With the start of the AAF and the future return of the XFL, my long time dreams of the CFL turning their product into a massive North American success begins to slip away. I've said for a long time that the CFL needed to make massive changes to their game and form a partnership with the NFL.
For those of you who don't know, the CFL has a unique set of rules. Most notably are the ridiculous ball they have to use, a three down format, allowing receivers to be running at full speed as the ball is snapped and a bunch of bizarre scoring rules that I'm confident no one knows about. This has helped to distinguish the CFL as a different game than the NFL but the peculiarities have made it clearly the lesser of the two sports.
The CFL has tried to expand in the past, establishing teams in the USA but the league wasn't able to maintain the fan base and has slowly shrunk over the years. I've often felt that the CFL could have changed that trend at any point in time by adopting more rules from the NFL and even forming some level of partnership between the two leagues. Even something as simple as changing the ball to the same size as the NFL and adding a fourth down would go a long way towards improving the game.
I like to imagine the CFL and NFL forming a partnership that allows NFL teams to retain the rights of players in the CFL. How great would it be to have a league where some of the younger emerging talent has a place to showcase their skills instead of being backups or practice squad players in the NFL. This would greatly improve the talent level in the CFL and create a new pipeline of players for the NFL. There are players who make the transition from CFL to NFL but it happens at such a small rate that it has become the exception and not the expectation from players in the league.
To me one of the greatest stories in NFL history is Kurt Warner. I player who played his way from arena league football to the NFL hall of fame. His story shows that success doesn't have to be a straight line from High School to College to NFL. College is a very different game than the NFL and success at the college level doesn't always translate into success in the NFL. You look at player like Johnny Manziel or Tim Tebow, dominant in College but both had lackluster NFL careers due to the differences in the two levels. I feel like both players could have benefited greatly from being in a NFL farm system or development league.
With the emergence of the AAF and the XFL I believe any hope of the CFL and NFL ever coming to some sort of partnership has all but vanished. Why would the NFL partner with a league that doesn't even play the same game? It would also be a lot easier to sell their product if it's based in the USA. I really hope that the AAF is a success and they have some good football for everyone to watch. We could see some great stories moving into the next NFL season of players who never got a great opportunity ion the NFL but are able to shine in the AAF.
Even after just one week of play, I find myself more interested in the AAF than the CFL. Most of them stems from the potential of the league and what I hope it can accomplish. The league will have a one year head start on the XFL which launches in early 2020 and that could be enough to establish it as the #2 football league in the world. Time will tell but all I know is that the CFL missed a big opportunity not trying to step into the place that the AAF and XFL are about to fill.
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