The 90th Grey Cup was quite a poignant one for one of the teams and very important one too as the sport was regaining its identity following the failed American experiment in the mid 1990’s. The 2002 season saw 9 teams compete for the 2 places in the Grey Cup including an introduction of one new franchise called Ottawa Renegades from the capital. The Renegades were replacing the gap left by the Ottawa Rough Riders who folded 7 years previous in the mist of the American experiment having been around since 1876 making them one of the oldest. Out of the 9 teams involved in the regular season only 6 could make it through to the play-offs where 4 Western teams made it through due to the crossover and only 2 from the East. The 2002 Grey Cup was hosted in Edmonton and involved the team from Edmonton too in the Edmonton Eskimos as the faced off against Montreal Alouettes. The match-up involved an intense rivalry that has existed since the 1950’s as they had met in the Grey Cup 11 previous times to this, albeit Montreal were in a previous form to what they are now, which is why it made this game so unique. There was added spice to the occasion as both teams won their respective divisions which gave them both byes to their divisional finals. This was where the hosts of the 90th Grey Cup, the Eskimos fought hard to edge out the Winnipeg Blue Bombers in the West final by 33 points to 30, while Montreal’s path was a lot more clearer they eased past the Toronto Argonauts 35-18. As intriguing matches go this was up there, but there was more to the contest than just the match itself as it was about how the Alouettes rose from the ashes and reclaimed the Grey Cup for the first time since 1977 and won it in Edmonton’s backyard. Montreal were only starting to emerge as a force again on the Canadian Football scene ever since they relocated from Baltimore in 1996 after the leagues failed American dream. At first the Alouettes new future appeared to be short lived due to a lack of energy for the game around the city, this was proven as poor attendances were clear for all to see at the Olympic Stadium. However a change was on the horizon as grassroots participation was increasing and fans were regaining their love for the game that started in 1874 when Montreal University, McGill faced Harvard. The turnaround in fortunes appeared to be complete when on November 24th 2002, Montreal took on Edmonton in the 90th Grey Cup. So how did the match go down, well there was only a single scored in the first quarter when Terry Baker made a 68 yard punt to the endzone. The second quarter saw Montreal extend their lead to 11-0 by adding 10 points through Wide Receiver Pat Woodcock touchdown (6) with Terry Baker adding the extra 1, before Baker kicked a field goal to add 3 more points (10). At half-time Montreal led 11-0, but Edmonton came back into the game thanks to a touchdown by Ricky Walters as a result from a 17 yard pass from quarterback Ricky Ray. Sean Fleming then added the conversion before securing a field goal from 13 yards to put Edmonton within a point of Montreal. So it proved that the game would be decided in the 4th and final quarter, where Montreal increased their 1 point lead to 8 as a result of wide receiver Jeremaine Copeland touchdown from a 47 yard pass from Anthony Calvillo. Edmonton then replied with a touchdown of their own with another Ricky Ray assist and Ed Hervey with the touchdown. However the Eskimos did miss the conversion meaning the scoreline was 18-16 with less than a minute to go on the clock. With that said Montreal did add another touchdown and Copeland got his second from a kick-off return, Terry Baker added the conversion. The end result was 25-16 to the Alouettes and a victory made even sweeter winning in the hometown of their rivals. The MVP award went to quarterback Anthony Calvillo.
