OUT OF THE TUNNEL: LIFE WITHOUT CFL FOOTBALL

BY: RODPEDERSEN.COM STAFF

Tradition dictates this was supposed to be the best football weekend of the year. The Labour Day Classics in Saskatchewan, Hamilton and Calgary fill the weekend with football, family and fun. Sadly, this year, the end of summer feels empty and incomplete without these three great games.

Across the CFL and in so many media outlets, everyone is looking back to their favourite Labour Day games that they experienced in person or watched on TV. Many times it’s not the game on the field that made the biggest impact; for some it was their first Labour Day Classic game, first time in a packed stadium feeling that energy of the crowd, family BBQ memories, and for a lot of us it’s our first great memory of the CFL.

The September long weekend has been a time that many return home for one last summer hurrah before life restarts again. Oddly, it is this weekend that we finally feel the full sting of the loss of the CFL this season.

ESPN Classic Canada is trying to fill the void with Labour Day games from the past with a few games on Sunday but it’s not enough to lessen the pain of not having the best CFL weekend of the year to enjoy.

Every team and the league itself are going to struggle mightily to get back on the field next summer and some teams may find it harder than most to rebound.

On the August 26 edition of Rod Pedersen show former CFL veteran defensive back Marc-Olivier Brouillette said that the loss of the 2020 CFL season will hurt the Montreal Alouettes the most. 

Coming off a surprising and successful 2019 season with a star quarterback in Vernon Adams and new ownership to guide the great franchise in a new direction held such promise for our friends out east. All of it came to a screeching halt and in a sports market like Montreal it will be a tough hill to climb to get back into the catbird seat. 

However we feel that it will hurt the three community teams the most. These are teams that don’t have individuals or groups that would have enough money or other means to get a franchise through the darkest hours of the CFL. 

The community teams will have to look for other ways to have generate cash flow to get them to a potential return of football in 2021. It will mean begging provincial and municipal governments for help and trying to find new and unique ways to raise money. Maybe even finding an angel donor.

It’s weird to say this because Edmonton, Saskatchewan and Winnipeg are the benchmark franchises in the CFL.

First to the Roughriders. 

This was supposed to be a milestone year with a great team being put on the field and new Mosaic Stadium hosting its first Grey Cup.

A lot of money was poured into the potential Grey Cup game and festival in November. Cash was needed to get the ball rolling for the Grey Cup festival and the Saskatchewan administration staff ballooned to accommodate the fanfare of the big game.

The Riders were also slow to make changes to their staff. Yes, CERB was able to help out with paying the staff members but money was still being poured into the largest front office in the CFL. While most CFL teams were quick to cut their staffs the Riders are slow to get down to what was needed to get through these tumultuous times.

This can be seen as a good thing because the organization was supporting its staff members but now the rainy day fund is depleted and millions of dollars will be needed to get what was supposed to be the top franchise in the CFL through the next year.

Edmonton may have had the most tumultuous time without football on the field. With the NFL’s Washington football club removing their team name Canadians looked towards Edmonton to make some changes.

Newspaper headlines and social media were abuzz putting pressure on the franchise to remove their team name. Then on July 21 they announced that they would be removing their team name and returning with a fresh moniker in 2021. 

Between spending money on a new brand and marketing platform and a loss of $1.1-million in 2019, things are looking grim in Edmonton.

And in Winnipeg, they will not have the opportunity to cash in on their first Grey Cup victory in almost 30 years. They won’t have the tidal wave of support that would have meant increased ticket sales, merchandise and other cash flows that go along with winning a title for the first time in a generation.

Their front office was quick to cut staff and try to keep as much cash in the bank but like every other team in the CFL, it may be too little, too late.

It’s going to take a monumental effort across the CFL to get back on the field in 2021 and for its community teams, we hope the support is there to help get them through.

Now to football on the field.

The NFL gets going this week with a full slate of games and the NCAA has its Week 2 slate of action. 

TSN has increased its coverage with five games along with games on Fox, ABC and NBC

Here are our two games to watch:

University of Alabama-Birmingham (UAB) Blazers (Conf. USA) 1-0 at Miami Hurricanes (ACC) 0-0
Thursday, September 10 6:00 pm (CST) Hard Rock Stadium in Miami, Fla.

UAB easily handled Central Arkansas in week one 45-35 and will be one of the top teams in Conference USA. They were in the title game in 2018 and will ride a strong defence to a potential title game berth in 2020.

It’s going to be an interesting year for Hurricanes head coach Manny Diaz as he will rely on a pair of transfers to bolster his team on both sides of the football. Former Houston Cougar D’Eriq King will take over at quarterback while defending AAC defensive player of the year and Temple transfer Quincy Roche will be a big boost to the Hurricanes defensive line.

Look for UAB to go on the road and knock off the Hurricanes who are playing their first game of the season and trying to incorporate so many new faces into the lineup.

Top players to watch:
UAB – Kristopher Moll (LB)
Miami – Quincey Roche (DE)

Most notable CFLers:
UAB – None of note
Miami – Dwayne ‘The Rock’ Johnson (DL), and Canadian offensive linemen Ian Sinclair, Sherko Haji-Rasouli and Joe McGrath

Tulsa Golden Hurricane (AAC) 0-0 at Oklahoma State Cowboys (Big 12) 0-0
Saturday, September 12 5:30 pm (CST) T. Boone Pickens Stadium in Stillwater, Oklahoma

We picked this game because it has two of the top Canadian players playing in the NCAA, both for the Oklahoma State Cowboys.

Running back Chuba Hubbard (Sherwood Park, Alta) will begin his chase to be the first Canadian to win the Heisman Trophy. He leads an always stellar Cowboys offence. On the defensive side of the football, Calgary’s Amen Ogbongbemiga will help a steadily improving defence. The linebacker led the Cowboys in tackles and tackles for loss in 2019.

Tulsa will have a veteran team coming back but will have their hands full in Stillwater. They will rely on all-conference running back Shamari Brooks to bolster their offence.