CFL History

[@prsancho]

Brazilian here. Sports nerd. Awesome video. Thanks.

[@milicaradinkovic6137]

Loved how you explained everything that needs to be known. Keep up with good work. 👏👏

[@jameslocopo4742]

Yes the Baltimore Stallions popularity was partially attributed because they were good however, a huge reason was also that Baltimore was still reeling from the loss of their NFL franchise Colts to Indianapolis in 1984. There was a thirst for football in Baltimore and the Stallions were shrewd in both understanding how to field a team under the Canadian rules but to also have a twist to the horse based nickname of the team as well as adopting blue as a primary color. I recall that there was even talk of calling them the CFL Colts instead.

[@caseyobrien4153]

At a press conference in March 1994, the team announced its name as the Baltimore CFL Colts, even though the owners knew the NFL would take legal action, which they did almost immediately. Not only did this generate publicity - no press is bad press - but it endeared the team to the city as those fighting against the NFL, that stole their team a decade previously.. Local sportswriter John Steadman summed up the emotions of the time: "That team belongs to Baltimore. Don't let the NFL bully you." They played the first season as the Baltimore CFLers, before becoming the Colts in their second (and final) season.

[@jasonjjj78]

The Ravens moving to Baltimore killed the CFL in America 😂

[@teo_heel]

@@jasonjjj78 I don't think so. It wasn't a good expansion at all. Most teams had awful attendance records and bad results on the field. And also some teams were situated in regions where college football was very popular (like Birmingham Barracudas, who suffered quite a lot from competing with Alabama Crimson Tide or Memphis Mad Dogs who suffered from competing with Tennessee Volunteers (and the fact that their stadium (Liberty Bowl) was way too small for CFL regulation field)) And also there's a fact that CFL made an expansion to save itself from folding due to lack of money. New US franchises saved the league, but US wasn't that interested in CFL. Except for Baltimore for obvious reason.

[@AndreaFVE]

Thank you for bringing all this information in such a simple way.

[@Mrkaycee7]

Really enjoyed this! Thank you!

[@CFLExplained]

Glad you enjoyed it!

[@pierremasse2684]

I have been a CFL fan since 1980. I became a Montreal Alouettes fan quickly, because I liked a player named David Green a running back. I still watch the CFL today. When the Alouettes folded in 1986, I attended games but without being a fan of any team. When the team came back in 1996 I was on board once again enjoying this great game. I follow NFL also but with a different interest. Your documentary is very interesting, great job putting this together. CFL lifer……🏈✌

[@waynemclean1799]

Love me some CFL football ❤

[@johnmorrissey5105]

I love the CFL! I've visited every stadium, and I had an absolute blast at each game! People always asked me why, being from NYC, was I interested in the CFL? It's a great game; quick, ariel, and because the field is wider, more action. I watch every game each season for the last 15 years or so. I have been an Alouettes fan since Calvillo was QB. Viva la Canada!!!!

[@KrisVic91]

Every cfl game?

[@johnmorrissey5105]

one game in each stadium for a total of 9 games@@KrisVic91

[@johnmorrissey5105]

yes, I've missed maybe a handful of games over those yers.

[@KrisVic91]

@@johnmorrissey5105 oh wow, respect to you. Is there anywhere to watch them after they have been broadcast? Im in the uk and they on early hours in the morning.

[@KrisVic91]

@@johnmorrissey5105 hello?

[@fumblerooskie]

The CFL is a great, great league. It's longevity proves that. I love the league and its great game. This is how football should be played.

[@tudormiller887]

Much better than the NFL (No Fun League) 👍🇨🇦🏈

[@FischerFan]

No, its 'longevity' has proven that it only survives in spite of itself. It has been a league in decline for years.

[@FischerFan]

@@tudormiller887 Then why isn't it playing before sellout crowds in Europe? Could it be the product isn't necessarily better, as you claim?

[@aidanwotherspoon905]

Agreed!

[@sampicano]

CFL is unwatchable

[@patj87]

My dad has a Baltimore Stallions hat somewhere, leather adjustable strap. Blue and White like the Colts. Worth nothing, but everything to me when I find it cleaning out his place in 5 -15 years. Go REDBLACKS! Rough Riders is two words.

[@RPMZ11]

Let's get some teams in Quebec city and Halifax.

[@antonboludo8886]

I was thinking this as well.

[@goalie604403]

No to Quebec City. It’s way too political to have both a Québec City team. And a Montreal team. Halifax though Absolutely

[@prsancho]

Halifax has been a CFL dream for the past four decades. So far, nothing. They want a 5th Eastern club, but it has been bloody hard making it happen.

[@louis-philippelacharite7201]

​@goalie604403 hmmm not really you would have another rivalry game and it would bring big buck to the leagues

[@sorshiaemms5959]

GREAT HISTORY

[@robbiebalboa]

What’s crazy is the references to rugby in its history. So before the 1880’s you’d assume Canadian Football was similar to Rugby Union. I’ve heard that was the case on the other side of the border in USA. *As an Australian Sports fan I only just discovered the concept of Canadian Football. Blows my mind with the field size and placement of goals and other subtle quirks about it.

