Canadian Crossing

When will Canadians be able to watch their favourite team in person

The Toronto Raptors have had fans at "home" games in Tampa, FL. The Toronto Blue Jays have had fans at their Grapefruit League games in Dunedin, FL.

Toronto FC (Orlando) and CF Montréal (Miami) will likely have fans at the start of the 2021 MLS season. Vancouver Whitecaps FC will establish a base at Rio Tinto Stadium in Sandy, Utah outside Salt Lake City, uncertain of whether fans can attend.

Arizona, Dallas, Florida, Tampa Bay in the NHL have been aggressive early and often in the 2021 season. They have the highest capacity of fans and they were in the stands from the start.

A majority of NHL teams are allowing fans in the stands. A few teams have added fans in March. The general consensus is 10%-15% capacity with Detroit at 4%, St. Louis at 7.5%, and Dallas at 30%.

The number of NHL teams that haven't allowed fans is dwindling. Minnesota allows 250 people, including staff and families. Colorado doesn't allow fans right now but the plan is 22% capacity starting April 2.

There are 12 NHL teams that don't allow or haven't an agreement to have fans: California teams (Anaheim, Los Angeles, San Jose), Chicago and Washington, and all 7 Canadian teams.

Edmonton has been the loudest voice among the Canadian teams to get NHL fans back in the stands.

The argument can be that the U.S. teams — especially Arizona, Dallas, Florida, Tampa Bay — were too liberal in letting fans in arenas. The argument can be that the Canadian teams have been too conservative in letting in fans.

This isn't just about the Canadian NHL teams making some money from fans in the stands. They are at a financial disadvantage compared to the southern U.S. teams in revenue. This is also about where the NHL final four will play.

The Toronto and Edmonton NHL bubbles were stellar in the summer of 2020. The U.S. divisions have had multiple postponements due to COVID-19 in the 2021 season. The first all-Canadian game was postponed with Edmonton in Montréal on Monday night due to COVID-19 protocols.

Toronto Blue Jays won't play in Canada for 2020 regular season

What sports will look like on Canadian soil in 2020

CanadianCrossing.com NHL coverage

Putting the last four NHL teams in a bubble would be a wonderful financial windfall for Edmonton or Toronto or maybe even Vancouver. The federal Canadian government had no issue allowing this in 2020.

The provincial governments have been reluctant to allow fans. The alternative for the lone Canadian survivor of the NHL playoffs is to be assigned a U.S. arena while the other 3 U.S. teams get to play at home.

Gary Bettman doesn't like Canada but had no choice in 2020. U.S. teams are allowing fans. Gary Bettman can't and shouldn't ignore that issue. The NHL would be reluctant to come back to Canada without fans.

British Columbia, Alberta, Manitoba, Ontario, and Quebec have influence over fans in the NHL. That list of provinces plus Saskatchewan have influence over fans in the stands for CFL games this summer and fall. CFL fans are also watching this trend since the consensus is that Canadian football won't happen without fans.

Dr. Bonnie Henry, provincial health officer for British Columbia, said Monday that indoor gatherings of "any size" remain a risk and only gather in small groups of up to 10 outside. "The areas where we know it spreads most quickly and most dangerously are the same as they were last year — but now there's even less a margin for error."

Vaccines could make a significant difference between now and June. The current influx of cases in Canada due to COVID-19 variants has to also come down.

750 fans of the then Montréal Impact MLS team got to watch their favourite team in person in 2020. Quebec allowed a maximum of 250 fans each for the 3 games in the summer of 2020 at Stade Saputo. Canada can start with small crowds, if and when there is a consensus from the medical community.

photo credit: Rogers Sportsnet/Blue Jays/MLB

Tim and Sid as well as Jay and Dan are separating

So this isn't quite Bob & Carol & Ted & Alice but the partnerships of Tim and Sid as well as Jay and Dan are going through transformation.