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This was the 83rd edition of the prestigious Grey Cup and it took place during a time of turmoil within the Canadian game with instable ownership putting the Canadian Football League on life support. The early and mid-1990’s saw the CFL take the brave decision of expansion, not in Canada but in the United States. Part of the reason behind this grand and bold plan was to reignite the Canadian game and bring growth to what seemed to be a dying sport. The idea behind the expansion into America was to serve markets within certain states which were lacking an NFL franchise, however there was no thought and not much research behind the strategy. The problems were that because the Canadian Football field is wider and longer it was difficult to put the pitch into stadiums that were there to serve American Football solely. Furthermore the Canadian player quota system had to be scraped to entice American teams to join. Many franchises in America were created between the short lived years of the American experiment, which began with Sacramento Gold Miners in 1993, then after came the likes of Shreveport Pirates, Memphis Mad Dogs and who could forgot the Las Vegas Posse (maybe most as they only lasted 1 season, as did a number of other franchises). In spite of what could be perceived as a failed strategy, came a franchise who to an extent left a great legacy, the Baltimore Stallions. Formed ready for the 1994 season under the name Baltimore CFLers, they reached the Grey Cup that year as East Division champions, losing in the final 23-26 to BC Lions. Having survived one season the franchise appeared to be a success so Baltimore under a new name, Baltimore Stallions went again in 1995 and achieved something that will never be completed again, an America team winning the Canadian Grey Cup. The 1995 Grey Cup was played at Taylor Field in Regina, home to the Saskatchewan Roughriders, the smallest place to host a Grey Cup, but without question the city with the most passionate fans. This was proven when the people of Saskatchewan got right behind the 83rd Grey Cup, despite the Roughriders failing to make the play-offs finishing 6th in the North Division with a 6-12. However this event was all about the Baltimore Stallions and the Calgary Stampeders and America versus Canada, this was sure not to disappoint, not least because of the testing weather conditions facing the teams. This was the reason why the 83rd Grey Cup earned the name of the Wind Bowl. So how did the game break down, well Don Matthews the Stallions coach had a major advantage along with the rest of the American teams to begin with as they were able to operate without any roster restrictions which the Canadian franchises had to follow. This allowed Matthews to build a class team above any other and this showed during the game against the Stampeders. Chris Wright started the scoring off playing an 82-yard punt to Carlos Huerta, putting the Stallions 7-0 before the Stampeders came back to edge the 1st quarter through 2 field goals by English born Mark Mcloughlin. Doug Flutie added to this early in the 2nd quarter to leave Calgary 13-7 up. However from then on Baltimore dominated by scoring three field goals plus a touchdown (Carlos Huerta FG x3 & Alvin Walton TD), to give them a 10 point lead (23-13) at the end of the 2nd quarter. The 3rd quarter involved 1 touchdown for either side, firstly Calgary through Flutie, Mcloughlin with the conversion, then Baltimore replied through Tracy Ham (Huerta with the conversion). The 4th and final quarter ended with Baltimore tightening their grip on the game through two more field through Carlos Huerta who battled the windy conditions. The Grey Cup ended 37-20 in favour of Baltimore and their quarterback, Tracy Ham received MVP. The victory was seen as one of the greatest in Canadian Football history as that was Baltimore’s 18th in the whole season, something that has and possibly never will be matched again. Although after this historic season the American experiment was over with the franchises in the States folding and Baltimore becoming an NFL franchise after the Cleveland Browns relocated. This resulted in the re-launch of the Montreal franchise which was seen as a great move which helped restore some national pride back into Canadian Football, as the failed American experiment was seen to be taking some patriotism away. Nevertheless one of the Grey Cups which help define the direction of the game.