[@tudormiller887]

Are there similarities in the sport of Aussie Rules Football ? 🤔🏈🇦🇺

[@robbiebalboa]

@@tudormiller887 not really, in terms of rules and origins of how Aussie rules came about. Aussie Rules came about before football had finally figured out to seperate Soccer Football and Rugby Football in the Northern Hemisphere in 1860-1870’s. But the founder of Aussie Football, Tom Willis was studying in England and did create Aussie Football inspired by a version that was played in England, since Australia was so Isolated it evolved into its own thing before the Rugby’s or Soccer/Football reached our shores.

[@goodmaro]

@@tudormiller887 Not particularly.

[@tudormiller887]

CFL newbie watching in 🇬🇧 👍🇨🇦🏈

[@sampicano]

watch NFL instead...it's what canadians do

[@mickeymikkelson5337]

Love the CFL! League is more grass roots, believes in the community, and the players just seem to care more. Canada is all about hcokey its true but the CFL is an institution in this country.

[@jthompson759]

Best football league. Ever.

[@sampicano]

aaron rogers makes more money than the ENTIRE CFL (every player on every team combined) it's not even a comparison....the NFL is the greatest LEAGUE on earth....CFL is unwatchable

[@goodmaro]

The 110-yard field was "introduced" in the 1880s in Canada *only in the sense* of being adopted by the unions as standard. It had been a common distance between the goal lines, but was not specified in the rules of a provincial union. So this should not be considered a rule change. In fact it was so customary that it was shared by the Rugby Football Union in England and the Intercollegiate Football Association in the USA.

[@amine_d]

Thank you

[@77Marcel]

Wrong! The first football game in Canada was Harvard University vs. McGill in October 1874.

[@foilhats840]

Not really. That might be considered first game played more like today's game.

[@BruceMielke-h1b]

Nope

[@sirbobloblaws]

Not quite. McGill played two games at Harvard in the spring of 1874, one using Harvard rules, which looked more like modern soccer, and one using Canadian rules. There's a much stronger argument for 1874 McGill-Harvard being the first true football game in the United States rather than 1869 Princeton-Rutgers, but most American football historians don't like admitting that.

[@goodmaro]

@@sirbobloblaws Heck, most American football historians don't even like acknowledging football in the USA before 1869! It's not as if that game emerged ex vacuo. Sometimes it's cited as the first intercollegiate match in the USA, but that's because for institutional reasons it gets appended to the history of American football, while pre-1869 intercollegiate football games are treated as part of the history of soccer, even though they weren't played by Association rules.

[@goodmaro]

No, football games were documented in the USA well before 1869! Even if you limit it to colleges, and even if you limit it to intercollegiate play, there was known to have been a match between teams from Princeton U. and Princeton Theologic Seminary (then an independent collegiate-level institution) before 1860. But football generally had been played by children and adults in North America from colonial times, as they had done in the British Isles. The 1869 series gets inordinate attention because it was a milestone institutionally. What's less clear is when forms of rugby started being played in the USA; we have a much clearer picture on that from Canada, where 1861 is well-established, and 1859 just a little less reliably attested to. Before 1873 the types of football played in the USA were varied, but are not known for sure to have included rugby.

[@Classicrocker6119]

Let’s get the ball rolling on a new stadium here in Calgary! We love McMahon but it’s time is coming to an end as it’s the oldest venue in the CFL. This was good video and it showed how the American expansion in the 1990’s was for the most part a somewhat less than successful venture. Let’s get a 10th. franchise for the Eastern division. Hopefully they’ll concentrate on Quebec City as the Maritime aspiration is no longer viable.

[@AdrianJeffreys-fj2fv]

I've got the perfect plan Quebec City Musketeers in Quebec City

[@One_Point_Safety]

I would watch more if they had a 1 point safety!

[@vladtepes97]

0:50 i think you mean the start of canadian football. at any rate, gridiron football is a canadian sport, so needs no descriptor like "canadian".

[@goodmaro]

Except, the gridiron was introduced in 1882 in American football and came to Canadian football only later -- and not all the unions at once.

[@jimmyupson1959]

Actually, Hamilton's team began in 1869. Making it the oldest team in America!

[@teo_heel]

CFL doesn't recognize Hamilton Tigers (who were formed in 1869) as the part of Tiger-Cats history. So yeah...

[@AndrewSmith-vr8kd]

Just because you can use AI doesn't mean you should.

[@AvroBellow]

The first-ever football game was played by McGill (who invented the game) and Harvard. Your crappy fake AI-voice is wrong.

