major announcement - big changes to cfl playoff and season start

[bluengold204]

What is going to happen a lot is the first place team will have to beat the 2nd place team twice (1st round and 3rd round). Hard to win back to backs. Advantages are that the 2nd place team will be on their 3rd playoff game by then and 1st place team is coming off a bye week.

There's potential for that scenario to play out, but reseeding teams after each round can and most likely will counter act having to play the same team twice. 

[bluengold204]

Unless the records switch them up and suddenly you're playing the 2nd team out of the East.

This format is going to create new matchups. You're all assuming teams are staying in the East and west. Except the first round for the top 2 teams, that's is not the case.

Jesse gets it

[theaardvark]

"They laughed at us already because 6/9 made the playoffs."

"So they won't laugh at us much more because 8/9 make the the playoffs!"

Winning!

Play ins...  many leagues have them.

And what league has a 4 team playoff?  To few games.  These are money makers for the team/league.

[jets4life]

I will never stop ranting about having the year start on Canada Day weekend. It was perfect.

But I accept that I'm mostly in the minority on that one. Almost everyone agrees that moving up the season is a good idea as the single digit temps (whether they are above are below zero) feel much warmer now than they do in October.
 

You are not in the minority. Most people I know enjoyed the CFL when it started around the beginning of summer, and ended in the 3rd week of November. Starting on May Long is stupid, and breaks a century old tradition of playing the final game in November, by moving it up one month.

[jets4life]

Play ins...  many leagues have them.

And what league has a 4 team playoff?  To few games.  These are money makers for the team/league.

They will not be "money makers,"  if attendance is dismal, which is pretty inevitable in most Canadian markets. Why would fans bother to see two teams with losing records (I.e 6th place host the 7th place team), with a very slim chance of winning two road games to get to the Grey Cup.

Hypothetically, how many people are going to pay to see an Edmonton (6-12) vs Hamilton opening round  (7-11) game in Southern Ontario?  It's not going to draw as many as the regular season, that is certain.

People who think there will be a spike in attendance for these games are in for a rude awakening.

[Jesse]

They will not be "money makers,"  if attendance is dismal, which is pretty inevitable in most Canadian markets. Why would fans bother to see two teams with losing records (I.e 6th place host the 7th place team), with a very slim chance of winning two road games to get to the Grey Cup.

Hypothetically, how many people are going to pay to see an Edmonton (6-12) vs Hamilton opening round  (7-11) game in Southern Ontario?  It's not going to draw as many as the regular season, that is certain.

People who think there will be a spike in attendance for these games are in for a rude awakening.

I don't think anyone suggested a spike in attendance for the extra games, but there is now 4 additional play-offs within a whole extra week. That does represent more dollars and more ad revenue - at a time when the league is negotiating the new TV deal.

When all the previous changes occurred, people rightfully asked, how does this represent more fans or new revenue? These changes will have a direct impact on team and league revenue. Now and in the furture.

[jets4life]

Another point is that these are not segmented into divisions anymore. Teams will be reseeded after each round.

So you're not just competing to be the top two in your own division, you're also trying to have better records than the top 2 in the other division to ensure the best match-ups.

The problem with "best matchups" is that there is less chance of playing a team that will traditionally draw well, if Winnipeg hosts one of these games. A game against Saskatchewan, Calgary, or Edmonton will be far more enticing to Bomber fans than playing Montreal or Ottawa in round 1.

[jets4life]

I don't think anyone suggested a spike in attendance for the extra games, but there is now 4 additional play-offs within a whole extra week. That does represent more dollars and more ad revenue - at a time when the league is negotiating the new TV deal.

When all the previous changes occurred, people rightfully asked, how does this represent more fans or new revenue? These changes will have a direct impact on team and league revenue. Now and in the furture.

You are assuming that the games will draw a considerable amount of fans. That's possible if the play-in is Winnipeg vs Edmonton or Saskatchewan. I can't see an Ottawa-Winnipeg game in Ottawa drawing over 10,000 fans. Nobody will want to bother with two team that at best, finished in 3rd place in their respective divisions, playing a mediocre team, with no real rivalry.

[Jesse]

The problem with "best matchups" is that there is less chance of playing a team that will traditionally draw well, if Winnipeg hosts one of these games. A game against Saskatchewan, Calgary, or Edmonton will be far more enticing to Bomber fans than playing Montreal or Ottawa in round 1.

