Sports Review, Canadian Football

Those that know me well know that I have always been a sucker for something different, odd, or a bit out of the norm. For example, I chose to play viola in elementary school, not because I liked the sound, but because I'd seen a viola on Mr. Rogers Neighborhood and had never heard of it before. This was something out of the ordinary, different, 0dd, unique. The decision served me well as I had opportunities that I would not have had playing cello or violin, but that isn't the point.

So it should come as no surprise that when I heard that Canada also plays football (american style football) but that it was a little different, I was immediately interested. In the past I've only managed to occasionally smuggle a recording of the Grey Cup (their championship) into the states (no it isn't really smuggling, its perfectly legal, but it sounds better this way). Now, our current cable provider shows a fairly large number of CFL (Canadian Football League) games and I just catch them on the DVR and watch them when I want.

Personally, I find the differences exciting just for being different, but they do alter the feel of the game significantly. For example, the field is 10 yards longer and teams only get 3 downs rather than 4 to move the ball 10 yards. You would think this would result in a much slower game with more punts and less scoring, but the opposite is true.

You see, in addition to those differences, the field is 15 yards wider. There is an extra player on each team (for 12 each) but that isn't enough space to plug up 30% more field so the game is more spread out allowing more passing and running lanes and a better chance for end around plays to be successful. The endzone is 20 yards deep rather than 10 (the goal posts are in the middle of the endzone rather than the back) so that goal line offense is not as cramped as it is in the U.S. Plus teams are simply more aggressive.

The longer field results in teams rarely being backed up against their goal line (you almost never get a touchback on a kickoff). The kick itself rarely goes past the 10 yard line and is usually run back to the 30 or 40. Interestingly, being backed up against the goal line is considered much worse than in the U.S. Teams will routinely concede a safety rather than have to punt from their own endzone. I'm guessing it is just too hard to get a good long punt and prevent a runback. I figure they would rather take the 2 points loss than take that big of a risk of giving up 7.

One more interesting point is a single point. If a kick is taken for a touchback in Canadian Football (kickoff or field goal, I'm not certain with a punt and have heard both) the receiving team does still get to start from their 20 yard line, but the kicking team gets one point. As a result, field goal attempts almost always score at least one point (it must miss the endzone or be run out of the endzone) and occasionally points are scored on the kickoff by the kicking team.

All in all I find it very exciting and enjoy watching it. That isn't to say that I will stop watching American Football, but I do enjoy the CFL occasionally to change things up.