Lets face facts here people.
Our universities are not football factories.
They’re bastions of education, first, second and third.
For the most part sports are what you do between classes.
So to expect our universities to produce top quality football talent is ridiculous.
Which is why its time for the CFL to sponsor its own summer junior league of up and coming talent.
They could play a 6 game schedule, and be coached by top CFL coaches.
I think right alot of our top football talent goes by the wayside.
Because you need an 80 average to get into most schools.
Either go the scholarship route, which in my opinion will never happen.
Or else the CFL should take the leadership role and sponsor their own league
where they can develop talent for the future.
If we can get the best talent at 16, 17 and 18 and train them right, we could produce alot
of good talent.
And I’d bet you’d see a Canadian QB in the CFL before you know it.
Far too much work to get going, they'd be better off just partnering with the CIS.
Too much work? I don’t think so.
And obviously the CIS route isn’t working.
I mean to not be able to produce one bloody quality QB in the last what, 15 years?
Nobody can tell me the talent isn’t out there.
Its just not being trained properly.
I think the reason we don't see any Canadian QB's has more to do with the roster rules in place regarding that position rather than the quality of the QB's themselves. Like someone else posted in another thread, a Canadian QB has a better chance of making the NFL than the CFL due to the roster rule.
The league could easily sponsor the CJFL and give it a measley million or two per season…
However since the CFL has come into money they are more willing to throw money at guys like Bart Andrus or Danny Machocia…
Back in the early eighties when the Riders were flush with TV cash they gave hundreds of thousands to the Hilltops and the Rams.
However back then there was territorial exemptions…so the Riders saw value in such a program.
Without these exemptions…there is no reason for a CFL team to invest in a junior program…
I believe in the 60s and 70s this was very common with teams like the Ottawa Jr. Rough Riders.
Now that the league is back on stable ground maybe they can consider such a program again… First they need a salary cap for management and coaches however…otherwise any extra money will simply go to them… That is exactly what has been happening the last 5 or so seasons.
Yup, the rules favour a CIS qb getting a more unbiased look from the NFL. The CFL needs to look at this but I don't have the answer, right now a CIS qb can go into a CFL camp and do his stuff and look good. Who knows.
I love football but universities should be about academics no. 1, 2 and 3, I don't care how many university players make pro in football, hockey, basketball, baseball, soccer or whatever, it's not the role of universities to produce guys who can dunk a basketball, shoot a puck 100 mph hour, or return kickoffs with lightning speed. That's my opinion and I'm sticking to it. Sports should never be professional, sounds goofy but that's my opionion, one reason I like the CFL because it's more amateur and that in salaries compared with the big 4 and other stuff out there.
Long live more amateur sports. I don't really care if a guy is "the best" at football or what the heck have you, I respect athletic talent but earn a living with an honest job I say and play more for fun. Man, Patrick Kane has a hard time putting a couple sentences together and he isn't the only one. That's plain sad.
Thats right Earl.
Why the CFL is using the CIS to get Canadian players is beyond me?
Sure they play football, but IMO there is alot of Canadian talent that goes by the wayside
because they haven't got the marks and/or money to get into university.
I mean you need an 80 average in most Canadian schools to get in now.
Throw in what, 10 grand a year if you are accepted, and you can see how
the talent pool gets diminshed.
True berezin plus the fact that the sport of hockey has grabbed a large chunk of the best Canadian atheletes whose fathers won't allow them to play football for fear of getting hurt and damaging their dream of playing in the NHL with the big money.
But all that being said, I find CIS football very entertaining and if the CFL went down the tubes, I woudn't have any trouble really getting into the CIS even though it's on par with NCAA tier 2 I guess is what they say.
Bottom line is too much is made of athletic talent to make a living at IMHO. Pro sports, all of it, could go belly up and wouldn't bother me one bit. In fact part of me wishes all pro sports leagues would cease to exist and I'm being honest. Or only exist to the point no one makes any more than say around 60,000 per year at it.
re_Time For CFL To Sponsor A CHL Like Football League_ :thup: This should be a CFL priority!! In spite of playing to few games CIS has Improved in all areas in Canada accept Toronto CFL, CIS , and CJFL and Football Canada_ should work more closely together, in continuing to strengthen and grow Canadian football, IMO CIS and CJFL should play interlocking schedule, to bring the season total of games to 12 over the present 8. This would ad the equivalent of two full current CIS seasons towards player development.Also it should be an area our Universities get funding to keep tuition costs down! Queens had attendance of 60,000 for only 5 home games, CIS is becoming very popular!! The Toronto teams need to be brought up to the same level as the rest of the CIS as well.
