgary vs Edmonton?
If you did, what did you think?

Ottawa's a great city - just don't go there if you have U.S. plates on your car. Rent a Canadian car instead. Deep seated, generational mistrust and even hatred still exists by some (a small but noticeable red-neck minority) around the Ottawa Valley for Americans, who a couple of hundred years ago tried to invade on several occasions. One would think that's all Rideau Canal (built as a way for politicians to escape in the event of an invasion) water under the Bank Street bridge, but animosity still exists, unfortunately (I'm speaking from first-hand experience here).

They'll get a team. It's just a matter of time. These things move very slowly in a city infested with multiple layers of bureaucracy.

Much like winterland I'm an American CFL fan who can't watch games live because I don't access to ESPN 360.I've been a fan of CFL since ESPN carried games in the 1980's.I never really have had a favorite team except for the Baltimore Stallions who weren't that far away from my North Carolina home.I was so hoping they could have stuck it to the NFL if they were allowed to keep the Colts name to piss off Robert Irsay.
Anyway, I am glad Hamilton and Saskatchewan are doing well these days.What the hell is wrong with Toronto?How the mighty have fallen.
Keep 'em flying! :cowboy:
Sammie Bullock

Always remember thr Baltimore Stallions!! :rockin: