We Deserve a Better CFL

For instance, Bo Levi Mitchell has had problems crossing the border even though he signed a three year contract which proves he is not some Yank scamming the border cops and trying to spread the virus. Mitchell is the highest paid player in the league and if he is having problems, what difficulty will a free agent signing for the Ottawa Redblacks experience in trying to make it to camp.

It’s unfortunate that this pandemic is starting to break up on ideological lines with those saying there is no problem, look at the places open in the States now. Which ignores the simple fact that in those areas the rates of infection have been going up with the reopening. There’s a line from the movie A Fished Called Wanda where Jamie Lee Curtis tells Kevin Kline – Apes can read literature, they just don’t understand it – which sums up the pandemic deniers nicely in my mind.

Getting American players across the border will require a federal government order and I think that one is not going to be forthcoming unless there is a quick reliable test for the virus that can monitor the players and a plan for how to deal with those who get infected.

That may be sooner than people think because if the NBA and NHL hub city concepts work, then the CFL has a stronger case for federal government support. The federal government and a fair chunk of the public are also ignoring the fact that while NFL teams get $250 million apiece from their television contracts, CFL teams get only $5 million to $6 million apiece.

The two main contenders seem to be either having western teams hunker down in Regina and Eastern teams use Winnipeg as a place to play, then they will likely play every five days because the travel is not going to be onerous. If the league used charter planes to ferry teams between the two cities, it can reduce the risk of infection to and from the public and with universities going online this fall, there are dorms and practice facilities in both cities that could be used.

The more likelier concept would see Winnipeg, Regina, Edmonton and Calgary each adopt an eastern team. All four have practice facilities and dorms available and it would be a lot less crowded than with nine teams between two centres. Travel would be reduced and more importantly, teams would not be competing for practice times at the three facilities in Regina and however many exist in Winnipeg.

The Australian Rules football and rugby comes on TSN and Sportsnet at 3:30 am and the Australians, who have done a great job of flattening the curve of infection there as well as New Zealand, have shown me some interesting opportunities the CFL might want to consider if it goes the adopt a city route.

Fans of each team could pay like $10 or $20 to have their individual pictures in whatever team jersey they support taken and transposed on cardboard cutouts to fit in the first five rows of seats. It could be more depending on how many want to see themselves on TV, but if attendance at outdoor gatherings like football games is restricted, this is one way to make money and make fans feel part of the experince.

Depending on the size of the various stadiums in Australia, a varying number of fans are being allowed in but the most I have seen in the last two weeks is about 150 for a National Rugby League in Sydney. Now, considering that Covid-19 is most deadly to the elderly and the obsese, seaon ticket holders over the age of 60 or who may be undergoing chemo which reduces their white blood cell count, would be barred from the stadium. Those people will be told they will have an opportunity to get their seats back next year if the pandemic breaks or a vaccine is found.

In talking with some Rider staff, it is very possible the number of season ticket holders over the age of 60 and/or in immune compromised health would comprise about 60 percent of stadium seats. So in a stadium that seats 33,000, that could be between 16,000 and 19,000 people who could not go to the game.

You could spread those who would show up for a Rider game easily in that respect. There woluld likely be two to three games a week at the respective stadiums and so you could take advantage of the number of people who just want to do something and are below 60 years of age.

The Australian stadiums also play music and pipe in taped crowd noise, which shouldn’t be a stretch for BC Place, and that contributes somewhat to the atmosphere.

Australians also digitally display the logos of advertisers on the field without having to paint anything on them. So teams can sell advertising to business in their home communities and have those ads show up on TV when they play without the added expense of painting over and over and over again. In the two weeks I have been the Australians, the attendance has gone up for a few dozen to about 150 and probably go up even more if they can keep a lid on new cases.

So there is some money coming in and maybe fans in the four western cities will come out when their eastern counterparts play tp show support for the league because if there is no league, what would the various cities do with those stadiums.

This is more than just individual or team pride, this is a league that is supposed to represent us all and at times like that, maybe we can demonstrate to the rest of the country how to embrace things like the CFL.

If public health gives the OK for a third of the stadium to be used for fans and forbidding high risk fans from attending, at Mosaic and Investors Group field you would see crowds of 11,000-13,000 while in larger stadiums like Edmonton you could see 20,000 fans.

I think in this scenario you would see the concept of revenue sharing coming in, something that might help mitigate the bills the eastern teams are incurring for housing and feeding their players so far from home. I wouldn’t have a problem with that because we need imagination to generate money and attention for the league.

The CBA will also have to be looked at because depending on what gets the green light and what the Feds may backstop, if anything, it is highly unlikely that Mitchell gets his 600,000 to 700,000 this year with the revenues coming in. A balance will have to be struck between providing a living wage for players while also providing owners with the ability to pay bills, although that didn’t seem to stop the Wetenhalls’ last year in Montreal.

The CFL will also have to come up with a better cap on salaries, and not the look the other way cap that Toronto broke last year and got away with paying a fine for. Add to this the extra second round picks for Toronto and Ottawa and it seems the league talks one way and acts another, which is not a recipe for success if you are asking for federal money.

There are a lot of moving parts in this picture and not all of them will work out. But how we respond to those that failed and those who got ahead will decide if this league can raise its head out its own collection self interest and be a league worth y of the fans who want to cheer for it again this year.

by Greg Urbanoski

We Deserve a Better CFL

This is more than just individual or team pride, this is a league that is supposed to represent us all and at times like that, maybe we can demonstrate to the rest of the country how to embrace things like the CFL.

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