Tim and Sid, the afternoon radio/TV sports talk guys on Rogers Sportsnet, are separating. Sid Seixeiro is leaving to join Breakfast Television, Citytv's morning talk show. Jay and Dan, the late-night SportsCentre TSN duo who briefly left Canada for Fox Sports 1, are separating involuntarily. Dan O'Toole was one of many Bell Media layoffs.

A coincidence that the second name in the duos won't be doing sports. This leaves Tim Micallef (of Tim and Sid) and Jay Onrait (of Jay and Dan) wondering who they will work with on a long-term basis.

If you think that the Seixeiro move is a bit odd, morning television might seem safer. Though the Vancouver and Calgary versions were cancelled last November for a national version from Toronto that will feature Seixeiro. Seixeiro has a job and O'Toole does not.

Seixeiro's last day is February 26 and his first day on Breakfast Television will be March 10.

Chris Cuthbert picks Stanley Cup final over TSN, jumps to Rogers Sportsnet

Jay & Dan were best thing on Fox Sports 1 sinking ship

pic.twitter.com/OiNlDZxAA5

— Jay Onrait (@JayOnrait) February 8, 2021

O'Toole could jump to Rogers to replace Seixeiro though the contrast of what worked for Jay and Dan would not work well for a Tim and Sid type program.

Micallef might be looked upon as a possible replacement to call CFL games for TSN, owned by Bell Media. Micallef has experience calling university football. Given that Canada didn't have the CFL or university football in 2020, making that kind of a move has some issues.

TSN might bring in Dave Randorf to do some early-season CFL games but Randorf would have to go back to Tampa by mid-September to call the NHL Tampa Bay Lightning games. Rick Ball is staying with Rogers to call Calgary Flames and Hockey Night in Canada games.

Despite the huge Bell Media layoffs, someone has to replace Chris Cuthbert on the CFL telecasts. TSN didn't really replace Cuthbert for the NHL, using freelancers here and there for conflicts with Toronto Maple Leafs and Ottawa Senators games. Jon Abbott of TSN 1040 Vancouver filled in for a game. Then Abbott and all his co-workers lost their jobs as TSN 1040 flipped formats. The same also happened at TSN 1290 in Winnipeg and TSN 1150 in Hamilton. Bell Media eliminated the newsroom staff at CJAD Montréal.

CanadianCrossing.com TSN coverage

CanadianCrossing.com Rogers Sportsnet coverage

Last week, parent company BCE announced a quarterly profit of $889 million in the 4th quarter of 2020. This was an increase versus the $672 million from the same period in 2019.

Having a 2021 CFL season can help reduce the Bell Media losses. Having an end to COVID-19 would help as well.

photo credit: TSN
Twitter capture: @JayOnrait

McGill University comes out with Redbirds for men's teams

Given the relationship between Canada and its Indigenous population, sadly there was no surprise that some team nicknames were racist. This isn't a comparison to the United States; Canada must reckon with its own offensive nicknames.

We've talked and dealt with Edmonton's CFL franchise finally making the decision to shed its nickname. We haven't talked about much about the McGill University men's teams in Montréal.

The modern name for the women's teams have been known as the Martlets. The women's teams in the past unofficially built off the offensive terms based on the men's teams nickname.

The McGill men's teams will now be known as the Redbirds. There is a McGill history with Redbirds with the Red Birds Ski Club and other McGill sports clubs, teams and events using the Redbirds name.

The previous Red--men (imagine the nickname minus the dashes) had been in use since 1920 until April 2019.

Canadian film review: Hochelaga, Land of Souls

McGill, along with the Edmonton CFL team and the Washington NFL team, had a transition between dumping the offensive nickname and having a new team nickname.

Changing the nickname away from being offensive is significant; until you have a new nickname, some people would revert back to the old nickname without an alternative.

Edmonton hasn't played a game as The Team because of the COVID-19 pandemic. The team did represent at the virtual Grey Cup Unite events. We've heard Empire and Energy for a new nickname though we love the Elks as a nickname. We'll take any nickname that isn't offensive.