This blog in a way is a follow up to my previous one about broadening the appeal of the Canadian Football League. In my view the CFL is vastly becoming an appealing product that with the right marketing can grow even bigger and have an appeal outside of Canada. One of the ways to do this would be to bring a game (to test the waters so to speak) across the pond to the UK and see the reception it receives. Clearly it will not be as popular as when the NFL comes to town but CFL offers a completely different experience, most notably with the various changes in rules from the NFL. The appeal of one game in the UK would in my opinion attract various types of fans, firstly the passionate ones who would travel from Canada to make a vacation of it or even a number of hard-core fans within the UK. Secondly there would be fans like myself who are quite new to CFL (taken an interest in the last couple of years) who would love to experience it, then finally UK fans of NFL who would be interested in attending to see how it compares to its American counterpart. But where? I suggest staging games at a smaller venue compared to Wembley with Stadium:MK being a potential venue given its history of hosting events that are not football (Soccer, which is the stadiums main use) related events. Also the city itself can put on a really good show to support the events which the stadium hosts. For example I was lucky enough to get tickets to the recent Rugby World Cup and one of the games I went to was in Milton Keynes where they put on a fanzone in a large park with rugby specific events and lots of volunteers dotted around Milton Keynes on hand to offer advice or give directions. My point from this is I can imagine the CFL doing something similar if they do decide the time is right to play in the UK, as the stadium (32,000) is suitable for the demand of a Canadian Football game, the city and its infrastructure is suitable enough to deal with masses of people in one place at a time. It is also worth noting that with Milton Keynes being a fairly new place (developed within the last 50 years) and regeneration happening over the few years there are lots of new modern restaurants to suite virtually anybody and make their time a pleasant one. Realistically will it happen? As much as I would love it to and I know I am not alone in saying that, I can’t see it on the horizon as the CFL seems pretty much content with its operations solely in Canada. However if they want an increase in revenue this should seriously be considered as the brand could only increase by making this happen due to it only being a one off to begin with so they are not going to lose money by making this happen. Considering everything the best time to do this so it does not conflict with NFL coming over would be right at the beginning of the CFL in June or July which may be the most appealing to fans alike as well. Who would the teams be? Well there is currently 9 teams in the CFL (4 in the East Division & 5 in the West Division) and virtually all of them would have some appeal one way or another. Being a follower of the Toronto Argonauts I would love to see them come across of course, but the reason for the appeal would be the history the team has and as we all know we all like a team with history here in the UK. Then there’s Saskatchewan Roughriders who seem to be the most well supported (and riches) team in Canada and a decent team too (Discounting this season though as they are 2-15). Other teams with varying appeal would be Calgary Stampeders who arguably are the best team currently, while Hamilton Tiger-Cats are the best in the East. Then there’s the newest franchise, Ottawa REDBLACKS which will be looking to drum up a fanbase and could potentially become the Jacksonville Jaguars of Canadian Football in terms of being a new franchise who plays games regularly abroad.
All in all I’m sure any observer of the CFL whether you’re a die-hard or new to the game would just be happy to see any 2 sides do battle in the UK. Intro Having seen the soring success the NFL has seen over the years I believe that the Canadian Football League could have something similar, although not on the same level might I add. The CFL did once try to expand its reach back in the 90’s in the United States to what was very limited success with the Baltimore Stallions coming out of the experiment with any glory. The result of this failure caused the league to suffer a period of decline as well as losing the Stallions to an NFL franchise while the rest of the American CFL franchises ceased business. However two decades on I believe the league has learnt from past mistakes and could be ready to expand its appeal further. So what could be done? Team number 10? Well firstly a tenth team to participate in the CFL is a must and something that seems to be on the cards within the not too distant future. There have been several mooted places to start the team such as the Halifax, Windsor or Moncton area which have come close to getting a team previously, Quebec which is another place that has been mentioned, however certain factors may mean Quebec is not viable. Another option that hasn’t been talked about is having a team on Newfoundland, in St John’s for example. This option would be an interesting proposition as there is potential to grow a passionate fanbase on the island and give the CFL another dimension. Other possible ones include Saskatoon and maybe Yukon but a major point that needs to be considered when setting up a CFL franchise is the potential fanbase as no consideration for this could have serious consequences as found with the US experiment. Bringing the game to the UK Secondly and arguably the most important would be for the CFL teams to follow the NFL lead and play games abroad. By doing this the league would receive masses of exposure on a global scale and would be following what many other sports have been doing in recent years. For example the NFL play 2 to 3 games at Wembley England a year so why couldn’t the CFL do the same? Obviously not at Wembley as a smaller stadium should be used to test the waters, but think about this would be a great way to grow an international fanbase and to increase revenue. If this were to be considered I would suggest either using an alternate stadium in London like the Olympic Stadium (54,000) or if the league wanted to explore another area they could use St James Park (52,000), alternatively King Power (32,500) in Leicester if they wanted a stadium in the middle of the UK. Either way by playing in a stadium like this it would be a great tester for popularity of Canadian football within the UK and may attract fans from Canada for the event. Obviously the only problem with this is the expanded pitch size needed which may rule out certain stadiums. CFL on the console? Finally finishing on a minor point and that is concerning a CFL console game, although this seems like a long way off it could be a fairly viable option. Regarding this the CFL have two choices either partner with the NFL join the Madden franchise, alternatively they could choose to another major video sports game partner like 2K. Either way this would be a great way to really promote the CFL brand and attract a worldwide audience. Concluding view Overall I feel these three points would help massively to boost its brand and global reach but obviously all three won’t happen at once and I believe the second point about playing games abroad would be a great start. Games could be strategically picked for the UK and possibly France with Montreal Alouettes playing a game there. In my view there is so much potential to tap into the league just needs to realise it, but the futures bright and things seem to be looking up!
