tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6329706.post4798375980538695030..comments2024-03-21T12:51:21.667-04:00Comments on Whisky Prajer: CFL Football, For Those Who Caredpreimerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09905531259256800022noreply@blogger.comBlogger7125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6329706.post-72787068158341133832007-11-20T12:30:00.000-05:002007-11-20T12:30:00.000-05:00If the CFL dies I vote we take up Australian footb...If the CFL dies I vote we take up Australian football on a national scale. It's what rugby should have been.Trent Reimerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11856687416662007848noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6329706.post-85211125106506710802007-11-20T07:49:00.000-05:002007-11-20T07:49:00.000-05:00Man, Los Angeles will *always* be an issue for the...Man, Los Angeles will *always* be an issue for the NFL.<BR/><BR/>If we momentarily ignore the criminal inclinations of the league's athletes, I would say the NFL commissioners come across as a surprisingly sane bunch of guys. On the issue of team parity alone, they're (forgive me) leagues ahead of Major League Baseball, the NBA and the NHL. They've also proven themselves keen to preserve the CFL: in 1996 they ponied up $4 mil to keep our foundering league afloat. Their attitude has so far been, when football is healthy, the NFL is healthy.<BR/><BR/>Toronto's would-be sports tycoons have a <I>heap</I> to learn from these guys.Whisky Prajerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14076228013022881173noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6329706.post-77867552829296037032007-11-19T16:46:00.000-05:002007-11-19T16:46:00.000-05:00Toronto's probably not going to get an NFL team an...Toronto's probably not going to get an NFL team anytime soon, unless the Bills leave Buffalo. And even then, there's still the issue of Los Angeles.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6329706.post-40525160102096033452007-11-19T09:29:00.000-05:002007-11-19T09:29:00.000-05:00God knows any Toronto-based NFL team is in for a V...God knows any Toronto-based NFL team is in for a VERY rough ride, so your choice is perfect on many levels. However, given Toronto's penchant for picking fruity names for their sports franchises ("Blue Jays"? "Raptors"?! "Maple <I>Leafs</I>"?!?) I'm bracing myself for something truly awful. "The Toronto Transformers," perhaps, as inspired by Michael Bay's washed-out movie of the same name.Whisky Prajerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14076228013022881173noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6329706.post-73662383014720090222007-11-19T09:14:00.000-05:002007-11-19T09:14:00.000-05:00I really got into the CFL when I was up in college...I really got into the CFL when I was up in college in Montreal. It was the pass-happy type of football that the US version finally caught on to when the infamous West Coast offense began its innovative (I always called it copy-catting) ways.<BR/><BR/>When I'd go back home to the States and try to prosletize the CFL ways, my friends were actually starting to get interested. They especially liked that the end zone was like 50 yards long and 170 yards wide, or something like that.<BR/>"So, what are the names of the teams", they'd ask.<BR/>"Well, there are the Edmonton Eskimos.."<BR/>Slight giggling ensued.<BR/>I started to speak louder, "THEN< THERE ARE THE MONTREAL ALOUETTES< AND THE WINNIPEG BLUE BOMBERS".<BR/>"Blue bombers?", my friends' hands immediately went into that male defensive pose where the hands cover the groin area.<BR/>I, louder still,"...<B>AND THERE ARE THE <A HREF="http://www.saskriders.com/" REL="nofollow">SASKATCHEWAN ROUGHRIDERS</A> AND THE <A HREF="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ottawa_Rough_Riders" REL="nofollow">OTTAWA ROUGH RIDERS</A>...</B><BR/><BR/>"?????? Hold on", a chorus chimed up,"there are 2 teams in one league with the same name? Is there like a limitation on nouns in Canada?"<BR/><BR/>Teed off, I'd reply,"NO! NO! It's not the same spelling. The Ottawas are the Rough SPACE Riders. The Saskatchewans are one word, Roughriders." I beamed, knowing they'd understand.<BR/>One gem then inquired,"So, Ottawa's team is pronounced differently, like Rough......(long pause)......Riders?"<BR/>"Oh, don't be an idiot!", I said, being an idiot,"They're pronounced the same way but they're spelled differently."<BR/><BR/>My friends were stumped. Spelling and football were not two words they usually associated and they were two words they did not want to associate in the near future. That was it for their acceptance of the CFL and I felt the same about trying to persuade them as such.<BR/><BR/>The Rough Riders are now called the <A HREF="http://slam.canoe.ca/Renegades/" REL="nofollow">Ottawa Renegades</A>, which, IMHO, is a shame. I LOVED the fact that there were two similarly pronounced but differently spelled teams. It made the CFL different than the NFL. I mean, look at some of the NFL names. The Dolphins? A water-based mammal spending all of its time on land? The Browns? A whole team named after <A HREF="http://ask.yahoo.com/20020705.html" REL="nofollow">one guy</A>? I'll give you the Raiders and the Packers, both great names, but Patriots? That's like a scooer team named the Moscow Comrades.<BR/><BR/>So, <B>WP</B>, if the NFL does open up their major megaplexus up in Toronto, I suggest <B> Ruff-Riders</B> as their nom-de-guerre. What about you?DarkoVhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11572734667248592785noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6329706.post-73432881685526304052007-11-19T07:46:00.000-05:002007-11-19T07:46:00.000-05:00GAH! They have a soccer team! But because the Toro...GAH! They <I>have</I> a <A HREF="http://web.mlsnet.com/t280/" REL="nofollow">soccer team</A>! But because the Toronto FC serves as an invitational platform for visiting teams from other countries, they basically don't have ANY fans -- people show up to cheer for Jamaica, or Cuba, or Bulgaria ... you name it, so long as it's not Toronto.Whisky Prajerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14076228013022881173noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6329706.post-69184916762790593802007-11-19T07:14:00.000-05:002007-11-19T07:14:00.000-05:00Sounds like they need a soccer team.Sounds like they need a soccer team.danhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10088260285661911833noreply@blogger.com