The CFL released its 2021 schedule last week. If this happens, the Edmonton Football Team needs a new nickname before the team starts up again.

CFL notebook: Edmonton CFL team is now the Edmonton Football Team

Washington NFL nickname switch should inspire a similar move from the Edmonton CFL team

CanadianCrossing.com CFL coverage

Using Indigenous people as racist overtones for sports nicknames has been quite popular in North America. A number of U.S. universities went through these steps years ago, such as Stanford, Miami of Ohio, and Marquette.

The nickname change is only the beginning of the process to improve relationships between Indigenous people and those who are not Indigenous.

photo credit: @RedZoneMTL

Grey Cup Unite brings CFL Grey Cup Week spirit during a pandemic

The CFL has awakened from its deep slumber to remind us of the good times of Grey Cup Week. The celebrations are often more memorable than the game itself. The Atlantic Schooners don't even have a team yet they show up in style.

There is no 2020 Grey Cup. Grey Cup Unite will be virtual and hopefully a reminder of great times in the past and more in the future.

CFL Commissioner Randy Ambrosie moves up his traditional state of the league speech to today to kick off Grey Cup Unite. The event features a special virtual town hall to update fans on the league’s future plans.

There will be a Diversity Is Strength: Racial Justice Roundtable on Wednesday. Donnovan Bennett, host of the CFL Waggle podcast, will host the roundtable.

The CFL will unveil an All-Decade Team on Thursday. Fans can vote on the Game of the Decade.

There will be media availability for the league’s 9 head coaches on Wednesday and top CFL players on Thursday.

Ambrosie said that Grey Cup Unite is "a week of virtual and safely distanced events that will reconnect our fans with our league and with each other. We may not be able to gather for a traditional Grey Cup week but we can still stand united.”

You can find out many more details at GreyCupUnite.ca.

CFL cancels 2020 season

2020 Touchdown Atlantic in Halifax: What would have been

Grey Cup Unite is a nice gesture to a fan base that has suffered without its sport and watched as other sports limped through the pandemic yet have championships to celebrate.

Even in the early stages of the pandemic, the CFL could have drawn more attention to itself while helping others. CFL and Purolator work toward contributing food to the needy during the season. Canadians were certainly hurting for food during the pandemic.

The same league that came out with Diversity Is Strength hid as much from the limelight through the spring and summer. The NHL once talked about North Dakota and the NBA had eyes on Las Vegas. We knew that wasn't going to happen; the leagues did get some publicity.

The CFL geared up for a possible Winnipeg bubble but that was months after momentum would have helped the league's cause.

The CFL has a fan base starved for anything league- and football-related, so the fans, even the Atlantic Schooners crew, will be excited.

This feels like crumbs after what little the league has done since the pandemic hit in March. They should have more in mind between now and next spring/summer.

CFL dream: What if U.S. sports fans suddenly cared about the CFL

If CFL plays in 2020, have all the games in the Maritimes

The 2020 Grey Cup Unite activities won't be the same with the loss of David Braley and Joey Moss. Moss, 57, was the long-time locker room attendant for the Edmonton Oilers and Edmonton CFL team. He passed away last month. A beloved figure in Edmonton sports, Moss will be greatly missed.

Braley owned the BC Lions from 1997 until his death late last month, the Hamilton Tiger-Cats from 1989-1990, and the Toronto Argonauts from 2010-2015. Braley served as an Interim Commissioner of the CFL and Chair of its Board of Governors. He won Grey Cups as an owner of the BC Lions (2000, 2006, 2011) and Toronto Argonauts (2012).

CanadianCrossing.com CFL coverage

Way back in the before time, a lot of quarterbacks went down with injuries in the 2019 season. Teams were seemingly desperate for arms. Any quarterback would do, unless they were a … Canadian quarterback.

