NDP MP Wants Canadian Football to Stay Canadian

A new bill would prevent the NFL from expanding into Canada.

If you're like us, you're awaiting the Winnipeg Blue Bombers' inevitable winning of the Grey Cup in Vancouver this weekend with bated breath. You'd also think that Toronto has no right wanting an NFL franchise, as the city can't even properly support the Argonauts, which currently have the lowest attendance in the entire CFL despite playing in the country's biggest city. Hence, you'd probably welcome the news that NDP MP Peter Julian is introducing a bill in the House of Commons today that would effectively ban the CFL from expanding beyond our borders and deny any "foreign leagues" (read: the NFL) from expanding into Canada. (We're not entirely sure what this would mean for the Lingerie Football League, not that anyone really cares.) Andrew Bucholtz of Yahoo's CFL blog, The 55-Yard Line, gives us a thorough overview of just what Julian's bill would do to preserve the CFL and stymie efforts to bring a moribund NFL team – say, the Buffalo Bills or Jacksonville Jaguars – north of the border. It smacks of protectionism, but as Bucholtz notes:

NFL expansion to Toronto isn't an imminent threat at the moment, regardless of what Doug Ford might think, but that doesn't mean it isn't a threat. It may not be a present danger, but it's certainly a clear one. The current batch of Buffalo Bills' preseason and regular season games (one per year) hasn't been all that bad for the CFL, but basing a team in Toronto is a radically different proposition. A NFL team in Toronto would directly compete with the Argonauts for sponsorship, suite and regular ticket revenue, and would likely win on all of those fronts. Moreover, the Argos are already not in a great spot; their attendance this year was by far the lowest in the league. A Toronto NFL franchise wouldn't irrevocably doom them immediately, but it would certainly add to their problems, and it could perhaps even eventually lead to their relocation or demise.

Fans from markets where the CFL is more popular may well scoff that the league doesn't need the Argonauts, but that's not true. Without a presence in Toronto, the CFL takes a substantial hit on the national radar in terms of media coverage, television broadcasts and sponsorship revenue. It's possible the CFL could survive the relocation or demise of the Argonauts, but it wouldn't be the same league; it would likely be a much more provincial endeavour with less coverage, less prominent television broadcasts, lower revenues and salaries and a decreased quality of play. To exist in its current form, the CFL needs Toronto. To go beyond its current form, the CFL needs a better presence in Toronto. Either of those propositions becomes substantially more difficult if you add a Toronto NFL team.

So! When you're chowing down on chili and tossing back Labatt's Blue this Sunday night, keep Julian's little token to Canadian football (it's older than the American version) in mind. Or, if you hate the CFL and its delightful quirks (rouge FTW! Kinda literally!), move the hell to the U.S. Trust us, you'll never hear of it again outside of references to Doug Flutie.