BY RUSS GERMAIN – FAN FUEL BLOGGER
(Part one in a four part series on the lack of respect the CFL gets compared to the NFL)
The Canadian Football League has been one of the longest running professional sports leagues in North America. Since the first football game was played in 1861 at the University of Toronto, it has come a very long way in 150 years.
Sure the official League wasn’t actually formed until 1956 but the great Canadian version of football has been played with small changes to become what we know it as today. Truth be known, football was invented in Canada who introduced it to the Americans; in turn they immediately took a liking to this sport and transformed it into their own version, the NFL.
So why can’t the CFL get along with everyone in Canada? The first thing that everyone says is the NFL has the better talent and has the money to pay them to play in the south. Sure but it’s never as simple as saying, “the CFL has all the NFL rejects” because it is not that simple but it has always been difficult to convince people of that. Both leagues are unique in their own ways, different rules, players of different sizes and abilities that do make both leagues different in many ways.
There are different types of players designed for each league, argue all you want but that is indeed the truth.
Let’s take a few players from both the NFL and the CFL and break them down according to their abilities, their strengths and weaknesses.
Here in Part 1, I’ll look at CFL all-star quarterback Anthony Calvillo and in Part 2 CFL all-star Solomon Elimimian, both stars at their respective positions and teams. Then we’ll take a look at Calais Campbell, a defensive end for the Arizona Cardinals in Part 3, and Brian Waters, a guard for the New England Patriot in Part 4 – top-rated players with their teams at their positions.
Anthony Calvillo is from the United States, born in East Los Angeles, California. He is 6 ft 1 and 213 lbs, and played at Utah State in the NCAA. Now I know that many of you are going to say that he is not a prototypical NFL QB and this is why he didn’t make it there. But yet he still has managed to perform at a level in a League that he was better suited for in Canada and has had success.
Now why is Calvillo not NFL material? First he is only 6’1” which to NFL measurements is not very tall at all. He’s also not built the same as Michael Vick or Aaron Rodgers so he was automatically at a disadvantage. Some of you are going to finger him automatically as another NFL reject, but are you capable of looking at it from another angle? He has the mental ability to play football and in his prime he had a very strong arm. So why not put him in a league better suited for him? The CFL came around and after some years of learning the ropes he becomes the CFL’s all-time leading passer.
As I end Part 1 of my 4 part series I leave you with this question to ponder: “If the CFL had $9 billion to pass around like the NFL, would they attract the level of talent the NFL has?”
Read Part 2 on Fan Fuel on Wednesday.