Brandon Bridge got the hint and shifted his career to being a police officer with the Peel Police Department in Ontario. On the surface, Bridge giving up football to be a police officer might have been an unconventional choice.

With his old CFL teammates scrambling for work, Bridge made a smart decision in the short term, if not longer.

Bridge discussed his desire for stability and more in an episode of the Waggle podcast with host Donnovan Bennett. They talk about policing as well as the Black Lives Matter movement.

You can find the Waggle podcasts and locate Episode 230.

Davis Sanchez is no longer on the Waggle podcasts. The podcast hasn't found a replacement for him so far. Sanchez is still involved with the CFL on TSN.

photo credit: CFL

How did the Canadian Premier League complete a 2020 season and not the CFL?

Forge FC dominated the 2020 Canadian Premier League soccer championship with a solid 2-0 win over HFX Wanderers. The late goal was a fluke but did bring insurance. The Canadian Premier League championship game in Charlottetown was even on Fox Sports 2 in the United States, simulcasting the One network coverage. Recognised Andi Petrillo as part of the studio coverage.

Hamilton won't likely have a parade for the winning Forge FC team. Halifax isn't likely to have welcomed the Wanderers with thousands waiting for the plane to land.

Like the other sports, the Canadian Premier League set up a bubble, branded as The Island Games at the University of Prince Edward Island in Charlottetown over a 5-week stretch from mid-August to mid-September.

Rise Above#CanPL l @ForgeFCHamilton pic.twitter.com/Z5nuequsAa

— CanPL (@CPLsoccer) September 19, 2020

The NFL is off and playing, though the league blew off the preseason. College football has been hit and miss, mostly miss so far. The CFL is on the sidelines, choosing not to play.

A 5-week season isn't a whole lot. MLS has been piecemeal and the Canadian teams are wandering nomads in the U.S. desert. The NHL and NBA bubbles have been stellar. MLB had a lot of troubles early with COVID-19 cases but played a lot of doubleheaders.

Canadians wanting football are stuck watching the NFL on TV

CFL cancels 2020 season

CFL dream: What if U.S. sports fans suddenly cared about the CFL

MLS had to draw a schedule with pencil in the Orlando tournament as 2 teams didn't even play in Orlando. MLB had teams sitting out for a week in a 60-game season. If we make it to the next 5 years and look back on 2020, the details of how these leagues played in a pandemic will be forgotten. They played somewhat safely or completely safely. That is the lasting memory.

The CFL fumbled and stumbled. We offered up a bubble concept with teams playing in Moncton, Saint John, and Halifax. We didn't consider the University of Prince Edward Island campus. The CFL could have built up strong favour playing in a part of Canada where the league wants to grow the game.

If CFL plays in 2020, have all the games in the Maritimes

2020 Touchdown Atlantic in Halifax: What would have been

We even offered up a 9-week season: every team plays each other once. The CFL attempt worked on a 6-game schedule and couldn't even pull that off.

Money was the reason we heard. The CFL might have had that money if they played a season first. Does the CPL have so much more money than the CFL?

Hamilton winning the CPL title can't compete with the Tiger-Cats winning the Grey Cup. The other 8 CFL teams won a Grey Cup in the 2010s: Hamilton lost to Winnipeg in the 2019 Grey Cup. That was the last CFL game until 2021, hopefully.

CanadianCrossing.com CFL coverage

Football and soccer are different beasts in terms of turnaround and trying to get games played in a short window. Canada had the advantage of being in much better shape with COVID-19, especially Atlantic Canada.

The CPL has 8 teams vs. 9 for the CFL. The format was for all the teams to play each other in the beginning, just like my idea.

The NFL and CPL are not the CFL. They rolled up sleeves and made a 2020 season happen. The CFL will be in trouble even with playing a 2021 season. They will have to recover fan interest when fans may not be able to be in a stadium, even at half capacity. 750 fans watched the Montréal Impact in person. The NFL will conduct a grand experiment with fans at certain stadiums this fall. If there is a Michigan-Ohio State game this fall, how many fans will be in Columbus, Ohio?

