Record TV Audience with overall 7.2M Total

CFL Talk
21

It's about peer pressure for bars to keep the NFL on, it's more about gambling and big TV names and such. But the actual interest from the heart of who watches football is more with the CFL and I think that's all across Canada, even if the bars in cities keep the NFL on and not CFL due to, as I say, the gambling and such. It's not interest from the heart nearly as much.

Like the porn analogy Xv. Have to admit, I love saying in public especially with "NFL only counts fans" that I prefer watching the CFL and only switch to the NFL is the CFL game is a blowout or is a totally meaningless game for both teams, ie both teams in playoffs and not fighting for a position type of thing. What I love is someone who doesn't know me and think they are trying to impress me saying they don't like the CFL and then I say I'm a season ticket holder, don't care about the NFL from the heart sort of thing but do watch it but the CFL ris no. 1 and the Grey Cup etc. Love the looks I get when I say this, - someone openly admits to loving the CFL over the NFL. It's hilarious. One guy kept saying the CFL is minor league, the players all want to play in the NFL where the money is big etc. And then I say back to him - so? The CFL is our league and the GreyCup is our championship and it's great to have our own league etc. The guy looked stunned and didn't know what to say. :stuck_out_tongue: Again people trying to impress but they look like dunces to me that they can't figure me out. I love it.

22

YEa, the NFL is a gambling league.. they try to make money by having statistics up the ying yang for people to bet on.

the CFL is more about entertainment and good football on the field while the NFL invests more in its show on the TV! they feel it is more important to present the idea of football to its fans and of course they don't know any better!

some people out there just are skewed ideas.

23

Why is it that these topics always devolve into ripping on the NFL? There is absolutely nothing wrong with enjoying both leagues. I love, and watch, both the NFL and CFL because I love football. Being a fan of one doesn't mean you can't be a fan of the other. This constant ripping of the NFL just makes CFL fans look petty. Instead of focusing on what you hate about the NFL, focus on what you like about the CFL. It's not like posting on a CFL fan forum is going to convert anyone who doesn't like the CFL. Those people aren't on here, so you're preaching to the converted. Everyone who is on these boards already loves the CFL more than most people. They wouldn't sign up if they didn't. So can we please stop the unnecessary ripping of the National Football League and just focus on the accomplishments of the Canadian Football League?

24

The problem with this "lost" generation in Ontario doesn't have to do with TV blackouts during that time.

It has more to do with 3 football teams, that haven't been competitive towards each other for almost 30 years.
When this past Sundays game was only the 3rd time the Argos and Ticats met in the playoffs in the past 20 years, throw Ottawa in there also.

25

Blogskee, I don't want to rip the NFL but I will because of one person - Phil Lind of Rogers, the man behind the Bills experiment in Toronto. The guy goes around saying in the press that southern Ontario people are more NFL fans than CFL fans blah, blah, blah. Now I don't care what he thinks in his head but they guy loves ripping the CFL publicly so I'm going to give it back to Mr. Lind and tell I won't spend a dime on the NFL in Toronto blah, blah, blah. The guy wants a fight, he's got it. What he couldn't figure out was that if he did this series right with respect to respecting the CFL and Argos, he might have had a lot of my money up front for Bills games. But he seems to say I don't care about you CFL fan. That's his right, my right to trash him a bit and not give the man a dime of my money for his NFL. Which is sad because I do like watching the NFL and following the league somewhat.

26

There is nothing wrong with CFL only and as you say “ripping the NFL” is also fine by me.
Especially where I live and the need to defend our league against the wannabe No Funners only mentality.

27

Nothing wrong with a bit a national pride. If we don't protect this league against the self interests of corporation like Rogers you end up with teams like the Jays and Raptors. Canadian teams playing in an American market that could careless about them. Little cash strapped fish in a big rich pond.

28

I’m not ripping the NFL. I happen to find entertainment in it as well.

I’m just longing for more people my age in my location to be as enthusiastic for CFL football as I am. Like I say, in downtown Toronto, when it comes to football as a spectator sport in public places, its the NFL and only the NFL.

Again, not ripping it, just wishing Toronto, especially young people my age, could get enthusiastic and direct some of those ous & ahhs towards a Chad Owens kick return as much as they ouu & ahh whatever catch or big hit they see on the NFL Red Zone channel.

29

Well said Riderfan. :thup: I was watching CTV news and they were interviewing a Brit about the new royal engagement there and the commentator from Britain when introduced said “Hello Toronto” and the newscaster, forget her name, replied “well Toronto and the rest of Canada” and the commentator said something like ‘of course’ with a little snicker knowing he boo booed.

30
:thup: bang on Rider fan.

All is fair in love and war and in this instance whatever it takes to protect the CFL.

31

canoe.ca has a poll in the sports section, asking which football games you watched this weekend:
cfl playoffs
cfl and nfl
nfl
neither

cfl playoffs is currently leading 58%
cfl & nfl 22%
neither 11%
nfl reg season 10%

feel free to cast your vote:

http://slam.canoe.ca/Slam/Football/CFL/home.html
32

Thanks d_g CFL#1

33

Just to illustrate how far-reaching and popular CFL has become in recent years, I was shocked last Friday night when a buddy and me were imbibing at the local pub (The Englander, here in San Leandro), when I looked up and saw TSN on at least two HD screens directly above the bar! I couldn't believe it, so I mentioned it to the bar tender and he said that there is a Canadian bar tender there who wanted to watch the CFL so he's paying for TSN himself! Amazing! :thup: So now I have a neighborhood pub with all the action in HD! Yahoo!

34

There is nothing wrong with liking only the CFL. However, who are you trying to reach when ripping on the NFL? Everyone who posts on here are already CFL fans.

