I became interested in Canadian Football about 3 and a half years ago given the rise of popularity of the NFL, but to be slightly different I chose a different route (although I must note that I did see some games on TV about 12 years ago when Setanta Sports (remember them?) held the rights). Immediately after following the various relevant Twitter handles and liking the various Facebook pages I ordered various books which would help give me a greater insight and understanding into ‘Canada’s game’. These books were the ‘Grey Cup encyclopaedia’ which gave details of the most memorable Grey Cup games of the past such as; legendary player turned coach leading his beloved Argos to the 92nd Grey Cup triumph, funnily the last Grey Cup played in Ottawa till this year’s 105th, or how could any forget the 50th Grey Cup which became known as the ‘Fog Bowl’ of 1962, plus many others which I could list. The other one was ‘The Canadian Football League: The Phoenix of Professional Sports Leagues’ which documented the growth of Canadian Football as well as the struggles the league faced throughout various years. The point is after reading both books I began to appreciate further the rich heritage and culture attached to the Canadian Football and the CFL. In addition to this, I felt a passion and a connection to the sport which I have with the likes of football (soccer), rugby, tennis and field hockey, the latter which I used to play. I then started to look out for results of teams and see how good each of the 9 were, I researched the best players for the teams, taking an even deeper interest, finding players like Edmonton’s Mike Reilly, Bo Levi Mitchell and Jon Cornish of Calgary, Ottawa’s Henry Burris and Darian Durant of Saskatchewan as well as Toronto duo Ricky Ray and Chad Owens, the list could go on. The question you’re probably asking yourselves now is “well, go on, who do you support/follow?” or if you’ve seen the title “why the Argos?”. Well let me explain; In the back of my mind I did have a team in mind to begin with before delving in to the various bits of research and the team was Toronto Argonauts. So why the Boatmen? Firstly, I do have some relatives who live in Canada, Ontario to be more specific and the area where they’re from within that is closest to Toronto as opposed to Hamilton or Ottawa. So, this did give me some sort of connection which is what I want from any sports team rather than just picking the team which has the most silverware, however I wanted more than just this. Secondly, my dad once told me about a time when he went to a CFL (when he was visiting the relatives mentioned) back in 1985 (I think) at the old Exhibition Field in Toronto as the Argonauts played host to the BC Lions. The final point which made up my mind was not anything to do with outside influences, it was a decision based on my football team Notts County. Let me tell you why; Most of you who read this probably will not have a great deal of interest in football (or soccer as you call it), but Notts County is the oldest professional football team in the World, formed in 1862, so it made sense if my CFL team was the oldest too (formed in 1873) as I like history. Plus, I did take in to account which team I would most likely go and watch (logistics) if I am lucky enough to be able to visit the beautiful country sometime in the future, maybe even a Grey Cup? In Toronto or failing that one in Hamilton featuring the Argonauts, as they’re due a Grey Cup in their city? Right?
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