I don't think it goes far enough. The league must put in a development system in the next years, and for many of the reasons that you mention, CIS is not the way to do it (though the CFL must do more with them as well). I think that the way to do it is to build from the ground up, starting with pop warner. Money spent on the top end won't yield as much as money spent growing players and building a culture of football from the bottom up. Still any development is better than what the league is doing now.
LTF
Not that it will happen or should happen or whatever but I wonder if the CFL went to all mandatory Canadians what effect that would have on a junior development football league/program in Canada? I do think though that the majority of high school players who are very good and want to play at the next level will really buckle down and get the grades for university and try and find the money somewhere, part-time jobs, to be able to play at university. University is still far more prestigious than junior football and more talented.
If the league went to all Canadian content, there'd be a catastrophic drop in the level of play for a few years. However, the long term MIGHT mean better development for youth football, and definitely more kids playing, a good athlete, who doesn't think he's good enough, might make a try at playing and get in. The question is whether people would pay for a "lesser" product.
LTF
I was talking to a friend that played in the CFL yesterday about why trhere is no football Canada type of thing like hockey has and he said there is sort of but not really organised and every location goes about doing whatever they want. They should raise the age of junior football and see if they could make it semi pro. Junior football has no rules on giving players leased car or paying their rent for them so the teams that do that sort of stuff all the good players go play there then the rest play for the teams that get killed 60- 0 every week. So they would have to do some thing about that as well.
The thing is we just don’t have a culture of football, basketball or baseball that rivals how sports is viewed in the US, the closest we have is hockey. Sports is serious business in the US for all sports but hockey although in some northern states I think hockey is right up there. I’ve heard grade school coaches are getting paid some decent dollars for running top programs. Yup, grade school! We can’t relate to that in Canada. And that is fine with me.
I think we should leave the CFL as is with the import/non-import ratio, it’s a confusing subject as it is and no right or wrong.
maybe just have the CFL get their 8 teams to give money to the Minor Leagues in their communities! have summer camps for the leagues, in the cities that have teams. have CFL sponsored tournaments, CFL sponsored giveaways...
the CFL does need to make a bigger commitment to it's own home grown talent.
The TiCats have given money to minor football in Hamilton I know.
They should sponsor the CJFL for 200K. I’m positive those teams can use the $$$$. Unfortunately I don’t think the league exsists out East does it. I went to my first CJFL game last year and was impressed with how well the QBs could throw the ball.
I tell you what…the CFL better get off its **s and kick some money in to the CIS soon, insead of threatening to reduce the number of Canadian starters.
For a league that basically trades on Canadian nationalism, with its “This is OUR league” slogan, etc., for that little suggestion to come out during the playoffs was a major screw up by a league that has done everything right the past couple of years PR wise.
I don’t know what the CFL gives the CIS in funding, but I suspect it is apallingly low. If I was the CFL I’d been investing some serious dough into the only source of Canadian talent asap. Show me another business that wouldn’t protect itself by ensuring its future assets are nurtured and developed to their full potential.
how much if money was the issue then in the usa Jim Tressell THE OHIO STATE UNIVERSITY football coach is the highest paid state employee.We pay some college coaches more than CFL team payrolls.Football is the biggest sport in america and I dont see the cfl changing the import rule to add more canadians when they can pay americans cheaper wages.I do think they do need to change having mandatory canadian born starters and special teams rules.I think if you had to compete for your job it will make the league better.
I agree 100% Yukoner.
The CFL right now just sits back and lets our universties and high schools produce our football players with little or no
help from the league.
If we want to improve the depth of Canadian talent, the CFL has to take the lead.
If we train our players right, we can produce talent on par with the Americans.
After all, the world has caught up the US in almost every sport.
They can play us almost equal in hockey.
So why couldn't we in turn kick their butts in football?
If we do it right, we can.