The 2017 CFL season starts out with a brand new stadium in Regina. The old stadium could easily switch back to Taylor Field in name but the new Mosaic Stadium is rather distinct even among CFL stadiums.
The new Mosaic Stadium, along with Tim Hortons Field in Hamilton, are the only current CFL stadiums where I have not taken in a game. I've been to the former stadiums in both Hamilton and Regina, every other current CFL stadium, Rogers Centre in Toronto, and even Moncton.
I added Winnipeg and Regina to the list in 2016. Due to financial concerns, I don't know if I'll see any games in person in 2017. But let's look back at where my CFL journey began.
The quest to hit every single CFL city kicked in during the summer of 2009. Until then, I had been to BC Place in Vancouver and Rogers Centre in Toronto.
In 2009, I attended a game at Molson Stadium in Montréal. I got to see a shutout for the home team, unusual as CFL shutouts are pretty rare.
2010 brought me to the Labour Day Classic at Ivor Wynne Stadium in Hamilton. The ticket I bought did not correlate with a seat. The Tiger-Cats fans were happy to squeeze me in as long as I wasn't rooting for the Double Blue.
My Alberta trip in 2012 put me in Edmonton and Calgary in back-to-back nights, coinciding with CFL games. I saw Anthony Calvillo light it up for the Als. Toronto got the best of my trip to Calgary. And yes, Rob Ford was at both games.
I got a free Edmonton T-shirt from a fan at Commonwealth Stadium. The Stampeders fans I was sitting with gave me a ride through Calgary and even swung by to Peter's Drive-In for an amazing chocolate maple milkshake.
BMO Field in perspective before the 2016 Grey Cup
The Heritage Classic shines NHL spotlight on Winnipeg
CFL in the Prairies is where the league shines
Seeing a CFL game in Ottawa
Dream of seeing 4 CFL games in a week in jeopardy
Moncton was a long way from any other CFL destination but I was there for the last Touchdown Atlantic game in 2013. The stadium was lovely on the south side but I sat in the "high school" bleachers, literally the worst seat outside the end zone. The portable toilets on the north side were not sufficient even for a less than capacity crowd. Still, the Hamilton Tiger-Cats traveled well and got to talk with a bunch of their fans in downtown Moncton. And I got to watch a beautiful sunset from my high perch in Moncton.
Ottawa was a destination that I wanted but I had to include a CFL game in my trip. I picked a cold spell in August 2014 to travel to the nation's capital and saw a combined 18 points. But the fans were wonderful and friendly and showed us why this city deserved to get a CFL team once again.
Even knowing I had a pair of cities left to go, getting there was a logistical challenge. I ended up taking an overnight bus getting into Regina bright and early with a July sunrise. Winnipeg surprised me as a city and a stadium. Regina showed us why the Roughriders are tops in Saskatchewan. I had never seen so much Saskatchewan green and that was at the Regina Farmers Market. Taylor Field was an incredible experience of an old-school facility.
Could Moncton host a permanent CFL franchise?
Watching the CFL from 30,000 feet in the air
CFL in Alberta: Great stadiums and friendly people
Seeing the CFL experience from a smaller city — Hamilton, Ontario
Living 'la vie de sports' in Montréal
11 stadiums in 10 cities. I've seen Edmonton in Ottawa, Winnipeg, and Vancouver; Toronto in Calgary, Montréal, and Hamilton; Hamilton in Vancouver, Toronto, and Moncton; Montréal in Edmonton and Moncton; Winnipeg in Vancouver and Toronto.
The CFL is a different beast in the prairies. I've seen the sport in the urban areas of Toronto, Montréal, and Vancouver. I have been to Taylor Field, right off downtown, and Ivor Wynne Stadium and Investors Group Field, off the beaten path.
Classic stadiums such as Commonwealth Stadium, Taylor Field, and Ivor Wynne Stadium. Simple stadiums such as Molson Stadium, McMahon Stadium, BMO Field, and Moncton Stadium. Large behemoths such as Rogers Centre (SkyDome), BC Place, and Investors Group Field.
CanadianCrossing.com CFL coverage
I haven't seen too many crazy plays in person that make the CFL very special. I remember fondly the nice fans in Vancouver who were trying to explain the rouge to an American still learning the rules. I was in Vancouver when the BC Lions played the U.S. anthem on July 4.
The Americans who traveled north for the 2015 Women's World Cup got to see the CFL stadiums in Winnipeg, Edmonton, and Vancouver. They should go back to see the CFL in those stadiums.
Like Pokémon, I've caught most of them. But I'll keep traveling and seeing more CFL football.
photos credit: me
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