http://www.thestar.com/sports/football/2016/02/19/us-football-fans-urge-cfl-to-play-in-st-louis.html

Is this a bad idea? My first concern would be that it would water-down the league. Then again, if the league could thrive there it would be a good thing. 

Hell no. The CFL belongs in Canada and only Canada.

Been there done that and it did not work. What's so different now?

11 hours ago, STLRAMSCFL.COM said:

IT WILL WORK! And here's why. Die-hard football fans in the U.S. hate that the NFL takes a break from football all the way from after the Super Bowl until the fall. That leaves the entire summer with absolutely NO FOOTBALL (or sports betting on football) in America. The CFL plays from June-November. The CFL would rule the ENTIRE SUMMER in the U.S. (more at: www.STLRAMSCFL.com 

Broadcasting: The NFL Network has taken over a lot of the broadcasting for 2016, leaving ABC completely out of the broadcast picture, with Fox and ESPN broadcasting only postseason games. Which means that if the CFL did a good enough job of marketing to the U.S. during the summer, they'd definitely maintain a strong following after the NFL starts back up in the fall. With no NFL or college in the summer, ABC could partner with Canadian broadcasters to broadcast CFL games on Mondays, Thursdays and Sundays in the U.S. ESPN and/or FOX could cover the CFL postseason . When ESPN and FOX pick up their broadcasting duties in the U.S. postseason, the CFL Football season will have long been over.

Finances: The Stadium Task Force in St. Louis raised $1 billion dollars to build a shiny new stadium on the St. Louis riverfront in order to keep the Rams in town. St. Louis doesn't actually need a new stadium because the Edward Jones Dome, where the Rams used to play, is still a very nice facility. So, there's more than enough money in St. Louis to afford an expansion team.

NFL vs CFL Rules: Simple!!! Play NFL rules when plyaning in the U.S. and CFL rules when playing in Canada. Just think major league baseball in America for example. During interleague play, the teams play occording to the rules of the home team. NLB rules in NLB stadiums and ALB rules in ALB stadiums. Doing the same with football wouldn't be complicated since U.S. players, playing in Canada, played their college football on NFL size fields, and according to rules NFL similar to NFL rules.

As for ratio's and differences in currencies, these are businessmen and at the end of the day, if there's enough money involved, they would figure it out. That's why it's called "business".

Football is much bigger in the U.S. in 2016 than it was in 1994-95. And there are lots of large cities that that can afford teams, and wish they had their own, but are forced to root for teams from other cities simply because it's in the NFL's best interest to not grant them a team.

Trust me, it will work! To see the original article that sparked this conversation, go to:  www.STLRAMSCFL.com. 

Trust me LOL ...

All right to the American response:

1. Broadcast rights. Fox and ESPN will be broadcasting regular season games. ABC will not be they are owned by ESPN so I doubt they care.

2. The rules: A league has one set of rules. Your suggestion is asinine.

3. Currency: If you can't see the difficulties that two currencies with different values have, well then you haven't thought about this at all.

4. The ratio: You either loss it, likely causing a strike or one team has an advantage.

I suppose you could increase the DI #, but the american team would have the advantage having 9 home games vs the other teams playing there only once per season.

why exactly cant the american team play to the ratio rule in the US? and can currency paid not just be converted;

SMS cap = 3.7millUS (5.1mCAD)

instead of Player getting say $120kCAD they get $87K US

every team needs to be exactly the same, or GTFO....

No thanks. Don't see how this could work and the CFL pretty much shot the idea down anyway. 

not saying i support the idea, but I dont see how it couldnt work either

3 minutes ago, Taynted_Fayth said:

not saying i support the idea, but I dont see how it couldnt work either

Then you're either too young to remember 1994, or you're not much of a critical thinker...

I remember vividly just how bad the last expansion was. How many players the Bombers lost to the US teams in particular CFL All Stars Elfrid Payton & Matt Dunigan because of the loonie being devalued similar to today. Then we had to play the American teams with all US players while we had the ratio to contend with. The CFL sized field didn't fit in some US stadiums & the end zones were 10 yards. Interest among fans in the US cities was minimal & all the while the rules were being criticized down there. Some people even said that the CFL "wasn't real football". I was glad it failed & hope we never have US expansion again.

