The Idiot Crossover.

Great season, this one. We have six legitimate contenders for the Grey Cup, and at least four coaches vying for Coach of the Year. This year’s championship is going to be hard-earned, well deserved, and some worthy clubs are going home empty.

Whoever said life was fair, had to work for the CFL. The crossover playoff format makes it possible for a deserving team in one division to cross over to the other division come playoff time if it has achieved a better record during the regular season. That’s only just. However, what is equal is sometimes inequitable, and even, perhaps, unwise.

Once more this year, two eastern clubs will be playing out the string - a number of meaningless games - from about mid-September until the regular season’s end in November. The final weekends of the season, when the best, regional clashes are set to occur, will be moot. Hamilton and Montreal are going to the dance; Toronto and Ottawa are going home. In those two markets, NFL and NHL are going to eclipse CFL interest: not a good thing.

It’s hard for me to argue a point that I feel in my heart but can’t put adequately into words. The Ottawa Renegades finished third in the East in 2003 and 2005 but lost out to a crossover team. The Renegades club folded after 2005. What might a playoff encounter, and possibly even a playoff win, have done for that team’s survival?

If the CFL and its fans truly want the entire league to survive, it is going to take a review of the crossover playoff format. Yes, it’s fair, but it is costing bums in seats in key demographics.

Divisional, regional rivalries are good business. A pair of Ottawa at Toronto games in October ought to be important, even if “merely” a battle for third place. Meaningful games draw crowds. And listen to the coaches who say, “We’re not overly concerned with the record.” Right they are. The crossover blows, and kills interest in the East. Abandon it, and return to regionally focused rivalries, like this weekend’s Labour Day matches.

Just a reminder that Ottawa still has not played Toronto or BC yet. That’s five games against the bottom two teams, the teams that pretty much every other team has beat. Don’t count them out yet.

I get that the crossover sucks for the teams that are bumped out but there is no way team with 5 wins out of 18 games should be in the playoffs while one with 10 is out. It would be ridiculous. The crossover is there for a reason. Every leauge has some kind of wild card/crossover system to deal with this.

Wow. It’s around this time of year we get the annual ‘get rid of the divisions’ thread. Not often we see one advocating the opposite.

With 9 teams in uneven divisions this is the best format the league can have even with it’s warts.

Agreed with others, Ottawa is not out of it as their strength in schedule gets weaker. Only 2 teams are playing out the string right now and I don’t think anyone saw BC and Toronto being 1-9 and
1-8 respectively.

If Halifax happens and the divisions can be evened out with less inter-division play, it will help.

No crossover is fine unless they readjust the schedule to play more divisional games

When I saw the thread title, I was getting all ready to scold CFL Pete about making a federal election thread in the CFL Talk subforum. :slight_smile:

I think you mean “if” rather than “unless”, which I would agree with, especially if Halifax actually comes on board.

The NFL and the NHL both have a system to balance out divisions just like the CFL. Cross over or wild card, it amounts to the same thing. It’s about not letting sub-par teams into the playoffs. You simply can not get rid of the cross over. IMO

Cross over is not an issue. Just rename the divisions. Get rid of the “East and West” titles.

How about this

The City of Calgary hosts the Grey Cup this year

Right now GGY Stampeders are the wild card team

They could win the East Semi and then the East Championship and become the visiting team in their own Stadium for the Grey Cup.

While SSK, EDM or WPG are in their dressing room. :o

A few years ago, I was hoping that the Grey Cup would be between Winnipeg representing the east and Hamilton, Toronto, or Montreal/Ottawa representing the west.

…talk about motivation!

I doubt that the Stamps would actually be kicked out of their dressing room.

I’m at a cottage and I don’t know if it’s a contact high from all this pot smoke in the air, but you just blew my mind.
I have to find a bar to watch the Winnipeg sask game.

CFL is not the only league that has a crossover/wild card playoff team (NFL, NHL, NBA, MLB anyone heard of those leagues?).

