There's a saying in Atlantic Canada that if you're not of this place then you're from away, but if you come to this place, come to stay.@TSNScianitti takes a closer look at the CFL's Touchdown Atlantic tradition, and what makes this CFL event and Atlantic Canada so unique. pic.twitter.com/zukf1Nljmt
— TSN (@TSN_Sports) July 16, 2022
Wolfville was not Halifax; the CFL finally played a regular season game in Nova Scotia with Touchdown Atlantic 2022. The wind off the Atlantic Ocean played havoc with some of the kicks, not unlike the wind at Tim Hortons Field in Hamilton.
The streets of Wolfville and Halifax were filled (mostly) with the green of the Saskatchewan Roughriders fans who made the trip. There were a number in double blue, rooting for the Toronto Argonauts.
The Argos, a seafaring team based on the nickname, were victorious 30-24 at Raymond Field in Wolfville, home of Acadia University. Sure the cliche is true: everyone involved were winners on Saturday.
Football is family 💚🏈
— CFL (@CFL) July 16, 2022
A special moment for @brettlauther in front of the home crowd 🙌#CFLGameday | #TDAtlantic @sskroughriders pic.twitter.com/DPgy9jdDwR
Brett Lauther's family and friends represented 180 of the 10,000 fans. Lauther is from nearby Truro, Nova Scotia and played university football at St. Mary's Stadium in Halifax (where the 2020 Touchdown Atlantic was scheduled).
This is one of the selling arguments to having a presence in Atlantic Canada. Players from the region making the CFL and either playing for the Atlantic Schooners or coming as a visiting player. The TSN crew interviewed Acadia University head coach Jeff Cummins, a former CFL player.
We know the NHL uses this as a theory for keeping a particular team in a city where the maximum capacity next season will be 5,000 because of Auston Matthews. The theory in Atlantic Canada and the CFL is a lot stronger.
Lauther made 3 of 4 field goal attempts for the Saskatchewan Roughriders.
Remembering an amazing grilled sourdough bread in Halifax
Celebrating advantages of the Halifax Seaport Farmers Market
Searching for a good lobster roll in Nova Scotia
The seafood is amazing on the East Coast. TSN used part of the halftime to talk seafood. The Bar Down segment was a bit baffling. 3 Saskatchewan players looked at pictures of seafood. Their reaction was mostly negative based on pictures, especially the player in the centre who wasn't into seafood.
The seafood is way better than what was portrayed in that segment. We needed to see them eat Atlantic Canada seafood.
Wolfville is normally a town of 4,000 people. There were 10,886 fans plus the TSN personnel and other relevant people. That is a lot to ask on a place without that kind of infrastructure. Credit to Wolfville for rising to the occasion.
We were glad to see Halifax get some of the celebration for Touchdown Atlantic 2022.
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McLeod Bethel-Thomson played for Toronto in Moncton in 2019. Boris Bede played for the Alouettes in 2019 and the Argos in 2022 for Touchdown Atlantic. Brandon Banks signed with Hamilton in 2013 after the Touchdown Atlantic visit to Moncton.
We noted Brett Lauther's local roots earlier in this story. Toronto linebacker Hénoc Muamba played his second Touchdown Atlantic, having played for Montréal in 2019 in Moncton. Muamba played for St. Francis Xavier University in nearby Antigonish, Nova Scotia.
.@ESPNPR @ESPN WTF? Show the @CFL game from @TSN. Huge game in terms of the league and you won't show us the feed. We literally pay your salary. Give us what you promised.
— Chad Rubel (@canadian_xing) July 16, 2022
We hate to mention the major blemish on the U.S. streaming side. ESPN+ picked a horrible time to be asleep at the wheel. The U.S. fans lost the pageantry and the first 2:01 of the game.
Who knows how many American viewers left because the game wasn't on their screen.
ESPN made things even worse by refusing (at press time) to carry the rebroadcast of the game. Every other CFL game is available, except for Touchdown Atlantic 2022.
TSN lost its own feed and missed the first Toronto Argonauts touchdown live.
2020 Touchdown Atlantic in Halifax: What would have been
If CFL plays in 2020, have all the games in the Maritimes
As for the actual game itself, Toronto linebacker Wynton McManis picked a great time for a Pick 6, returning an interception from Cody Fajardo to give the Argos a 30-24 win. Saskatchewan had won 8 straight over Toronto dating back to 2016.
McLeod Bethel-Thompson went 26 for 37 for 276 yards with 2 TDs and an interception. Fajardo was 24 for 34 for 284 yards with 2 touchdowns and 3 interceptions.
Andrew Harris passed TSN panelist Milt Stegall and is now 4th all-time in yards from scrimmage. Stegall finished with 15,209 yards.
Harris had 39 yards rushing, 25 yards receiving for 64 yards for the day. He only needed 46 to pass Stegall.
The veteran running back is still short of 10,000 rushing yards. When Harris reaches that mark, he will be the first Canadian and the 6th CFL player to hit that mark.
Rod Smith and Glen Suitor called the game on TSN with Matthew Scianitti on the sidelines and in the crowd.
The panel made the trip with Kate Beirness, Davis Sanchez, and Milt Stegall there on Friday and Saturday. Matt Dunigan made the trip from Winnipeg on Friday to be there on Saturday in Wolfville.
Stegall talked about how this was his first trip to Atlantic Canada. Sanchez says he thinks Stegall would be someone from Atlantic Canada if he were Canadian.
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CanadianCrossing.com CFL coverage
We know the idea of building a stadium in Halifax to house a team got sidelined during the pandemic. We know the decades-long uphill battle this has been. Let's hope Touchdown Atlantic is a CFL game every year until the Atlantic Schooners start playing for real.
Twitter captures: @TSN_Sports; @CFL; @canadian_xing
photos credit: TSN/CFL
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