CFL 2.0: A Great Update Or A Little Buggy

The Canadian Football League is in the best shape its ever been in; competitiveness is at a high level, the ratings are up, and the product is on the field is elite. Randy Amboise, the CFL commissioner is leading the Canadian Football League in a new direction with the CFL 2.0. This is version of the CFL is attempting to bring professional football to the international stage. By making agreements with several international football leagues that are apart of IFAF (International Federation of American Football) from Finland to Mexico; trying to shine light on international players and bring them to the CFL.

At first, I was skeptical at this move because I thought it was taking jobs away from the athletes coming out of U sports that were trying to make their name in the league. However, after seeing the national and international athletes compete at the CFL combine; the athletes out of U Sports seem to be more polished from a technique perspective then the international players. So, I believe the U Sports players will be fine going forward; but what really changed my mind about CFL 2.0 was the two-way street in the agreement. I feel the international leagues that would be a great development opportunity for U Sports players that aren’t ready to be on a CFL roster. The one thing I’ve always said about football is you can do as many drills and workouts as you can but the only way you can better at football is playing more football. I feel for U sports players it is a good opportunity because a lot of these league pay a salary, training, room and board; plus, CFL scouts and execs now have a eye on those leagues and can keep an update on those athletes progress.

Now, I know many doubters will say that “those leagues aren’t competitive, no interest in football there or probably wearing leather helmets”. Being the football junkie that I am; I knew that leagues were competitive and had multiple teams with a solid fanbase, but I didn’t know how big the football culture was in these countries. Brodie Lawson of CFL.ca recently did a video series called “The Guide To Mexican Football” which shone the spotlight on the football culture in Mexico and to my surprise it is huge. During the video Brodie states between the Mexican pop warner, high school, college and professional leagues there are more than 200K athletes playing the sport and Mexico has the fastest growing football culture in the world.

Much like the NBA, the one thing I like about the CFL is its ability to be progressive. The NBA has done a great job of tapping into the international markets and putting out a great product on the court year after year. The association has made basketball an international game as much as soccer with the introduction of the global games and NBA academy in various countries. I believe in the CFL cities that lack attendance is not to due to a lack interest in football but a lack of familiarity with the sport. The CFL cities with a lower attendance are usually the more multicultural cities in the country. New immigrants coming to Canada are hesitant to come to a CFL game because they not a familiar with the game of football; However, for basketball they maybe more incline to see any NBA game because NBA may have come to their country through to the Global games or NBA academy. I believe the idea of bringing CFL to international markets is a great method to grow the game of football and the culture.

Check the video below to see Brodie Lawson's Football Adventure in Mexico

Courtesy of the CFL.ca