It鈥檚 the news that CFL fans have been waiting to hear: the league is coming back in August.
There鈥檚 still a lot that needs to happen first, and a lot that can go wrong, but the league鈥檚 board of governors has approved a 14-game regular season that will begin in early August.
Teams now have less than two months to fill out their rosters, get the players across the border, holding training camps, and get ready to play.
Yes, teams have some players on contracts signed before COVID, and yes, there was free agency this past winter, but it鈥檚 still going to assemble rosters for 2021.
CFL teams are often criticized for roster turnover, but it will be especially pronounced this season.
Programs, can鈥檛 tell the players without a program. Or without the CFL app on your phone.
Once the season does begin, you鈥檒l see varying capacities for games. The Government of Saskatchewan has said that it hopes to have capacity crowds for Rider games this season; in fact, it hopes to have all crowd restrictions lifted before August. We鈥檒l see if other markets in the league have similar attitudes.
It鈥檚 not a coincidence that many of the games in the first weeks of the season are in the west, while teams in Ontario get home games later in the season.
League finances will take a hit this season, which is to be expected in a gate-driven league that will have a reduced schedule and reduced capacities.
But at least we know there will be a season, and hopefully we can end the speculation that this venerable league, which has a history that dates back more than 100 years through its various forms, is finished.
I鈥檓 pretty much a lifelong CFL guy. Thanks for that one, Dad. I knew about three-down football before I knew about the four-down game, and I knew who Matt Dunigan and Roy Dewalt were before I knew the name of Joe Montana.
My first live sporting event was a B.C. Lions home game during Expo 鈥�86. Some of my most cherished sports memories are from the CFL, most notably attending three Grey Cups, and watching the Lions beat the Baltimore CFLers in the 1994 Grey Cup (even if I wasn鈥檛 at the game).
When you think about it, it鈥檚 pretty incredible that the CFL has been through so much, has survived so much, and is still here. Not many leagues have contracted 33 per cent of their teams in one offseason and lived to tell about it.
There likely isn鈥檛 an independent, non-major, professional league in North America that has the longevity of the CFL, or that can say it鈥檚 the second best league for its sport in the world. To top it off, it鈥檚 based solely in a country with less than 40 million people.
And yet I won鈥檛 spend a lot of time watching games once the season begins. I鈥檓 excited we have football to entertain us again. I鈥檓 just not going to go out of my way to watch games in August.聽
I鈥檓 at the stage in my life where if it鈥檚 a beautiful summer night outside, I don鈥檛 want to be inside. Even if I鈥檓 merely sitting on my covered patio, I鈥檇 far rather do that than be indoors and watching something on TV.
(Maybe I鈥檒l have to listen to a CFL game on a radio broadcast).
Give me a beautiful Saskatchewan evening, with a view of the valley from my third floor patio, and a cold Saskatchewan craft beer within reach, and I鈥檓 in some form of a happy place. It鈥檚 as close to relaxed as my ADHD-fuelled mind will get.
Now, if I鈥檓 spending that nice Saskatchewan evening at Mosaic Stadium, with 30,000 fans, watching the Riders play, having my second hot dog and Saskatchewan beer of the night, well, that鈥檚 a pretty good use of a night. (Maybe I鈥檒l be wearing my B.C. Lions jersey).
Sitting inside watching TSN? Not a good use of a summer night.
Once the fall arrives and the temperatures become cooler and the daylight hours wane, that鈥檚 when I鈥檓 glad I鈥檒l have a CFL season to watch.
The Grey Cup on Dec. 12? That鈥檒l feel a little weird.
But our league is back. And for that, we should be thankful.
Hopefully, it鈥檚 here to stay, and we can put to rest any speculation about its future.