Gonna say it, USA expansion would be fine with me IF the rules were the same but with labor laws down there being different and the value of the canadian dollar, it's just a bad idea. It's a pie in the sky idea really from a group of fans from a city who just lost their team. 

no i remember Baltimore's GC win, but other then the ratio rule being lopsided at that time, its not like they (CFL HQ) couldn't make the appropriate changes after learning from what didn't work the first time.  Again Im not in favor of the idea either,  I'd rather see a 10th team (in the maritimes) in canada long before an american outfit again. hell id rather see 12 teams in canada before that. but that first run of the US  i think tried to change too much and infused way to many teams at once (i think 7? LV, Sacremento, Memphis, Birmingham, Baltimore, Shreveport, San Antonio) thats alot of new teams at once

I could see the CFL being typical Canadians and bending over backwards to try and please St. Louis, such that we go through a bunch of machinations and get St. Louis into the league.  I could see the game, when viewed objectively, catching on in St. Louis just as it did in Baltimore.  And THEN I could see, after doing all of that and making St. Louis a successful franchise, the city of St. Louis building a brand new facility and attracting an NFL franchise and totally screwing us over, just like Baltimore did.

In the end, they are an American city, and will always hunger for an NFL franchise.  In fact, if you gave Toronto and Vancouver the option, they would probably vote to punt their CFL franchises and go with NFL teams.  Even though it is an inferior product, it's got the "cool" factor that the CFL just will never have.  And that's why I love our league so very much.  Its not about being hip or cool, it's about a massively entertaining game that when played by skilled players, is one of the best sports on the planet to watch.  Bar none.

Edited February 21, 20169 yr by kelownabomberfan

The idea of 'Mericans watching our game..then loving it, is sexy and flirtatious, but like KBF says, once the big bucks from the NFL  show up, we'd be shown the door pretty damn quick, and who wants to do that breakup thing all over again?

St Louis will have another NFL team. It's too big of a market to ignore. A new 70,000 plus stadium will have to be built first & they'll do it. The city needs a few years for the anger to subside but in the end they'll get their team. The politicians will bend over backwards to make sure it happens.

The ratio issue will remain the problem. U.S. labour law will not allow you to mandate any number of foreign players as a requirement. As stated been there done that and failed miserably. I was at the Vegas Winnipeg game in Vegas. There were 6,000 people there. Mostly Canadians I'm guessing and who knows how many freebies. It was mid season and they ended up playing the balance of their games on the road.

what about looking at places like ND, SD, Montana.  Close enough to the boarder that you could draw people from canada to come watch, plus might already be fully aware of the CFL.  I dont think any of those states have cities that would have a serious shot for an NFL team for a long time/ever, assuming everything is equal (ratio, salary)

Edited February 21, 20169 yr by Taynted_Fayth

Funny how the same arguments are now being discussed over 2 decades later like they were back then. Yes, some fans who supported US expansion back in the day said that the CFL should focus on Northern US States. However, just because cities like Spokane, WA or Fargo ND are close to the border doesn't mean football fans there want a CFL team. Or that they follow the CFL. People in Spokane are huge Washington State fans while Fargo is a college football town. Those are their teams. And again as has been pointed out, the ratio issue will never be solved unless Canadian teams go to an unlimited roster with no ratio. Won't happen.

Well if your trying to put a CFL team into a market that believes its an NFL market (St. Louis, Baltimore,  hell Toronto) you probably wont see as much interest.  but Spokane might also be die hard seahawks fans, id sooner put a team in Oregon that doesnt have the NFL then in a state that does which is why I wouldnt bother with Minnesota, Wisconsin, Michigan...ect.  

all just theoretical anyways, not gonna happen again for a long time or ever again after that failed 90's attempt. I dont think the league wants that black eye again

Edited February 21, 20169 yr by Taynted_Fayth

4 hours ago, Taynted_Fayth said:

I suppose you could increase the DI #, but the american team would have the advantage having 9 home games vs the other teams playing there only once per season.

why exactly cant the american team play to the ratio rule in the US? and can currency paid not just be converted;

SMS cap = 3.7millUS (5.1mCAD)

instead of Player getting say $120kCAD they get $87K US

Canadians are foreigners in America.  Forget it's football for a second.  You're starting a business in America with a mandate to employ a certain number of foreign workers without making those jobs available to Americans.  That's not going to fly in any developed country. 

