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Back in 1982, I was a 57-day fan of the Canadian Football League. It was a strike season for the National Football League and I became enchanted with the Canadian game — the wide-open style and the players who had real jobs in the off-season.
This was like the NFL 50 years before — it was played by real people, and it appealed to my democratic spirit, possibly because it almost looked like I could be playing out there. But when the NFL players went back to work and the CFL coverage in the United States ended, sports coverage took me in different directions and the CFL faded from my sports-infused brain. Even when my Canadian friends encouraged me to watch last season's Grey Cup, alas, I couldn't find it on my satellite television.
The Canadian Football League season opens today, but many Canadian fans are ambivalent, especially in Toronto. That's because the NFL's Buffalo Bills are coming to Toronto this year for an August preseason game and a regular-season contest against the Miami Dolphins on Dec. 7. Many Canadians are thrilled that the big-league NFL is coming to northern North America. But if you love the CFL, Canadians, be afraid. Be very, very afraid.
The National Football League is one of the most powerful sports leagues in the world, and the commissioner, owners and fans are hungry for more. But there are growth issues and a looming pay dispute.
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The NFL works under a salary cap system. The cap is a set amount of money that each of the league's 31 teams may spend on player salaries for any given year. For 2008, that amount is $116-million per franchise, but the figure changes each year because of revenue growth, including merchandising. While this has brought parity and fan interest, by preventing the richer teams from stockpiling players, it has also led to some problems.
A few weeks ago, the NFL owners voted unanimously to opt out of the current agreement, which runs through 2011. "Rather than enjoying the success of the new stadiums in the big markets, or the big local TV or advertising deals they sign, small markets are shell-shocked by the annual increases in the cap they create. Increases that they can't possibly keep pace with," said Mark Cuban, owner of the National Basketball Association's Dallas Mavericks, who has studied the salary cap issue.
The Bills, for example, play in a small-market town, and have made the decision to play in Toronto to address the team's economic problems. Other small-market teams may face the same temptation, ripping the historical heart from the NFL.
I am an avid NFL observer, and I'm no fan of expansion into Canada. I don't think pushing into Canada or Europe makes much sense — it would put teams in towns that don't have an American football tradition. The National Hockey League is a great example of this folly.
When a sport loses its identity and history, its fan base loses interest too. The NFL has created loyalty because it continues to be played in small cities such as Green Bay, Wis., and Buffalo. The NFL is played in big cities, too, but its true loyalty comes from working-class folks in working-class towns. The league started in Canton, Ohio, and its roots are firmly set in the Midwest. It is no coincidence that there is not a team in Los Angeles, the entertainment capital of the world, but a city with flighty fans.
The NFL looks at Canada as obvious expansion country. It has football history, millions of NFL fans and geographical proximity. It's ripe for the NFL's picking. The CFL looks weak with recent franchise bankruptcies and no enthusiasm for building new stadiums. The Bills see limited opportunities in Buffalo, but Toronto is a large city, and corporations now influence sports with sponsorships, luxury seating and other corporate perks. The NFL will bring excitement.
What is the price for that excitement? Perhaps the CFL isn't important. Or maybe it's irrelevant. But what about the great 1989 Grey Cup game? What about national identity and history?
Back in 1925, U.S. college football star Red Grange brought a new level of popularity to the NFL. After his first season, he decided to take on the establishment by organizing his own league. He even played a game in Toronto on Nov. 9, 1926. The Hamilton Spectator led its story: "No matter how wildly enthusiastic Americans are over their style of football, the American game will never find favour in Canada." Canadians didn't understand the lack of kicking, and the forward pass, which was illegal in the Canadian game back in the 1920s.
The NFL owners stuck together and broke his "Grange league." And now, in the modern era, the NFL is very powerful, and greedy, and can break the CFL. It is probably a fait accompli.
Be forewarned Canada, an NFL franchise in Canada will be exciting, but the CFL and your sports history are at stake.
Gary Andrew Poole is author of The Galloping Ghost: Red Grange, an American Football Legend, to be published in September. His website is www.garyandrewpoole.com.