Who are you defending the CFL too on this forum? Again, everyone on here likes the CFL, so no one who reads your pots will be an NFL-only person. Now, if you have to tell people in everyday life about the CFL, that’s different, but that has nothing to do with this forum. Like I said before, you’re preaching to the converted.

Also, calling it the No Fun League is completely false. Watching what Michael Vick did on Monday night was LOADS of fun. That was as dominating a performance as I have seen in my two-plus decades of watching football, both American and Canadian. But you can keep having a closed mind, that’s your choice. I’m glad that there are two leagues that I can enjoy.

There is nothing wrong with national pride, but what does railing against the NFL on a CFL forum have to do with “protect[ing] this league against the self interests” of companies like Rogers? Posting on here will not change anything Rogers decides to do. If they want to spend $1-billion to bring an NFL team to Toronto, they will do it regardless of how fans of the CFL feel.

War? This is not a war. War implies that there are two sides against one another. This is NOT an “us vs. them” thing. It’s a “you hate the NFL” thing. Which is absolutely fine, but you’re making this out to be something much more than it is. Fans like you, from any league, make me shake my head. You like the CFL, then enjoy the CFL. You don’t like the NFL, don’t watch the NFL. All you’re doing by taking shots at the NFL is promoting the NFL.

joedavtav: I didn’t take you post as ripping the NFL. It’s guys like ArgoT that seem to take issue with the National Football League. Which, on its own, is fine. I just don’t see the need to take shots at the NFL. It serves no purpose.

My entire point is that calling the NFL the No Fun League or saying that the games suck or whatever else one might think serves no purpose on a CFL forum because everyone on here will either be (a) anti-NFL; (b) pro-CFL; (c) pro-CFL and pro-NFL; (d) both (a) and (b). If one doesn’t like the NFL, that is fine. But one’s energy could be better spent promoting how great the CFL is as opposed to saying how crappy the NFL is.

35

Well Blogskee you do bring up several points.
I will try to provide you with my point of view.
First I do not watch the NFL, gave it up years ago and yes because for me anyway it became the No Funners, less entertaining, big bucks, the inability to relate to mega spoiled brat millionaires and the elephant in the room here in Toronto. However, to each his own.
If you have lived in this town, then my friend you would know what some of us CFL diehards have endured in the schools, the parks etc.
I am not looking for sympathy and do not need same, because I can look after myself in debating the differences between the two leagues as inevitably I have found how the vast majority who claim to cherish and love the NFL are misinformed and know very little about football.
It's frankly all about the office pool and or the bar mentality.
However I have found a noticeable shift in the thinking the last decade with the popularity of the CFL on an upswing, although very much this is a wannabe US city.

36

Well ArgoT good on ya. Nice to see people in TO who support the CFL. :stuck_out_tongue:

I have no issues with the NFL, don't really watch it alot, just sometimes when I have the time to surf sports. I'll watch the super bowl but just can't get into it like I do for the GC.

37

To follow up with what Argo is saying, I find that "NFL only lovers" are generally people who don't know much about football when I speak with them. They don't understand that running in the CFL is important like the NFL but used often differently, they don't understand the nature of time of possession vs field position, they don't understand the unique abilities of smaller linebackers and the skill set they bring, they don't understand the difference on strategy of 3 down vs 4 down ball and I could go on. An example are 2 women I know who don't have a clue about football but rave about the NFL because I know their husbands are in a pool and "Tom Brady is so cute" type of thing and "look at all the people at the games".

People who love and appreciate the CFL I find are more interesting people and more knowledgeable about all football and are just more enjoyable to be around. Able to see more the good things about Canada than harp on just the negative about Canada. And have more rounded egos as well.

38

You are complete entitled to not like the NFL. I don’t have an issue with at all. I hate arrogant sports fans of any league. I hate when the NFL refers to the Super Bowl champion as the World Champion. To me it smacks of arrogance and I have e-mailed many of the people involved in writing about the NFL (Peter King, Don Banks, etc.) to try and get them to stop referring to the Super Bowl champions as the World Champions because they aren’t the champions of the world. The NFL is driven by gambling, especially nowadays with fantasy football. I have had many of the same conversations as you have in regards to the NFL. You and I are very much on the same side of this debate. I think anyone who doesn’t give the CFL a go is an idiot. It is a great football league, and in many ways superior to the NFL. That said, I still do like the NFL.

I am through-the-roof ecstatic at the TV numbers that the CFL is doing these days. This is my favourite sports league, bar none. I am giddy as can be that the CFL looks to be expanding (not in actual teams, but in terms of popularity) while the NFL looks to be headed to labour Armageddon.

Also, as an aside, I did live in Toronto for six years (2003-2009), and I still commute there every day for work (Robarts Library) and/or school (University of Toronto). I know what Toronto can be like, but I also converse on a daily basis with many CFL fans. In fact, all the talk today at work was about how awesome the West Semi was and why the NFL should find a way to adopt the CFL’s OT format to ensure fairness. Keep fighting the good fight, and know that there are even Tiger-Cat fans trying to help the cause in Toronto.

39

I have found this to be true as well. IMO, it come from being more well-rounded. The more different things one takes in, the more knowledgeable one can be.

40

cflisthebest may not be the most liked poster on here, but come on.
Honestly he's correct in saying the NFL's popularity has a lot to do with gambling and fantasy football.
What's the problem with that comment.

Also there's nothing wrong in comparing the CFL to NFL or preferring one to the other. Nor is it wrong to express a sense of pride, excitement, loyalty, etc. to the CFL. I don't understand how that makes you insecure. This is a message board, and people are encouraged to express their opinions. Even if it's against the CFL, NFL or whatnot.