Yes and no.

There are rivalry games- like us and Saskatchewan, but there are also years where we play them in the preseaosn, 3 or 4 times in the regular season, and then again in the play-offs. A certain amount of fatigue sets in when you play the same team 5-6 times a season.

New match-ups are exciting too. They're less predictable and probably more entertaining for casual fans. Not to mention that, in this era, the tv draw is important as well. It's not solely about the gate anymore.

[Throw Long Bannatyne]

You are assuming that the games will draw a considerable amount of fans. That's possible if the play-in is Winnipeg vs Edmonton or Saskatchewan. I can't see an Ottawa-Winnipeg game in Ottawa drawing over 10,000 fans. Nobody will want to bother with two team that at best, finished in 3rd place in their respective divisions, playing a mediocre team, with no real rivalry.

In the playoffs fans will be cheering for a win over a competitive entertaining game, TV audience should be strong because most people are sitting at home late fall with nothing to do, nowhere to go.

[theaardvark]

They will not be "money makers,"  if attendance is dismal, which is pretty inevitable in most Canadian markets. Why would fans bother to see two teams with losing records (I.e 6th place host the 7th place team), with a very slim chance of winning two road games to get to the Grey Cup.

Hypothetically, how many people are going to pay to see an Edmonton (6-12) vs Hamilton opening round  (7-11) game in Southern Ontario?  It's not going to draw as many as the regular season, that is certain.

People who think there will be a spike in attendance for these games are in for a rude awakening.

They are "extra" games, and playoffs should draw good.  The home teams will be the better team, and more likely to win, so there's that attraction, everyone likes a win.

I wonder what the paychecks are for these games...

[jets4life]

When all the previous changes occurred, people rightfully asked, how does this represent more fans or new revenue? These changes will have a direct impact on team and league revenue. Now and in the furture.

I remember back in 1993, the exact same thing was said about American expansion. "The CFL desperately needs the expansion fees. Not only that, it's more games for the league, which will generate more revenue, and it will increase TV revenue, and perhaps land the CFL on a major US networks now that there will be 5 American teams."

The end result was whatever money the league received in expansion fees, was offset by enormous losses from the new American franchises (sans Baltimore). When all is said and done, the CFL nearly folded,if it was not for the NFL coming to the rescue and bailing out the CFL.

So forgive me,if I am skeptical. I've already heard this song and dance 30 years ago.  Only this time, with the new and "improved" changes to the field, it will backfire, and could lead to the demise of the league. 

"Those who fail to learn from history, are doomed to repeat it."

[jets4life]

In the playoffs fans will be cheering for a win over a competitive entertaining game, TV audience should be strong because most people are sitting at home late fall with nothing to do, nowhere to go.

....and turning into the NFL,since nobody will want to watch a 7-11 team play a 5-13 team, especially if it's an Eastern club vs a Western club. As an added "bonus" it will negatively affect regular season ratings and attendance, since there will be far less meaningful games.

Just take the NHL as an example. As a child, I watched the Jets in the old Smythe Division. 4 of 5 teams made the playoffs. There was little incentive for a mediocre team to really push in late season, and the drama was not usually there. Take for example 1987-88.  The Jets were all alone in 3rd place with a 31-27-9 record, about 13 points below the Oilers and 13 points above the Kings. The Jets went on a 10 game winless streak in March, and ended up with a 33-36-11 record.

There was absolutely no push to urgency to turn things around. Fans even joked that the Jets were intentionally tanking, considering it was the first year that the Flames would win the division, and the punchline was that the Jets were deliberately losing to finish 4th  and  play Calgary, Once the NHL expanded to 30 teams, the race for the playoffs became far more exciting, and ratings went up, knowing that hated rivals were battling each other for that final playoff spots.

[Waffler]

https://ottawacitizen.com/sports/football/montreal-alouettes/zurkowsky-cfl-steps-out-of-bounds-with-ludicrous-playoff-overhaul?utm_source=firefox-newtab-en-ca

Respected columnist Herb Zurkowsky considers the format a farce. But even more surprising farther down in the same article is this nugget...

While we believe the revamped playoff system is carved in stone, we've already heard rumblings that some of Johnston's other 2027 bold moves — shortening the field to 100 from 110 yards, 15-yard end zones and goalposts being moved back — could be scrapped after severe public criticism.

[peg_city]

All we wanted was a 10th team.....