Nothing idiotic about the crossover, getting rid of it would be idiotic. Yes, let’s have the 3-7 RBs 4 points clear of the Argos for a playoff spot while the Sak, Edmonton and Calgary are in a dog fight for 2 playoff spot and odd man out currently is 4 points better than Ottawa with a game in hand. Why don’t we just draw straws for playoff spots instead, that would give everyone an “equal” chances. Got to be better than that arbitrary thing we use now, wins.

Whether you prefer 1 division (as I do) or east-west with a crossover, that crossover means the best teams get into the playoffs. And right now it would not change who is in the running for a playoff spot. Only the pathetic Lions and Argos are out so far (or at least just waiting for it to be official). Ottawa is 2 wins behind Montreal and coming up on 3 games against the Argos. If they can’t win at least two of those games they don’t deserve a playoff spot.

I still think the league needs to go to 1 division, but if they must stick their head in the sand on this one at least with the crossover the best 6 get in.

For those hoping for change when Halifax arrives I hope the league is not that stupid. 10 and an 18 game schedule means a perfectly balanced schedule. Just like I have no interest in ever again seeing a 5 or 6 win team in the playoffs while a team with a superior team sits out I don’t want to see a schedule were only some of the leagues teams visit my team. In a 31 team NHL it is unavoidable, in a 10 team CFL it is not and would be detrimental to the league. People whine about Toronto attendance, but how good would it be if 2 or 3 of those western teams didn’t play at BMO this season. Especially if one the ones that did was BC.

Some people here seem determined to drag the league into an early grave in the name of tradition.

Some people here seem determined to drag the league into an early grave in the name of tradition.
Yup moses which is why this discussion forum gives me the willies so often and I just don't want to come here albeit I THINK most of the posters here are actual CFL fans but I'm actually not certain of that to any degree at any point of time, depending. This discussion forum is a weird one I must say. Mind you the CFL not being a "major" and yet having all the games televised on a major sports network like TSN with a panel and such, is a weird one to boot I must say. Me likely though... 8)

The most intriguing poster/weird one here in my mind is TravelPat, a consistent poster and goes to TiCat games but brings out so many odd reflections on the league and consistently appears, not so obvious though, to try and compare the CFL to the Blue Jays, Bills etc, American major leagues, just difficult to figure out. But seems likeable to boot… :-\ The word “passive aggressive” comes to mind with TravelPat but I’m not even sure that’s the correct description for this poster. :-\ As I say, he seems quite likeable and quite passionate about the CFL’s success, I guess. :-\

I’m thinking it would still not be good, but likely better than if 2 or 3 of those western teams did play at BMO.

On the one hand, I get the appeal of playing games against more teams (all, in a 10-team league). On the other hand, I get the appeal of more games against regional rivals and more mystique for the Grey Cup.

If proper market research showed that the wave of the future is a united league in which each team plays home-and-away against each other team and the six with the best records make the playoffs, then I’d support it. I suspect, though, that the market would be better served with greater emphasis on the divisions and more regional match ups.

No I’m pretty sure the attendance would be better because those Western teams are the moneymakers of the CFL. The fans of those teams who live in Toronto would show up to those games. I’d say there might be more Riders fans than Argos fans in Toronto. It was very apparent during the Grey Cup there when it seemed like the only jersey not present in the stands were Argos jerseys.

Remember, people in S Ontario outside of a certain quite regional and not that large demographic in Hamilton and Toronto surrounding area are obsessed with the Blue Jays and not the TiCats or Argos.

I don’t know. Saskatchewan causes a slight bump over normal, but I don’t think the other West teams do. Hamilton, for obvious reasons, is still the best draw. There are a lot of former Maritimers in Ontario as well, so maybe they’d come out to BMO in decent numbers when the Schooners are in town.

I wouldn’t;t mind seeing the crossover dumped…But, only if it was replaced with a two game total point game between the to top teams in whatever division it was required. I was at the 2nd game of that type of series in 1986 and it was SPECTACULAR!!!