[@sampicano]

MAN THIS LEAGUE SUCKS...WHAT AN IMPOSSIBLE LEAGUE TO ENJOY (unless you are from manitoba, saskatchewan or alberta)

[@sirbobloblaws]

It's actually pretty easy.

[@sampicano]

​@@sirbobloblaws As somebody who WANTS to watch CFL. I turn it on and hate the product. This is an outsider, telling the CFL what they think. You can listen, or be offended. 1) 3 downs is boring. 3 downs is boring. I don't care every drunk in Alberta LOVES it...if you want your league to GROW...you should consider adopting 4 downs....you can be unique and still have 4 downs like the XFL, NCAA, and NFL.... stop trying to be different, it hurts the overall product...I'm not patriotic over an amateur league I want to watch on Labor Day but the PRODUCT IS BORINGGGGGG 2) 9 teams. You cannot find somebody on EARTH who wants a CFL team in PEI, Halifax, Saskatoon, Quebec City, St. John's, Moncton.... AFL Australian Football League has 18 teams... Australia's population = 26,713,460 CFL Canadian Football League has 9 teams...and briefly had 8 (two with the exact same pathetic name - Roughriders) Canada's population = 39,124,522 Why do they have a league? 18 teams...CFL isn't even a real league. You have no teams. 13 million more people in Canada, and half the amount of teams.... It is pathetic that 8 billion people....nobody wants a CFL team. More people watch NFL than CFL in Canada. Google it. Every poll says more Canadians watch NFL...it's because the product is better. All the best Canadians go to the NFL...Canada should have an NFL team to cheer for the BEST Canadians. I turn the league on every year and it sucks....there are players in the NFL making more than the entire CFL (every roster combined)....Aaron Rogers makes $50 mill usd annually. CFL salary cap is $5.525 million Canadian or $4.03 million USD THE SALARY CAP IS $4.03 million for 50 players on the roster.... Aaron Rogers makes....$37,500,000 million usd GUARANTEED OR $51,465,562.50 Canadian ANNUALLY So immediately this league, has no talent... What an awful product. I want to like the CFL. I turn it on EVERY YEAR. DAMN IT SUCKS. DAMN IT IS UNWATCHABLE. UNWATCHABLE TV...and I WANT TO WATCH FOOTBALL....tha's how terrible your product is. They had 20 years. I hate them. I cannot wait for the NFL in Toronto. I LOVE THE HUGE ENDZONES I LOVE ROUGES I LOVE ASPECTS OF THE CFL

[@billbaird2273]

@@sampicano You'll be waiting a long time for a team in Toronto. You do realize Canada has 1/10 the population of the USA? Maybe not. And you wonder why CFL has only 9 teams. AFL rosters are much smaller so the comparison is mute. Just wait until some billionare asks for money to build and NFL stadium in Toronto and you will see just how LITTLE support there is for NFL in that American wanna be city.

[@sirbobloblaws]

@@sampicanoWhy keep watching something you hate? Are you a masochist? I went to Jays games as a kid, then I realized baseball was boring and banal, so I stopped watching it. Simple solution. Your salary argument is pretty revealing. When NFL and CFL salaries were fairly close back in the day, no one in Canada ever called the CFL bush or amateur. Which just goes to show that most of the crowd chases money and that people are whores. Also, the soccer player Ronaldo makes $285 million per year. According to your hierarchy, Aaron Rodgers is too much of a peasant to even shine his shoes. The NFL would already be in Toronto if it wanted. A Toronto team provides zero benefit to the NFL.

[@charlyW34]

Truly awful AI narration. Sickening.

[@janineboitard6492]

Its the Ottawa Rough Riders and the Edmonton Eskimos! No one knows or cares about these new names... wtf is a "redblack"?

[@sunderjirahim]

The colours of the team…..

[@janetbelanger5757]

Should Canada at least try 4 down football. I have also noticed that the CFL have adopted more NFL rules.

[@SWalkerTTU]

Other way around: the US should go to three downs and 65-yard wide fields.

[@janetbelanger5757]

@SWalkerTTU that will never happen. Stadiums are tight and very close to the field. To use a 65 yard wide field would require the removal of seats within the stadium. This would cost the owners money.

[@SWalkerTTU]

@@janetbelanger5757 Stadiums built to accommodate international soccer can accommodate a 65-yard wide field. If Harvard hadn't decided to build their stadium so small, 65 yards would probably be the common standard.

[@vladtepes97]

gridiron football is played with 3 downs by a full complement of 12 players on a full-size field. no extra downs and kiddie-size fields.

[@sampicano]

@@SWalkerTTU what a stupid take...the NFL....the largest most successful league ever should adopt Canadian rules (that league that nobody watches) does your mommy know you are using her computer?

[@jamesthomas7405]

Why did Edmonton change from the Eskimos to the Elks??

[@KrisVic91]

Wokeness.

[@teto85]

Eskimo is a derogatory term. Like calling a team The "Ni**ers"

[@AndrewSmith-vr8kd]

@@KrisVic91 Douche