Poll on the ratio

In this thread viewtopic.php?f=5&t=72243 there have been arguments made in favour of and against the ratio. The arguments are endless, but I think what really matters is the fans opinions. Without further ado you have the option of expressing your opinion, if the ratio were to be dropped. I choose option 2.

No one is advocating that the CFL should be “without Canadian players.”
Your “poll” is useless.

Aren’t you? How many Canadians would be in the league without the international player limits? No CIS players, that’s for sure, for the same reason as there are almost no Canadian quarterbacks in the league, that same old bias: “they haven’t played since they were seven years old, they haven’t had the same level of coaching, they haven’t faced the same level and speed of play as NCAA players”.

Based on population differences, for every Canadian player, there are ten American players of the same athletic ability. Right there, the deck is stacked against Canadian players. Throw in the aforementioned bias, and we’d see very few, if any Canadians in the league.

Therefore, as you are advocating for the elimination of the limits on American players, you are in effect advocating for the elimination of Canadian players in the CFL.

An "enforced" salary cap would require some Canadian talent be included. After the high priced American talent has been signed the team has to be filled out with lower priced players. Most American low priced players would not cross the border for the low salary offered. Canadian players would take that salary.

Remind me why Chris Williams decided to sit out a year. Wasn’t it because he had signed a standard rookie contract making the standard rookie salary?

I always thought that most rookies, both Canadians and Americans, end up making near the minimum salary allowed. There might be a few that end up getting paid a premium, but they are few and far between - and most of those are probably Canadian.

I favour retaining the ratio. Reasons are contained in the other long thread on this subject.

If the ratio is abolished, I will cease being interested in following the CFL, and will probably turn to rugby instead.

Got to agree with CatsfaninOttawa - no ratio, few if any Canadians in CFL. Never be another Russ Jackson now, under current rules, probably never be another John Cornish without the ratio.

Plus, if all players are American, how long before the rules morph to a NCAA or NFL bias? We may wind up with a USFL or European type product? Fair catches and seemingly minute long gaps between plays!

I, for one, like our game, and enjoy seeing some, regrettably few, CIS grads make the jump. Having said that, I can understand the frustration when a team loses a "better" American to keep the ratio, but that is part of the game. Like the wind at THF or the noise at Mosaic.

My vote is to keep the ratio.

I am more in favour of reducing the number of International players

You would probably guess that I voted no. And you're right. The thing is, while I want to see even more Canadians in the league, I would probably still watch even if there were none as long as it stays a three-down, big field game. And on the flip side, I would probably stop watching if it changed to NFL rules even if they made it all Canadian players. So for me, the CFL game itself is more important than its Canadian content. So I should have voted yes, I would still watch. The problem is that the wording of the answers means voting yes means I don't care about Canadian content, and I do. Left simply as Yes or No, I would have voted Yes.

This really reminds me of a poll sponsored by a political party. I remember one from the early days of the long-gun registry that asked questions suck as:

  • Do you think that hunters should be allowed to own and use rifles for use in hunting?
  • Do you think farmers and ranchers should be allowed to own and use rifles for protecting their livestock against predators?
  • Do you see a problem with a system of registering long guns that would restrict or hinder the ownership of long guns by those who have a valid and legal use for them?

Bet you guess which party sponsored this poll. And what the almost unanimous results were used to justify in Parliament.

I'm thinking there really are two questions needed here. The question in this poll is important, as it indicates whether the league would lose fans if they were to eliminate the international rule. And I suspect that most people would continue to watch. But a second question is needed for balance, asking what people would like to see as far as Canadian players in the league, with a range of answers:

  • I don't care if there are any Canadian players in the league.
  • I would like to see some Canadian players in the league, but not necessarily as many as there are now.
  • The number of Canadians in the league now is appropriate.
  • I would like to see more Canadian players in the league.
  • I think the league should be restricted to Canadian players only.

I do think that this question is also important.