The Stanley Cup, NBA Finals trophy, World Series trophy, and likely the Super Bowl championship will be awarded. The Grey Cup will collect dust. If the Canadian Premier League could figure out how to make a 2020 season work, the Canadian Football League should have tried harder to be more creative to get a 2020 season on the books.

photo credit: Canadian Premier League
Twitter capture: @CPLsoccer

Canadians wanting football are stuck watching the NFL on TV

The Buffalo Bills have a significant number of Canadian season ticket holders. The Bills have announced that money will be refunded accordingly as long as the border is closed.

The Bills aren't allowing any fans at its first two home games at Bills Stadium in accordance with New York state guidelines.

Buffalo opened up its home season yesterday with the New York Jets. The next home game is September 27 against the Los Angeles Rams. Yesterday marked the first time Buffalo had major league baseball and football in the area at the same time.

We noted that those in Buffalo couldn't get the Toronto Blue Jays on television. The Buffalo Sabres had a limited deal with Bell Media to get their games in the immediate southern Ontario area from 2013-2016.

Toronto fans of the Buffalo Bills can easily watch the team. The sim sub usually ends up on CFTO-TV Channel 9, the CTV station in Toronto. Fans with an antenna can get the games via WIVB-TV 4, CBS in Buffalo, and WUTV, Fox 29 in Buffalo.

The Detroit Lions get a lot of Canadian fans to cross the border in season ticket holders and fans for individual games. The Windsor bus systems runs buses straight to Ford Field on game days. The Seattle Seahawks get a lot of Canadian fans even if the drive is longer than Windsor to Detroit.

Some NFL teams are allowed to have home fans if their state's rules are more lenient. The Miami Dolphins are scheduled to let in 13,000 people for its first home game.

NFL fans in Canada could travel to the U.S. to watch the games. The problems are that they have to fly to their destination and have to quarantine for 14 days when they get back.

Canadians can easily get their games on television with no border crossings.

CFL dream: What if U.S. sports fans suddenly cared about the CFL

Super Bowl LIV through the eyes of Canada

Toronto fans can finally root for the Buffalo Bills in the NFL playoffs

The COVID-19 coronavirus pandemic has changed the sports world. The CFL cancelled its season in great part because they couldn't let in significant crowds. Quebec has a 250 maximum; the MLS Montréal Impact allowed that number in for recent games against Toronto FC and Vancouver Whitecaps FC.

Long-time readers will remember that the Buffalo Bills used to play games in Toronto at Rogers Centre. That certainly couldn't have happened in 2020.

The Buffalo Bills got snowed out in 2014 and moved a game to Detroit. The thought of moving the game to Toronto was thwarted since not all the players had passports.

CanadianCrossing.com NFL coverage

CanadianCrossing.com CFL coverage

Despite the attendance issues in the Bills Toronto series, the NFL is very popular in Canada. Without the CFL, the NFL will grow in stature, especially in Toronto and Vancouver.

U.S. NFL fans might think they get a decent amount of games on a Sunday. Canadians get way more games thanks to CTV stations across the country (with time shifting on cable or satellite) and TSN. Now that TSN doesn't have CFL games, Canadians may get even more NFL games.

@KennyAlbert has been in a safe bubble in #Edmonton for the @NHL playoffs. The @NFL made up a rule where anyone who has been outside the U.S. has to #quarantine for 14 days to call a game on site. #Canada is safer than any NFL city right now. https://t.co/ljs9aEMSTr

— Chad Rubel (@canadian_xing) September 12, 2020

Kenny Albert has been in one of the safest places in North America in the NHL bubble in Edmonton for NBCSN. Albert was scheduled to leave the bubble to cover the NFL for Fox. The NFL has had this peculiar rule, even more odd since the NFL plays in London and Mexico City and used to play in Toronto. Albert flew from Edmonton through Toronto to Detroit when he found out en route that he wouldn't be able to call the NFL game.

