Hey, The CFL Ain't So Bad

So you just can't wait until the NFL starts up? The suspense is killing you? Well, in Canada it's been football season for quite some time now. And I'm not saying that in some kind of pompous "I mean real football, which you silly Americans call soccer" fashion.

The Canadian Football League is already eight weeks into their 19-week — seriously? 19 weeks? Sweet — season. Having been exposed to the Canadian take on football, it's (surprisingly) grown on me. Beyond some of the quirky rule differences (12 men on the field, three downs instead of four, you can actually receive a single point on some plays), the gameplay isn't exactly worse than the NFL.

Granted, it's not like any CFL team could necessarily beat an NFL team (exception: one with Rex Grossman handing off to Reuben Droughns, all while protected by the Raiders offensive line) but I'm sure many NFL teams don't have the collective speed to beat CFL teams in this wide-open style of football. In essence, the CFL is just as exciting as college football, only the players get paid and there's a playoff system.

Perhaps, rather than have the NFL waste everyone's time with the Pro Bowl in February, the two leagues could organize an exhibition where the NFL All-Stars battle the CFL All-Stars in a CFL game. The NFL players may not care, and nobody may watch it on TV, but that's still considered, by all intents and purposes, and improvement over the current Pro Bowl.

CFL vs. NFL The Box J Boys