Interested in following the Canadian Football League? The CFL might not be as big as the NFL, but make no mistake — this is a league that is jam-packed with action and excitement, and it won’t be long before you’re fully immersed in the action. In this post, we’re going to run through everything you need to know to become an out-and-out CFL superfan, including reasons for following the league, the differences between the CFL and NFL, the matchday rituals that fans follow, and how to pick a team.
Why Follow the CFL?
First of all, the most obvious benefit of following the CFL is that the season starts much earlier than the NFL season. You’ll have to wait until September for the action in the United States to kick off. In Canada, the league starts in June, which means you’ll get to enjoy football during the summer months!
Games in the CFL tend to be exciting and high-scoring, too, thanks to the larger size of the playing field, NFL fields are 100 x 53 ⅓ yards; CFL fields are 110 x 65 yards, which means there’s a lot more space for players to show off their speed and creativity.
Note the Differences
The CFL is mostly similar to the NFL, but there are some differences that you’ll need to be aware of (or at least you’ll be if you’re used to the NFL; if you’re a newcomer to football, then it won’t matter so much!).
We’ve already mentioned how CFL fields are larger. There can also be more players on the field (in the NFL, there can be eleven per team, with 22 on the field in total; in the CFL, each team can have 12, with a total of 24 on the field).
Perhaps the most notable difference is the number of downs. In the NFL, it’s four downs per possession. In the CFL, it’s only three, which results in faster gameplay.
Matchday Rituals
As with the NFL, gamedays are a big event in the CFL. Unlike the NFL, there’s a uniquely Canadian twist to the celebrations. Some teams have their own marching bands, while others, such as the Saskatchewan Roughriders, have strong fan identities. If you’re going to a Roughriders game, you better remember to wear green! There are also broad gameday traditions that span all clubs; fans will grill outside of stadiums, inspect the latest football betting lines, and gather in fan zones to mix with fellow supporters. And if the team wins? Expect a raucous, fun evening.
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Picking the Right Team
Now that you’ve got a good idea of what to expect from the CFL, it’s time to pick a team. You’ll have nine teams to choose from:
East Division
West Division
It’ll be best to support a team with whom you have some connection. Have you taken a trip to Montreal in the past? Then the Montreal Alouettes, the current Grey Cup champions, will make sense. Or maybe you have relatives living in Vancouver, in which case the BC Lions will be the way to go. If there’s no obvious way to choose, then read up on the background of each team. CFL teams tend to have strong identities, so there’ll likely be one team that you connect with!
Not that you necessarily need to pick a team to watch the CFL. As we said earlier, this league is full of exciting action and quality players, so you can simply tune in and enjoy the football, even if you don’t have a specific team to root for.