The 6-foot-6, 325 pound athlete Danny Groulx is the next in the series of prospects as we build up for the draft next week. The offensive lineman who attended Laval University loves the physicality of the game having told TSN that “when I get on the field, I like to hit people and have fun doing it” and that he chose football to hockey due to there being no restriction in being allowed to hit people whereas in hockey there is an age restriction. So given Groulx clearly loves a tackle this attribute will give him an extra hand when going in the CFL draft on the 12th of May. In the CFL scouting Bureau Groulx was ranked 4th back in September while in December he slipped to 8th and just recently in the final rankings before the draft he rose up to 5th making him a very appealing pick. During the CFL combines Groulx ranked 5th out of the offensive line during the bench press racking up 21, while in the 3 cone drill he ranked 3rd with a time of 8.03. Overall very impressive, but where will he end up?
Introduction Canadian Football is usually seen as the less attractive sibling in North American football as America’s NFL trumps the national game in Canada mainly due the financial power of the league and its teams. However there is vast appeal of CFL, most notably as the game is played at a faster pace compared to the NFL with a shorter play clock (20 seconds as opposed to 40), meaning double the excitement in that time. Each game as four quarters of 15 minutes each meaning the games last 1 hour in total (3 hours overall if commercial breaks are included). It is also worth noting if you don’t know much about Canadian Football that each team has an extra man compared to American Football, 12 instead of 11. Furthermore the pitches are bigger and wider (150-yards in length, incl. 20-yard endzones and 65 yards wide) meaning the Linemen need to be more pacey in order to close down the opposing teams offense. Additionally players in the CFL tend to be quicker and lighter than in the NFL as well as being smaller as the America football teams cut them from the roster after deeming them an inappropriate size. Brief League & teams overview So that’s just a bit of background information on Canadian Football and the CFL highlighting the main rules. Now to look at the teams where there are currently nine, with the latest (Ottawa Redblacks) being formed in 2010 after a number of failed franchises in Ottawa. The nine teams are split into two conferences, Eastern and Western meaning five are in one while the remaining four are in the other, although all the teams do play each other home and away with the season being 20 weeks, starting in June and finishing in November. The five teams in Western division consists off, BC Lions, Calgary Stampeders, Edmonton Eskimos, Saskatchewan Roughriders and Winnipeg Blue Bombers, while in the Western division there is Hamilton Tiger-Cats, Montreal Alouettes, Ottawa Redblacks and Toronto Argonauts. All the teams compete for the prestigious Grey Cup which is one of the oldest sporting trophies in the World having begun in 1902, although the professional competition (CFL) began in 1958. The teams Edmonton Eskimos Founded: 1949 Division: Western Colours: Green/Gold Stadium: Commonwealth stadium (56,302) No. of Grey Cups: 13 Most recent: 2005 Montreal Alouettes Founded: 1946 Division: Eastern Colours: Red/Blue/ Silver/White Stadium: Percival Molson Memorial Stadium (25,012) No. of Grey Cups: 7 Most recent: 2010 Saskatchewan Roughriders Founded: 1910 Division: Western Colours: Green/White/Black Stadium: Mosaic Stadium (33,427) No. of Grey Cups: 4 Most recent: 2013 |
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