Calgary Stampeders President Gordon Norrie made the following statement.

 

 

“There’s actual traction at the league level,” Norrie said this week. “It’s pretty much unanimous amongst the teams. We’re working with a couple of our partners that also have a stake in it, namely TSN, so it’s still very much at the top of the priorities of all the teams.

“For the most part right now, the topic is ending the season sooner. Once we get everybody involved that has an issue or has a stake in it, then we’ll start to work out the details.”

While the players are fine with earning a paycheque in any type of weather, the changes are being looked at with the fans in mind.

Wonder if buffalo green bay new England and others want the NFL to start earlier. Denver too.

They're weather isn't anything like we potentially get.

We potentially get bad weather. They are guaranteed it pretty much.

But their cold isn't nearly as cold as ours. They might get minus 10 Celsius. We could get minus 40 Celcius here in Winnipeg. That's what I meant.

They already play all July, the hottest month. Starting mid-June sounds ideal to me.

 

Probably not well known but the CFL regular season used to start in August and still end with the Grey Cup last week of Nov. or maybe Dec 3ish. Back then they managed to squeeze in the best of 3 western final(s) into one week too. It would be crazy to do that in the modern era but shows there is precedence for change.

Pretty sure coldest NFL game is colder than the coldest CFL game. The only one I could find for CFL was 1970 west final in Regina was -35 with wind chill. 1981 AFC championship game was -38 with the windchill.

Pretty sure coldest NFL game is colder than the coldest CFL game. The only one I could find for CFL was 1970 west final in Regina was -35 with wind chill. 1981 AFC championship game was -38 with the windchill.

What was the real temperature? not windchill temperature

-3 in Regina -23 in Cinncinati

The 2010 West Final was pretty cold. -24C at game time. Two days later it was a high of -30C.

 

Oddly enough it seems like the Grey Cup week tends to be warmer than the West Final week. The coldest air temp for a Grey Cup was Winnipeg's 1991 game at -17C. 

 

The coldest NFL game was the December 13, 1967 meeting of Green Bay and Dallas with an air temp of -25C and a windchill of -44C. 

How cold was the east final vs hamilton? That was a freaking cold game.

I'm not a fan.  I prefer fall football to June football.

How cold was the east final vs hamilton? That was a freaking cold game.

That was about -20 to -25 with the windchill. Maybe got a little colder as the game went on.

Outdoor summer football is fantastic, but there's something intrinsically Canadian about the ultra-cold outdoor Grey Cup game at the end of November...

I'm not a fan. I prefer fall football to June football.

Who said anything about getting rid of fall football? Its the winter football that sucks. From a business perspective it makes a lot of sense. What's attendance like in Late October? There is infinitely more opportunity to sell out a couple of June ganes then give away free tickets in late October or early November.

How cold was the east final vs hamilton? That was a freaking cold game.

What a great game. Wish we still had that Garrett.

I'm not a fan. I prefer fall football to June football.

Who said anything about getting rid of fall football? Its the winter football that sucks. From a business perspective it makes a lot of sense. What's attendance like in Late October? There is infinitely more opportunity to sell out a couple of June ganes then give away free tickets in late October or early November.

Winter starts December 21. June is usually a combo of oppressive heat and storms when the cold fronts finally appear. I don't think it's necessarily an easier sell than October for regular season. Meaningful games in October and November will sell in most CFL cities, and where they don't sell changing the schedule would make little difference.

I can definitely see fans buying tickets anytime in June and then just going to the game - rain be damned,

BUT,

I also can also see fans waiting, in late October, until they have a better idea of conditions before buying tickets.

Where do you think the expression "fair weather fans" came from?

I can definitely see fans buying tickets anytime in June and then just going to the game - rain be damned,

BUT,

I also can also see fans waiting, in late October, until they have a better idea of conditions before buying tickets.

Where do you think the expression "fair weather fans" came from?

 

There's also a relatively long standing tradition of early season games having difficulty selling league-wide and interest really picking up at Labour Day, kind of when people settle back into their working lives and spend less time at the cottage.  That may have shifted in recent years a bit.  To me, this issue is really low on the issues facing the league, and the potential to be damaging to the brand is more than the potential of it really making any difference at all.

Why not consider "telescoping" the season by shortening the time between games by a day or two?

How cold was the east final vs hamilton? That was a freaking cold game.

-10 and with the wind chill it ranged from -17 to -19

Why not consider "telescoping" the season by shortening the time between games by a day or two?

That's tough to do when the schedule is mostly built around weekend games.

I wonder what it would do to ratings and attendance if more games were held mid-week.

Why not consider "telescoping" the season by shortening the time between games by a day or two?

That's tough to do when the schedule is mostly built around weekend games.

I wonder what it would do to ratings and attendance if more games were held mid-week.

I'm sure it would be considered a player saftey issue as well. But I like the thinking.

I can definitely see fans buying tickets anytime in June and then just going to the game - rain be damned,

BUT,

I also can also see fans waiting, in late October, until they have a better idea of conditions before buying tickets.

Where do you think the expression "fair weather fans" came from?

 

The drop off in attendance is also exacerbated by televised games and having the option of watching the game from the comfort of the living room instead of freezing your ass off. 

How cold was the east final vs hamilton? That was a freaking cold game.

-10 and with the wind chill it ranged from -17 to -19

Apparently I'm a pansy

 

 

How cold was the east final vs hamilton? That was a freaking cold game.

-10 and with the wind chill it ranged from -17 to -19

Apparently I'm a pansy

 

 

Preferable to being a weather nerd! 

The CFL could also look at whether training camp needs to be as long as it is...maybe shave a week off main TC? With the number of veterans taking a week off anyways for "injuries", it seems most veterans don't need it to be as long.

But ya, I'd like to see more warm weather games and the Grey Cup played no later than mid November.

People already complain that the first couple games are glorified exhibition games and you want to shorten preseason even more?

Not fewer games, but maybe less practice time. Maybe start rookie camp earlier as veterans don't seem to need/want as much practice time during TC. I'm just looking for some creative solutions, unlike you who just likes to complain.

Yeah cause less practice time is sure to make those first games better played. You say creative ideas, I say stupid ideas not even worth considering. Longer preseason would be better for the leagues overall play

The CFL could also look at whether training camp needs to be as long as it is...maybe shave a week off main TC? With the number of veterans taking a week off anyways for "injuries", it seems most veterans don't need it to be as long.

But ya, I'd like to see more warm weather games and the Grey Cup played no later than mid November.

People already complain that the first couple games are glorified exhibition games and you want to shorten preseason even more?

Not fewer games, but maybe less practice time. Maybe start rookie camp earlier as veterans don't seem to need/want as much practice time during TC. I'm just looking for some creative solutions, unlike you who just likes to complain.

Yeah cause less practice time is sure to make those first games better played. You say creative ideas, I say stupid ideas not even worth considering. Longer preseason would be better for the leagues overall play

Your reply really doesn't surprise me. You're the "Debbie Downer" of MBB.

One thing I've always wondered about is a major blizzard on Grey Cup day.  We've had 'em here (other cities too) in mid-November never mind late. It's the CFL and I figure it will happen eventually. Since they now play the game late on Sunday (instead of Saturday afternoon like the fog bowl was) what would they do?