Sunday’s Grey Cup was the last of the Canadian Football League as most of us know it.
The Saskatchewan Roughriders topped the Montreal Alouettes 25-17 in the 112th edition of Canada’s football championship as Green Riders quarterback Trevor Harris was named Most Valuable Player after a Grey Cup record completion-percentage performance going 23 or 27 (85-percent) for 302 yards.
Starting next season CFL fields will be shortened from 110 to 100 yards, end zones reduced from 20 to 15 yards, and goalposts moved from the goal line to the back of the end zone.
Those changes and more were announced back in September, and will take effect over the course of the next two seasons.
A recent Angus-Reid poll suggests the majority of Canadian football fans across the country are opposed to the changes.
61 per cent of those who don’t follow closely and 53 per cent of casual followers were unsure or preferred it align more with the NFL, compared with 46 per cent of avid fans.
The poll found two-thirds of avid fans opposed the field change, while half of casual followers also disagreed.
New CFL commissioner Stewart Johnston held his first state of the league address during Grey Cup week and reiterated his commitment to Canadian football and said the league’s coaches and players are embracing the changes.
“When we announced those rule changes I didn’t do enough to emphasize something very important,” Johnston said. “Our unwavering commitment to the Canadian game.
So let me be clear, we are three downs, 12 players, unlimited motion, 65 yards wide and huge end zones. These rules aren’t going anywhere. The new rules embrace innovation and perpetual improvement while protecting what makes Canadian football special.
“I’m excited by the future of where this can go. I think our coaches are going to take these new rule changes (and) create new strategies, create more aggressive play calling certainly as it relates to third down, as it relates to when they’re heading toward the end zone or coming out.
The coaches I’ve talked to have all expressed excitement about where this can go.”
Former NFL and CFL receiver, now Hamilton Tiger-Cats receivers coach – that calls St. Catharines home – Naaman Roosevelt
“I think its good. If you have the goal-posts at the back of the end-zone you can make more plays, you can see more, more things will happen. Change is always hard for some people, but I think change is good,” said Roosevelt recently on the Niagara Sports Report on 610 CKTB. ”
One thing is for sure, as the old adage states, ‘the one constant is change,’ or perhaps the ‘new’ CFL will prove ‘the more things change, the more they stay the same.’
Only time will tell.
Rod Mawhood is a lifelong Niagara native who has had the pleasure of working in all three mediums – Radio, Print and TV – for over 20 years. His first announcing gig was with the then St. Catharines Stompers. Since then he’s worked in radio and TV in Toronto, and currently is the announcer for the Niagara IceDogs and Niagara River Lions.
Rod also covers the Buffalo Bills for FOX Sports and the Buffalo Sabres for NBC Sports.
