The Decision: Adopting a Canadian Football League Team

Since pro football is still in lockout, I'm preparing myself for the possibility of no NFL this season. Luckily, lockout or no, the Canadian Football League begins in a couple of weeks, with its three downs and one-point scoring plays.

Now would be a good time for me to pick a CFL team to root for. Thus, I will analyze each team on its merits, from west to east, in an attempt to pick one.

British Columbia Lions

Pro:

·         Doug Flutie played a couple of years here.

Con:

·         I’d be aligning myself with Vancouver Canucks fans, who are less than enamored with folks of my ilk (a Bruins fan) right now. If the Lions win the Grey Cup and discover my hockey allegiances, I may not have to go to Vancouver to riot – the riot will probably come to me.

Calgary Stampeders

Pro:

·         Doug Flutie played a couple of years and won a Grey Cup here.

·         The Stamps' bright red uniforms are pretty cool.

Con:

·         The 1948 Stampeders are the only team to go undefeated in Canadian pro football history, the CFL equivalent of the 1972 Miami Dolphins. Thus, I’ll be subjected to old Calgary Stampeder geezers in their nursing homes, a la Don Shula & Co., bitching and moaning about how nobody else did it like they did until every CFL team loses a game in 2011, at which time following through with the ridiculous champagne-popping ritual. 

Edmonton Eskimos

Pro:

·         Green-and-yellow uniforms vaguely resemble those so-ugly-they’re-awesome Oregon Ducks uniforms.

Con:

·         I’d be aligning myself with Edmonton Oilers fans.

Saskatchewan Roughriders

Pro:

·         It’s fun to say “Saskatchewan.”

·         Rider fans travel better than any other team in the league. Reminds me of Red Sox and Patriot Nations.

·         The Riders were the last of the current CFL teams to win a championship, winning their first Grey Cup in 1966, but are now perennial contenders. Reminds me of the Red Sox and Patriots.

Con:

·         Making “Roughriders” one word is a pretty lame attempt to hide the fact that the team essentially plagiarized the nickname of the Ottawa Rough Riders, a former CFL team that folded a few years ago.

Winnipeg Blue Bombers

Pro:

·         The Blue Bombers have the league’s longest current championship drought, last hoisting the Grey Cup in 1990. For someone like me, who spent the 1980s and 1990s as a long-suffering Boston sports fan, this has appeal.

Con:

·         The Blue Bombers have the league’s longest current championship drought, last hoisting the Grey Cup in 1990. For someone like me, who’s spent the 2000s as a Boston sports fan whose teams win championships every year or two, this has no appeal. 

Hamilton Tiger-Cats

Pro:

·         By far the coolest team nickname in the league.

Con:

·         Ninety-nine percent of North America doesn’t know where Hamilton is.

Toronto Argonauts

Pros:

·         Doug Flutie played here and won a couple of Grey Cups.

·         I can speak from experience that Toronto is a great party town.

Cons:

·         I’d be aligning myself with Toronto Blue Jay fans

·         They play in the same stadium that hosts a Buffalo Bills game every year.

Montreal Alouettes

Pros:

·         Geographically, Montreal is the closest CFL city to New England.

·         I can speak from experience that Montreal is a great party town.

Cons:

·         I’d be aligning myself with Montreal Canadiens fans.

·         Adopting the two-time defending Grey Cup champs smacks of bandwagonism.

·         Football and French just don't mix. 

Based on the evidence at hand, I've narrowed it down to two teams -- Calgary and Saskatchewan.
I'll make a final decision shortly. If you want to make your case for one team or the other, let me know.