TUESDAY COMMENTARY – THE CFL’S AMERICAN BIAS
(Listen daily for the Rod Pedersen Commentary at 9:50 am and 5:20 pm on Cat Country 98 FM)
OUTSIDE OF THE NHL, THE NUMBER-TWO TOPIC IN CANADIAN SPORTS THIS WEEK REMAINS THE CFL/XFL NEWS.
COMMISSIONER RANDY AMBROSIE DROPPED A BOMB LAST WEEK THAT THE TWO LEAGUES ARE EXPLORING A COLLABORATION BUT PROVIDED LITTLE OTHER DETAILS.
NICE WORK BY AMBROSIE BY THE WAY, OF CREATING A BUZZ.
I’VE WRITTEN AND SAID PLENTY ABOUT IT AND MY THOUGHTS HAVEN’T CHANGED; WE ARE HEADED TO A FULL-ON MERGER OF THE TWO LEAGUES PERHAPS AS EARLY AS 2022.
PURISTS ARE HOWLING FROM VICTORIA TO ST. JOHN ABOUT LOSING THE CANADIAN RULES AND I GET IT. BUT NONE OF THEM MATTER AS MUCH AS THE VAUNTED, HISTORIC CANADIAN RATIO.
EACH CFL TEAM’S ROSTER IS REQUIRED TO BE MADE UP OF ROUGHLY 40% CANADIANS BUT WHEN THE CFL PLAYED WITH EXPANSION U-S TEAMS IN THE 90’S, THE AMERICAN GOVERNMENT WOULDN’T ALLOW THE RATIO AS IT VIOLATED ANTI-TRUST (COMPETITION) LAWS.
NOTHING’S CHANGED THERE SO IF THIS BECOMES A 17-TEAM LEAGUE IN BOTH COUNTRIES, I SEE NO WAY AROUND ABOLISHING THE RATIO.
BUT I’M WILLING TO LISTEN TO SOLUTIONS. SOME OF MY CLOSEST FRIENDS – INCLUDING CHRIS GETZLAF AND LUC MULLINDER – HAVE SAID THEY NEVER WOULD’VE HAD A PRO CAREER IF NOT FOR THE RATIO AND THE OPPORTUNITY IT AFFORDED.
PSST … (NO ONE EVER TOLD THEM, BUT THEY WERE JUST AS GOOD AS THE AMERICANS).
NO, WHAT CANADIAN PLAYERS BATTLE IS THE BIAS OF THEIR AMERICAN COACHES; THAT U-S TRAINED PLAYERS ARE JUST THAT MUCH BETTER THAN CANADIANS.
CHASE CLAYPOOL, DAKODA SHEPLEY, DAVID ONYEMATA, TEVAUGHN CAMPBELL, JOHN METCHIE, JOSHUA PALMER AND NEVILLE GALLIMORE DISAGREE.
MAYBE WE HAVE A COACHING PROBLEM IN THE CFL, NOT A RATIO PROBLEM.
I SAY THAT TONGUE-IN-CHEEK BUT I’M NOT SURE THERE’S A CANADIAN COACH ON THE ROUGHRIDERS STAFF. SOME OF THE GREAT CANADIAN COACHES I’VE KNOWN AND WORKED WITH OVER THE YEARS INCLUDE WALLY BUONO, CAL MURPHY, JIM DALEY, GREG MARSHALL, BOBBY DYCE, MIKE BENEVIDES, ALEX SMITH, MIKE O’SHEA, MARC MUELLER, AND MANY, MANY MORE.
WHAT WE NEED TO DO IS ELIMINATE THE STIGMA AGAINST CANADIAN PLAYERS BEFORE WE DO ANYTHING ELSE. THEN, WE CAN PROCEED.
THE FACT IS I’M A HOCKEY GUY, NOT NECESSARILY A FOOTBALL GUY, BUT IN A PARALLEL WORLD THE AMERICAN HOCKEY LEAGUE NEVER HAD A QUOTA FOR AMERICAN PLAYERS DESPITE MOST OF THEIR TEAMS BEING IN THE USA.
THINK ABOUT IT.
THAT’S TODAY’S ROD PEDERSEN COMMENTARY ON CAT COUNTRY 98.
24-hour Sports Talk Live NOW! Listen here -> RodPedersen.com/ListenLive
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