Fox replaced Albert for the game in Detroit with Dick Stockton, who reportedly came in from Arizona. Edmonton, even outside the bubble, is safer than Arizona.

We profiled Kenny Albert's life in the bubble. The NHL gets full credit for how the bubbles in Edmonton and Toronto have gone. The NFL could learn something from the NHL.

The NFL rule doesn't specifically say Canada, yet the national announcers are either in Canada (Albert) or the United States (everyone else). Sam Rosen, who is calling NHL playoff games on the radio, isn't on Fox's list of NFL announcers.

logo credit: Buffalo Bills/NFL
Twitter capture: @canadian_xing

CFL cancels 2020 season

The #CFL announces that there will not be a shortened season played this fall.

FULL STATEMENT | https://t.co/iq4JNXU20p pic.twitter.com/OE4R4AHZdQ

— CFL (@CFL) August 17, 2020

The CFL had a lot of good momentum. A decade where 8 of the 9 CFL teams won a Grey Cup (sorry, Hamilton Tiger-Cats). A Touchdown Atlantic in Halifax, finally.

Unlike the other major leagues, the CFL needed fans in the stands to be viable. Even in Canada, that was not going to happen.

The CFL announced earlier today that there will not be a 2020 season. This is the first year in the modern CFL era (1958-) where there will be no season, the first time since 1919 that the Grey Cup will not be awarded.

No strike or lockout; just the COVID-19 coronavirus pandemic.

The final straw was when the federal government turned down the league's request for a $30-million, interest-free loan. The CFL turned down a loan from the Business Development Bank of Canada over the high interest rate.

There had been talk about a hub scenario in Winnipeg but the financial part didn't work.

In May, CFL Commissioner Randy Ambroisie told a House of Commons standing committee on finance earlier this month that the most likely scenario for the CFL is a cancelled 2020 season. "Ours is a big brand but not a wealthy business," Ambrosie told the committee. "Unlike large U.S.-based leagues, our biggest source of revenue is not TV — it's ticket sales."

The approach seemed a bit defeatist at the time but might have been more honest than we knew at the time.

If CFL plays in 2020, have all the games in the Maritimes

2020 Touchdown Atlantic in Halifax: What would have been

Our approach that playing a limited season (8 games, not 6) and then asking for money would have made more sense. Since crowds wouldn't be an issue, playing in the relatively safe area of the Maritimes would have grown the sport for the future.

Having the visual of Halifax, Moncton, and Saint John would have been amazing, similar to what Toronto and Edmonton are enjoying with the NHL. Canada has proven to be safer than the United States on COVID-19.

What sports will look like on Canadian soil in 2020

CFL dream: What if U.S. sports fans suddenly cared about the CFL

Even though this punch in the gut was coming for some time, the idea that all these other sports could come back in some form and not the CFL feels very cruel. I used to cover sports and sports broadcasting for a living beyond this blog. The world is filled with so many sports that I don't care about anymore. The CFL was a grand exception. We have to hope that 2021 will offer a season of some kind. Please.

Chris Cuthbert picks Stanley Cup final over TSN, jumps to Rogers Sportsnet

I don’t know, but I would be happy to if asked. https://t.co/ezlBCS2ipD

— Gord Miller (@GMillerTSN) August 5, 2020

Assuming a 2021 CFL season, TSN and the league will still have to answer on who will call the big CFL games. The Gord Miller tweet gave some hope that he would be part of the mix. Rod Smith would have been high on the list. The announcer landscape may be very different in 2021.

We know giving up the CFL was a difficult decision for Chris Cuthbert. Cuthbert made the right decision at least in the short term.

CanadianCrossing.com CFL coverage

Labour Day. Canadian Thanksgiving. Sundays in November. As bad as the hurt is now, those benchmarks are coming soon. The hurt will get worse. The CFL is hopeful for 2021 but there are no guarantees in life, on and off the field.

