CFL In St. Louis?

[Guest J5V]

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. 

[The Unknown Poster]

I think the issue is the Canadian ratio rule. It's illegal in the uS. Although I wonder if there is a way to get around it with a CBA. I know they didn't last time but probably didn't want to try 

[bustamente]

First time around was a not all that successful except for Baltimore as TUP  said the ratio would be a more of a concern this time around especially with some of the teams that are struggling cant see expansion unless they get rid of the import rule or we just become a minor league feeder system for the NFL, and i don't think any of us wants that.

[iso_55]

It did not work in 1994-95 & it wouldn't work now. First, there'd be no ratio so the team in St. Louis would be all Americans. Secondly, with the exchange rate all the best American players would sign with the team. The 90's had a similar exchange rate back then & we lost players like Damon Allen, Matt Dunigan & others. Having lived thru the last expansion fiasco, I think it's a bad idea & I'd be surprised if the CFL even considers it. Twenty two years ago, the CFL was losing all kinds of  money & every team needed the expansion dollars just to survive. The CFL is on much better footing today.

Edited February 20, 2016 by iso_55

[iso_55]

47 minutes ago, J5V said:

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. 

Bad idea.

[The Unknown Poster]

I like the idea in theory. But probably won't work. 

[wbbfan]

Dont wanna see the cfl go back to the us. especially if they do that crazy us teams use american players as NI. 10 team league would be ideal imop, but all canadian. Quebec city would be my choice for the next team. Though halifax probably has a better chance.

[iso_55]

34 minutes ago, The Unknown Poster said:

I like the idea in theory. But probably won't work. 

Were you around back in 1994 as a fan? Most US teams were drawing 10-15,000 fans a game except Baltimore. Pepper Rogers, the coach of the Memphis Mad Dogs hated the Canadian rules & wanted them changed. Basically said they were ****. Couldn't play on Friday nights because of HS football. Couldn't play Saturday because of NCAA college football. Couldn't play Sunday or Monday because of the NFL. Today they couldn't play because of Thursday Night Football which leaves Tuesday or Wednesdays. If they did play those days virtually no one showed to watch most teams.

Edited February 21, 2016 by iso_55

[Guest J5V]

Hmm ... but couldn't the league simply mandate that salaries be paid in CAD, Canadian rules be followed, Canadian/US player ratios be maintained, etc? St. Louis has just lost their team (the Rams) to L.A. They are hardly in a position to be changing our game to suit themselves. They just want a football team to cheer for.

[iso_55]

4 minutes ago, J5V said:

Hmm ... but couldn't the league simply mandate that salaries be paid in CAD, Canadian rules be followed, Canadian/US player ratios be maintained, etc? St. Louis has just lost their team (the Rams) to L.A. They are hardly in a position to be changing our game to suit themselves. They just want a football team to cheer for.

Why would any player who lives in St Louis be paid a foreign currency especially as one as devalued as the Canadian dollar? If you were an American on the St Louis team would you want that?

Edited February 21, 2016 by iso_55

[Guest J5V]

21 minutes ago, iso_55 said:

Why would any player who lives in St Louis be paid a foreign currency especially as one as devalued as the Canadian dollar? If you were an American on the St Louis team would you want that?

I must be missing something. We have Americans playing in the CFL now being paid $CAD, don't we? They don't live in Canada either, they just work here, playing a game they love. $150,000 CAD is still $110,000 American. Hardly chump change. Even $80,000 is almost $60,000 $US which is above the US average household income. I dunno, I just don't see much difference. The players realize it's the CFL. 

[rebusrankin]

No to this idea.

[JCon]

I don't think US labor (not labour) laws would allow the CFL to mandate a ratio, forcing them to sign Canadians. 

Where would they play in St Louis? 

[Brandon]

I'd have no issues at all with them having American teams....  the only issue I'd have is trying to have teams in crap markets and the ratio rules.

[IC Khari]

Ummmm ... no ...

Edited February 21, 2016 by IC Khari

[Jaxon]

5 hours ago, J5V said:

 

Is this a bad idea?

Yes, it is indeed a bad idea.

[iso_55]

3 hours ago, J5V said:

I must be missing something. We have Americans playing in the CFL now being paid $CAD, don't we? They don't live in Canada either, they just work here, playing a game they love. $150,000 CAD is still $110,000 American. Hardly chump change. Even $80,000 is almost $60,000 $US which is above the US average household income. I dunno, I just don't see much difference. The players realize it's the CFL. 

You don't seem to understand. They wouldn't get paid in Canadian funds if a team was in St. Louis. It would only be in American funds. This is what happened the first time around. Our exchange rate had tanked in the 90's. Players playing for CFL teams in the US were getting paid in US funds. Some of them had homes in Canada in the off season so they'd take their US funds back up here & make an extra 25% or more. With the ratio gone & the best players signing in the US for American dollars the Canadian teams were second rate in their own league.

[STLRAMSCFL.COM]

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. 

Edited February 21, 2016 by STLRAMSCFL.COM

[kelownabomberfan]

The ratio is the stumbling block.  Just can't work.

[comedygeek]

The NHL plays all its players in American dollars. Even the 7 NHL teams. So that's not an issue.

 

NFL USA failed in the 90s because (besides Baltimore) it was crappy markets and owners who were begged to be a part of the league. We needed it to survive as a league, and bent over backwards to give into their awful demands, just to get an influx of cash to the CFL. In the end, the whole thing was rubbish because the owners didn't care, thus the fans didn't care.

If an owner and fan base want a team, the CFL is the power position.

2 non-negotiables: must find a way for the ratio to exist for *all* teams; and no rule changes are made to accommodate any new teams.

In theory, it could work. In actuality, very unlikely, of course.

[Mark F]

Very nice website St Louis Rams CFL. Somebody knows what they're doing.

 

one thing..... Definitely can't have two sets of rules.

[WBBFanWest]

How about this, seeing that expansion was tried once and really didn't work out all that well, why don't we have Canadian teams play in the Canadian Football League and American teams play in the NFL or whatever other league du jour they can come up with.

By the way, to the guy that came up with the idea that CFL teams play US rules when in the US and Canadian rules in Canada, there aren't enough faces and palms to express just how dumb an idea that is.

[TBURGESS]

The CFL can't change US labor laws, so the ratio would go for the US based teams. To be competitive, the ratio would end up going for the Canadian teams too.

US teams would get paid in US dollars. That would give them a 30% increase in SMS space unless the SMS was set in Canadian dollars and the conversion done before the season started so they had the same amount of money to spend as their Canuck counterparts.

Field size is an issue. I doubt there are (m)any US stadiums that could fit a CFL sized field in them. 

CFL rules are what makes the CFL different and special. Changing to NFL rules wouldn't make sense especially changing them for some of the games played in the US.

[Noeller]

Lol @ "American rules when playing in the US, Canadian rules when playing in Canada"....no, sir. If you want to be a part of our league, you play by our rules. That means NI ratio, Canadian dollars...everything we do. If that's not possible/feasible, then simple: No dice. You're out.

[Dragon37]

No to US expansion.