Once upon a time the Canadian dollar was on par with the U.S. greenback as recent as the early 1970s. In fact, for period between the early 1860s and late 1870s the Canuckollar was stronger.*In football, the CFL was/is not quite on par with the NFL. Though not as bad as many thought - especially during the golden period between the 50s and 70s. What they lacked in talent they made up in creativity. Many innovations in the NFL in reality had their origins in the CFL such as the 'shotgun,' 'man in motion,' sprint-draw,' and one man in the backfield. Even the legendary West Coast offense made famous by the San Francisco 49ers may have had its roots with the Calgary Stampeders - but I can't prove this as I heard this somewhere.
Each time I look at the two leagues I can't help but conclude that they are a proxy for how the two countries operate. The NFL on this count is a much better managed league. The CFL's existence is an odd one. It still does not get - improving attendance notwithstanding - unwavering fan support. The other night I was watching the Saskatchewan Roughriders play the Hamilton Tiger-Cats before 22 000 fans in Regina. 22 000? What better things do they have to do in Saskatchewan? Shouldn't that park always be full? Aren't the 'Riders the only game in town? And Saskatchewan is considered a hard core football town. You don't see that sort of thing in the NFL - except in Arizona.
I would not be surprised if many Canadians actually tune in to NFL games on Sunday's. That's why the CFL smarten up and decided to make Thursday and Friday the key match days - to avoid, in part, competing with the NFL marketing juggernaut.
Don't tell me there aren't any differences between the two countries!
It's too bad that the CFL remains an obscurity to some. To my mind, while the NFL does have the overall better quality, the CFL does possess specific advantages. From a purely entertainment perspective the CFL arguably offers the better - if not more kooky - product.If the the respective championship game is of any value as an indicator, in the last 25 years most Super Bowls have been Yawn Bowls while many Grey Cups have been exciting showdowns.
Interestingly, there was a period where the two leagues did play against each other for bragging rights. The NFL won 6 of 7 matches. The lone CFL win came against the AFL. Using a special set of rules combining both rulebooks, here are the results of those games:
1950 - Ottawa - New York Giants 27 Ottawa Rough Riders 6.
1951 - Ottawa - NY Giants 41 Ottawa Rough Riders 18.
Despite the lopsided scores and confusion regarding the rules, the NYT described the games as thrilling and tighter than the scores indicated. I don't see how.
1959 - Toronto - Chicago Cardinals 55 Toronto Argonauts 26.
The Cardinals outweighed the Argos by an average of 20 pounds.
1960 - Toronto - Pittsburgh Steelers 43 Toronto Argos 16.The Toronto Star questioned the reasoning for such matches. They called them mismatches as the Steelers and Cardinals were just too powerful. Humiliating was one of the words used.
1961 - Toronto - St.Louis Cardinals 36 Toronto Argos 7.
Former CFL star and Alouette Sam Etcheverry signed with the Cardinals that year.
1961 - Montreal - Chicago Bears 34 Montreal Alouettes 16.
Yards gain were 516 to 206 in favor of the physically superior Bears. Former Packers star and Alouettes head coach Perry Moss told the press that the Als would lose 50-0 or 80-0. He did say the game could be tighter. He was right. He was just happy to have his players exposed to the American brand of football. It didn't help any as the Als did not win the Grey Cup that year.
1961- Hamilton - Hamilton Tiger-Cats 38 Buffalo Bills 21
This was the last time the three leagues ever played against each other.
Overall attendance to the games were average. Between 12 000 and 27 000 fans showed up.
There you have it. A piece of North American football history.
*In 1864 it hit an all-time high of $2.78.
Images from mmbolding.com
I bought an AMC Matador in Toronto in the early 70s. The loan was to be repaid in American dollars. It was neat at the time because the CDN dollar was actually worth more than the American, and I came out ahead in the exchange.
ReplyDeleteHappy as I was to be in Canada, I put a sticker of the Maple Leaf flag on the car's rear bumper. Some snide Canadian sneered at me, "I didn't know Matadors were made in Canada."
Hey, thanks for the welcoming! LOL
Ouch. Though I don't know what the sneer meant to reveal. What cars are 'made' in Canada besides the plants set up by the Big Detroit Three? In any event, it's almost back on par again. Go figure.
ReplyDeleteI may have mentioned this before, but I dated a girl whose cousin was a kicker for one of the CFL teams. I was invited to watch a game played at UC Sac. The attendance couldn't have been more that a few hundred.
ReplyDeleteWhat I remember most (as I've clearly forgotten the names of the teams), was the total lack of respect anyone showed during the Canadian National Anthem. On the other hand, you'd be hard pressed to find one out of ten Americans at a game hold their hands or hats over their hearts... they only rise because the voice from the sky tells them to. Beer in hand, chatting with their neighbor, the anthem is barely heard over "Hotdogs! Peanuts!"
It sure ain't what it used to be, eh? Respect is completely weeded out of the equation in the name of freedom of speech. Progress, bah. Same thing up here. I remember the old Chicago arena where the Black Hawks played. Incredbile scene to wathc them during the anthem - or in most cases listen to it on the radio because games weren't broadcast back then. I think BH owner Bill Wirtz still black outs Chicago fans. Off topic but sad.
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