Twitter captures: @CFL; @GMillerTSN
logo credit: CFL

Laurent Duvernay-Tardif chooses health care over the NFL

My decision regarding the 2020 NFL season pic.twitter.com/jrY3nZfNWO

— Laurent D. Tardif (@LaurentDTardif) July 25, 2020

Laurent Duvernay-Tardif — Montréal native and Kansas City offensive guard — was in a quandry. The good doctor wasn't in a residency program so he had to stay on the medical sidelines. Given that Montréal was the hardest hit city in Quebec and Canada, Duvernay-Tardif chose to cheer on medical personnel from the sidelines rather than play for the Alouettes.

When we had our CFL dream back in June, we figured Laurent Duvernay-Tardif would have a dilemma about whether to play football or stick with health care. We figured he would choose health care over football.

"If I am to take risks, I will do it caring for patients."

Duvernay-Tardif has been working at Centre Gertrude-Lafrance, a facility in St-Jean-sur-Richelieu, south of Montréal, according to social media accounts. He earned a medical degree from McGill University. Long-term care homes in the Montréal area suffered some of the worst damage from COVID-19 in all of Canada.

"Laurent is a person with a lot of convictions and has always been true to his beliefs and what he thinks is the right thing to do for him," said Sasha Ghavami, Duvernay-Tardif's agent and longtime friend.

Duvernay-Tardif is not the only relatively well-known figure with a medical degree to help out. Joannie Rochette, Olympic bronze medal winning figure skater (2010, Vancouver), also has a recent medical degree and is working in a care home.

The NFL and NFLPA agreed to offer a US$150,000 stipend to players such as Duvernay-Tardif who opt out of the upcoming season. Duvernay-Tardif is the first NFL player to opt out of the 2020 season.

CFL dream: What if U.S. sports fans suddenly cared about the CFL

Super Bowl LIV through the eyes of Canada

CanadianCrossing.com NFL coverage

Laurent Duvernay-Tardif, born in Mont-Saint-Hilaire, QC, started 2020 as only the fourth non-kicking Canadian to start in a Super Bowl. Duvernay-Tardif won a Super Bowl ring for the Kansas City NFL team.

Twitter capture and photo credit: @LaurentDTardif

2020 Touchdown Atlantic in Halifax: What would have been

The CFL had plans for a much larger Touchdown Atlantic experience culminating in the first regular season CFL game in Nova Scotia on Saturday. The game had sold out, something that didn't always happen.

The COVID-19 coronavirus pandemic might take out the first year without a Canadian football season since 1918. COVID-19 did take out the 2020 Touchdown Atlantic game and celebration.

The Saskatchewan Roughriders and Toronto Argonauts were scheduled to play at Saint Mary's University in Halifax. Chris Cuthbert did regret in his departure from TSN that he never got to call a regular-season game in Halifax. Cuthbert's TSN debut was a preseason game in Halifax.

They were bringing in temporary seats to fill the capacity to 10,000. There would have been a festive atmosphere given the proximity to downtown Halifax.

The Touchdown Atlantic has had regular season games in Moncton, New Brunswick in 2010, 2011, 2013, and 2019. A scheduled 2006 exhibition game in Halifax was cancelled in 2006 since the Ottawa Renegades folded. Saint John, New Brunswick hosted preseason games in 1986 and 1987 before Touchdown Atlantic was a concept.

Having a regular season game in Halifax was supposed to be a major step in the formation of the Atlantic Schooners.

The CFL had planned a 3-day “mini Grey Cup festival” featuring music, parties, and family-friendly fun. Today would have been Day 3. I have not been to a Grey Cup week but reportedly the people who have the most fun are the Atlantic Schooners gatherings. They don't even have a team. Yet.

