I'm not much of a sports guy, but over the past two years I have watched more football on TV than the rest of my life combined. It's not a lot, but it's a start.
I actually watched the Grey Cup from start to finish - which is amazing for a guy who is usually more interested in watching an election from the time the polls close to the concession speech of the loser (about the same length of time as a Grey Cup, by the way).
The one thing I don't understand is why does professional football teams only play one game a week?
The National Hockey League has 82 games per team in a season, before the playoffs - a season unto itself.
Major League Baseball has 162 games per team in a season. They even play these things known as doubleheaders. Its post-season is a bit shorter than hockey's, however.
Each team in the National Basketball Association plays 82 games in a season. So why is it that football is apparently incapable of playing more than once a week? The NFL has 16 games in its season, and the CFL plays 18. Wouldn't it be possible to play twice a week? And don't tell me hockey isn't as physical as football.
Football doesn't pay guys millions of dollars solely to go on the ice and beat someone's teeth out for some perceived slight. There's no "enforcer" in football. Although football players may have more mass, they don't have nearly the speed, or these little clubs known as hockey sticks. They may crash into other players, but they never get cross-checked into the boards.
With this burning question on my mind, I consulted the most impartial source I know - Wikipedia.
Under the entry "American Football," it says, "Many hours of preparation and strategizing, including film review by both players and coaches, go into the days between football games. This, along with the demanding physicality of football, is why teams typically play at most one game per week."
What, other leagues don't study film (video these days)? Yeah, right. So pitchers don't strategize each and every pitch? Sorry. Wrong again. As for the physicality, see the hockey reference above, and come back after you've counted how many teeth you have left.
I just cannot abide watching the supper news all week with the made up, spoon-fed stories about Riders practice. Oh, gee, Mr. News Director, what minor little detail or player should we focus on Tuesday, because we still have three more newscasts to fill with bovine feces after that? Oh, look Martha! They ran a practice today!
The NFL is an enormous money-maker. The CFL seems to have finally found its footing, and could benefit from an expansion franchise into Eastern Canada. Winnipeg has a new field, and Saskatchewan is strongly considering one.
The problem is the economics of building a half-billion dollar stadium for, what, 10 home games - nine regular season, one exhibition? Maybe a few more if you're lucky enough to do well in the playoffs? Once a decade you get to host the Grey Cup? That's a huge amount of investment for a little-used stadium, or as Regina is currently whitewashing it, an "entertainment centre."
I think if they double the number of games - playing twice a week, with an average of one home game every week, the entire league would benefit financially. Players could conceivably be paid more - which might help bring talent to the CFL. Venues would make more. There's definitely an appetite for it.
It sure would make it a lot easier to justify a new stadium, both here and in New Brunswick.
Would there be more injuries? Likely. Would you have to expand rosters to deal with that contingency? Perhaps. Maybe the game might have to be modified in some manner to limit injuries, although that's a long shot, and might take away from the secret sauce.
Canadians love their CFL. Maybe we should love it a little more.
Brian Zinchuk is editor of Pipeline News. He can be reached at brian.zinchuk@sasktel.net