3 hours ago, Taynted_Fayth said:

Well if your trying to put a CFL team into a market that believes its an NFL market (St. Louis, Baltimore,  hell Toronto) you probably wont see as much interest.  but Spokane might also be die hard seahawks fans, id sooner put a team in Oregon that doesnt have the NFL then in a state that does which is why I wouldnt bother with Minnesota, Wisconsin, Michigan...ect.  

all just theoretical anyways, not gonna happen again for a long time or ever again after that failed 90's attempt. I dont think the league wants that black eye again

Well, not to throw water on what you say but I have relatives & friends who were born & raised in Portland & the CFL is nothing to them other than a curious sidelight as I'm the CFL fan in the family but they are huge Seahawks fans. The Seahawks are THE pro football team in the Pacific Northwest.  Tons of people from Oregon are Hawks STH's. 

Football fans in Oregon love the Ducks & then the Beavers a distant second. Portland has an NCAA school (Portland State) that draws 20,000 fans a game in their stadium. There's NO city in Oregon that would support 3 down football. Been there enough times to know that.  Our game is unique. Its ours & should be left that way.

 

3 minutes ago, JuranBoldenRules said:

Canadians are foreigners in America.  Forget it's football for a second.  You're starting a business in America with a mandate to employ a certain number of foreign workers without making those jobs available to Americans.  That's not going to fly in any developed country. 

It flies in Canada in the CFL. We mandate a certain number of Canadian jobs and allow the rest to be taken by foreign workers. (I know the US wouldn't allow it)

17 hours ago, STLRAMSCFL.COM said:

IT WILL WORK! And here's why. Die-hard football fans in the U.S. hate that the NFL takes a break from football all the way from after the Super Bowl until the fall. That leaves the entire summer with absolutely NO FOOTBALL (or sports betting on football) in America. The CFL plays from June-November. The CFL would rule the ENTIRE SUMMER in the U.S. (more at: www.STLRAMSCFL.com 

Broadcasting: The NFL Network has taken over a lot of the broadcasting for 2016, leaving ABC completely out of the broadcast picture, with Fox and ESPN broadcasting only postseason games. Which means that if the CFL did a good enough job of marketing to the U.S. during the summer, they'd definitely maintain a strong following after the NFL starts back up in the fall. With no NFL or college in the summer, ABC could partner with Canadian broadcasters to broadcast CFL games on Mondays, Thursdays and Sundays in the U.S. ESPN and/or FOX could cover the CFL postseason . When ESPN and FOX pick up their broadcasting duties in the U.S. postseason, the CFL Football season will have long been over.

Finances: The Stadium Task Force in St. Louis raised $1 billion dollars to build a shiny new stadium on the St. Louis riverfront in order to keep the Rams in town. St. Louis doesn't actually need a new stadium because the Edward Jones Dome, where the Rams used to play, is still a very nice facility. So, there's more than enough money in St. Louis to afford an expansion team.

NFL vs CFL Rules: Simple!!! Play NFL rules when plyaning in the U.S. and CFL rules when playing in Canada. Just think major league baseball in America for example. During interleague play, the teams play occording to the rules of the home team. NLB rules in NLB stadiums and ALB rules in ALB stadiums. Doing the same with football wouldn't be complicated since U.S. players, playing in Canada, played their college football on NFL size fields, and according to rules NFL similar to NFL rules.

As for ratio's and differences in currencies, these are businessmen and at the end of the day, if there's enough money involved, they would figure it out. That's why it's called "business".

Football is much bigger in the U.S. in 2016 than it was in 1994-95. And there are lots of large cities that that can afford teams, and wish they had their own, but are forced to root for teams from other cities simply because it's in the NFL's best interest to not grant them a team.

Trust me, it will work! To see the original article that sparked this conversation, go to:  www.STLRAMSCFL.com. 

Gets a like just for making the effort to find a CFL fan site.

Nice to see the enthusiasm from the (supposed) fan from St. Louis. But there are still some CFL fans around in Baltimore & they have no team either.

23 minutes ago, JuranBoldenRules said:

Canadians are foreigners in America.  Forget it's football for a second.  You're starting a business in America with a mandate to employ a certain number of foreign workers without making those jobs available to Americans.  That's not going to fly in any developed country. 

thats a weird concept. Why would the americans have an issue with a canadian company trying to do business in the american economy that for the vast majority employs americans and generates business in the american city its in.  Is there an issue with Canadians playing on an american team in any other sport/league that they are essentially taking a spot that could be filled by an american? if not then i dont see why it'd be such a huge deal to say because it's the Canadian football league,  one requirement is starting 7 canucks, its part of the league and rules, but doesnt prevent any american from playing or making the team on their own merit. in fact the CFL heavily employs more americans as it is in Canada