What sports will look like on Canadian soil in 2020

CFL dream: What if U.S. sports fans suddenly cared about the CFL

If CFL plays in 2020, have all the games in the Maritimes

We did propose the CFL play a limited season in Moncton, Saint John, and Halifax to bring attention to the sport in Atlantic Canada. Not a genius but the timing of a July and August season in that part of Canada would have been glorious.

There wouldn't have been fans at the games but the attention to that part of Canada would have looked so good on television.

I visited Moncton and New Brunswick in 2013 in part because of Touchdown Atlantic. That was a wonderful trip that had a CFL game in the mix. I have seen a lot of Canada in part because of the CFL.

Canadian travel bubbles could boost tourism within Canada

CFL travels have sent me to every league city

CanadianCrossing.com New Brunswick coverage

CanadianCrossing.com Nova Scotia coverage

CanadianCrossing.com travel coverage

CanadianCrossing.com CFL coverage

We know the next full and relatively normal CFL season will have a Touchdown Atlantic in Halifax. The celebration may be extra special because of what has happened. I would have done some morning shopping at the Halifax Seaport Farmers Market, a short distance from the stadium. A good time of year to get a real lobster roll (butter, not mayonnaise). The streets will be filled with the green of the Saskatchewan Roughriders. They travel well. There will be some Toronto Argonauts fans, too. I remember seeing Ottawa Rough Riders jerseys in 2013, a year before the Ottawa RedBlacks made their debut.

There will even be some Atlantic Schooners jerseys in the mix.

photo credits: CFL; Google maps

CFL notebook: Edmonton CFL team is now the Edmonton Football Team

Edmonton Football Team or EE Football Team. We've seen a similar placeholder for the McGill University men's sports in Montréal, known as the Team.

The Edmonton CFL franchise aka Edmonton Football Team made the official announcement that the team was dropping the racist nickname the team has had.

There is no timetable for a new nickname. The Team will remain so through 2020.

We want the Elks to be the new nickname; other names out there are Empire and Energy. They would be better than the old ones but not as cool as Elks.

Washington NFL nickname switch should inspire a similar move from the Edmonton CFL team

2019 CFL Week 16 preview

Winnipeg has reportedly beat out Regina (Saskatchewan) and Calgary to be the hub city for the CFL bubble in 2020. Manitoba public health and safety officials still need to approve the deal.

Manitoba Premier Brian Pallister stepped up with a $2.5 million offer to cover accommodations, transportation, and a number of costs. Saskatchewan offered $3 million afterward. Calgary also had a bid to be the hub city.

The CFL notes that a new collective bargaining agreement with the CFL Players' Association needs to happen as well as significant federal government support.

The goal is to have some kind of training camp and start games in September. Still a long way to go.

The players will have the right to opt out of the 2020 season without penalty. Brandon Banks has said he won't wear a helmet until 2021. DaVaris Daniels gave CFL Commissioner Randy Ambrosie until July 3. James Wilder Jr. got a job and retired. Banks has some pull given his status as the 2019 most outstanding player.

If CFL plays in 2020, have all the games in the Maritimes

CanadianCrossing.com CFL coverage

The 60-game schedule and Grey Cup would be in Winnipeg. This translates to each team playing 6 regular season games. Only a single CFL team would be eliminated.

The premise behind this is limited the extent of the bubble. Having a 8-game season allows every team to play each other. Having a regular season, even a 6-game season, will be embarrassing if 8 of the 9 teams make the playoffs. If the Argos are that eliminated team, the league will suffer embarrassment in the country's largest city.

With a 6-game season and an extra round of playoffs, that plan only cuts the bubble by a week. The NFL just eliminated its preseason. The CFL could do the same and get in an extra week or 2 for the regular season.

We see that NHL announcers are entering the bubbles in Toronto and Edmonton. If the CFL announcers did the same, they might have to do other duties from within the bubble, such as Dustin Nielson's radio show in Edmonton or Gord Miller switching bubbles once NBCSN doesn't need him for Stanley Cup playoff duties.

photo credits: Edmonton Football Team; me