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CFL Fans: To Cheer or Not to Cheer – The Harsh Reality

Written on December 14, 2010 at 09:12, by HTTN

-written by Glen Schwarzfeld (@gshwarz)

As a CFL fan today, there’s a troubling reality one has to live with.  It’s the growing feeling that you can’t whole-heartedly cheer for any player on your team to succeed and be one of the best in the league.  The reason, of course, is that any player with great numbers or a surprising breakthrough season is vulnerable (and I use that term from a fan’s perspective) to be picked up by an NFL team looking to fill a void, even if just to play on their practice roster.

Let me state that I do not begrudge anyone making the move to the NFL if the opportunity arises.  Who wouldn’t want a 500% pay raise and a chance to play in the best league in the world?  However, for Canadian football fans, it’s devastating to see.

The Exodus of Talent

wake3Cam Wake celebrates a sack during his time with the Lions

The past has seen some great talents leaving the CFL to go south of the border.  Former BC Lion and CFL “Most Outstanding Defensive Player” Cameron Wake, after two incredible seasons in BC, took his talents to South Beach (thankfully he didn’t put it quite like that) and is currently the NFL’s league leader in sacks with 14.

6227878.jpgGood to see Wake hasn’t lost his identity

Last Year, “CFL Defensive Player-of-the-Year”, John Chick, formerly of the Saskatchewan Roughriders joined the Indianapolis Colts, though he never managed to get off their practice squad.  Rookie Stefan Logan left after one fantastic season with the Lions, and signed with the Pittsburgh Steelers.

Last week, more bad news was delivered to CFL fanatics as Andy Fantuz, the leading receiver and Canadian Player of the Year was announced to have tryouts lined up with the Pittsburgh Steelers and the Minnesota Vikings.  Although most fans wish the best for him, it’s hard to accept that because he did so well, his team will suffer the following year.

fantuz3So should Riders fans hope he misses this catch? Can’t be too good now…

It’s a difficult position to be in. Riders fans cheer their hearts out for their team, but at the same time, they have to hope that the top players don’t achieve too much success.

Canucks fans, imagine if after witnessing continuous progress from the Sedins over the past decade, finally culminating in their break-out year with Henrik leading the NHL in scoring, they decided it was time to move onwards and upwards to the KHL. It would be heartbreaking to see.

This is the situation we die-hard CFL fans find ourselves in, struggling between player loyalty and personal disappointment.  But we all wish Andy Fantuz the best…kind of.

  • http://twitter.com/transcendwebs Bruce Ng

    good post, tough call. i always cheer for the great CFL talent, and it’s such a great game (as opposed to 4 down ball, which is still good, but almost a completely different game).

    there’s still a lot of love for Cam Wake here in BC, and i think most fans of the #BCLions are happy to see he’s having a good season in Miami. i’m kinda bummed that at times, the CFL is like a development league for the NFL. but there are still many excellent CFL players that don’t make the jump. guys like Geroy Simon, Anthony Calvillo, Brent Johnson, and dozens of others.

    thanks for the post!

  • Binh

    This is absolutely great for the CFL. The more the CFL becomes a suitable stepping stone, the better it is for the league in the long run. It will help attract a lot more borderline NFL players who’ve just finished their NCAA careers. There are a ton of talented NCAA players in non-BCS conferences that could shine up here (and down there as well).

  • Sarah Tean

    Really well written article. Interesting and funny! I loved it!

    I’m a huge Andy Fantuz fan and I’ll be devastated if he leaves the Riders!

    Thanks for the great post!

  • Glen

    Hey Bruce, it’s true that it’s disappointing that it feels like a developmental league, but on the bright side, a lot of great talent that don’t make it to the NFL come to play in Canada because it could be the spring board to another opportunity in the NFL. So without that, we wouldn’t be getting that opportunity to see them in the first place.

    A lot of it comes down to age as with Geroy Simon and AC. Once they became truly elite players in the CFL, their age gave them no chance in the NFL. That’s why Fantuz has to jump on this opportunity now.

  • http://headtothe.net HTTN

    In the end, the best CFL players are not the best of the best, because they are too good! They are the best of the… mediocre? Mediocre sounds bad. Maybe best of the sub-elite. Yeah?

  • Glen

    I prefer the best of the undersized. Some guys based on their size alone get buried on an NFL practice roster for years with only ever coming off to play special teams. But that might give them the best opportunity, plus they might not be able to afford not to do it. The best CFLers are the guys who would rather play games than practices. Hopefully John Chick will decide on playing next year.