Friday, November 17, 2006 3:26 PM
This Sunday is the CFl's championship game for the coveted Grey Cup! Winnipeg is hosting this year, and its been quite the party scene here. Lots of events going on, the CFL awards were the other night...there's a great atmosphere for sure.
But of course, many of you *coughYankscough* may not be familiar with our game and the nuances, so here's a little primer for the big game:
Q. Why are they punting, its only 3rd down?!
A. We only have 3 downs instead of 4. We don't need 4 shots to make 10 yards.
Q. They don't seem to be taking as long in the huddle between plays...
A. Very astute. Canadian football uses a 20 second clock instead of the 40 second one used in the NFL. We don't need as much time to figure out what play we're going to run.
Q. My TV set must be broken...that field looks way too big.
A. Adjust nothing my friend! The CFL field is wider than the NFL counterpart, and is also longer (110 yards compared to 100). In addition, our goal posts are at the front of the endzone, not the back (but our endzones are bigger as well)
Q. Why don't these guys ever call for a fair catch?!
A. There is no fair catch in CFL...you pay to play, so suck it up and run the return! To be fair though, defenders need to keep 5 yards of distance before the returner takes possesion.
Q. The ball looks weird.
A. In Canada, our balls are bigger.
Q. They made a mistake...the team punted the ball into the endzone and they gave them a point.
A. Yes, you score one point for kicking the ball through the endzone or if the other team gives up a touchback.
Q. Are the receivers allowed to run to the line of scrimmage?
A. Yes, in the CFL you can have multiple players in motion before the snap.
Q. The timekeeper is messing up! After a run play, the clock doesn't keep running!
A. In the CFL, the clock starts when the ref whistles play in.
There are other differences between the Yank and Canadian versions of football. You can find more information about the league, the teams, and the rules at www.cfl.ca.
And for more info on the big game, go to the official website: http://www.cflgreycup.ca/winnipeg/
Go Als!!!
D