And now that I'm thinking about it, a third poll about Canadian quarterbacks would be good to see:

  • I don't care if there are any Canadian quarterbacks in the league.
  • The league should encourage teams to have Canadian quarterbacks on their rosters.
  • The league should force teams to have at least one Canadian quarterback on their rosters.
  • All quarterbacks in the league should be Canadian.

Russ Jackson played over 40 year ago and there hasn’t been a good Canadian QB since.
John Cornish was a Kansas Jayhawk played and trained in the NCAA, he would have made the team regardless of his nationality.
Why would reducing the ratio morph into NCAA/NFL rules like fair catches?? that is ridiculous, a rule change like that would need the league and committees to decide and they would have to prove that a fair catch could reduce injuries etc
As proven by the fan support of the Jays, Raptors, TFC and Leafs, watching Canadians does not help attendance.

I’m not saying eliminate the ratio but they should look at “reducing” it by at least two.

Any chance we could get the poll answers changed here to simply Yes and No, and the topic changed to something like “Continue to follow without international rule”? (I know, a dangerous precedent, changing poll questions or answers.) I promise I’ll switch may answer to Yes if you do.

I know it's off season but can we please just stop with this?

The only thing I've gathered from this or any 'ratio' thread is how obscenely vocal a practically microscopic minority can make themselves. (anti-ratio proponents)

The rest of us (aka 99%) CFL fans want Canadian Football, in Canada, by Canadians - and anything less is quite simply... well... not Canadian, and not what we want.

But there are maybe a few dozen out of the TENS OF THOUSANDS of commenters on CFL.ca that don't understand this or are not happy with various Canadiana, and somehow make this into an 'issue' when it's not. It just isn't. it's a lame duck, a dead horse, a moot point, dead in the water, painfully belaboured, lingered over, non-issue.

Out of thousands of articles, and hundreds of hours of TV and radio programming it only takes 1... Just one Hack mook of a journalist that's desperate to hit a deadline every so often to try and turn ratio reforms into the semblance of a relevant topic. They fail. each and every time - because you can't say C-F-L without CANADIAN.

Please, just stop.

Well said Blindside :rockin: :thup:

Only have a minute so this will be quick.

I will not vote, I have no right to, it is your League.

My personal feelings:

CANADIAN Football League!

Keep as is, modify as appropriate.

Back to the Test Site, have a good week end!

Well said!! It’s the same 3 or 4 people on these boards and I know I don’t have to read their BS but they high jack almost every thread with their nonsense . I wish they’d just go away. This used to be a good place for commen sense discussion but these guys just want to cause arguments. Is that the definition of a TROLL???

I agree with both of you guys. My purpose in starting the poll was to, hopefully, show that the majority of fans like the Canadian content and want to keep it the way it is. In my honest opinion, without the ratio, this will lead to fewer Canadians playing Canadian Football. I would refuse to watch a bunch of Americans (only) playing OUR game.

:cowboy:

But we are discussing the cons and merits of the Canadian content rule. No one is talking about eliminating Canadians. What about Canadian players that make the roster without relying on the ratio? It’s not like we are talking about banning Canadian players… :?

The problem is when we have an opinion that the ratio should be reduced then that is a contrary opinion to the majority on CFL.ca and that is “Trolling”
Somehow if you believe that levelling the playing field in the CFL by bringing in the best players for a position then somehow you are not a real Canadian or you are a troll.
Calling someone a troll or leaning on the partriotism thing is just a way to end an argument or close a thread.
You just have to look at the attendance at Jays games, Raptors, Leafs and TFC no Canadian requirement, they make the team if they are good enough.
I don’t think there is enough Canadian talent out there to meet the ratio of the 9 teams. I’m not talking about eliminating the ratio but REDUCING the Canadian ratio by 2. That would give the teams more flexibility and save the teams money, that still leaves Canadian starters.

You beat me to it. Totally agree with you being allowed to state your opinion here, even though I disagree with most of what you’re saying. Where I have a problem is when a thread gets hijacked, which is why I tend to redirect the discussion to the Pros and Cons thread whenever I see it start to head down this path.

Too bad the two polls couldn’t be set up within this thread. They end up cluttering the topics list. But they’ll drop off soon. Interesting results so far, though.