Luke Willson goes off on the CFL..

[Blueforlife]

I am really impressed with the debate and take of many on here.  CFL is my favorite sport by far, watching it live is amazing, excited and great value.  When I retired the goal it to catch a game in each city.  The rules are awesome.  The Canadian talent is key.  The fact the players are so community based is key for me.  The league is real, you can feel it in your heart.  It's not based on hype or millionaires.  It's run on tradition and is part of the heart of Canada imo.  While I love hockey and my Oilers, the CFL season is king for me.  Our game need help to build on our attendance issues but we have a solid foundation to work on.  I'm a casual NFL fan.  Many aspects of the league I don't like.

[Sir Blue and Gold]

Don't really like how he went about this but he's not wrong either on a lot of it.

I would disagree with his overall assessment that any of these suggestions would help attract a younger demographic but the points are valid enough if you're looking at it from a best product possible point of view:

I don't love the yard off the ball. It leads to toes being offside and changes the line play a bit to where American players need adjusting. Just align it with the NFL.

People love the rogue but I don't. I think it creates an element of strange that contrasts with the NFL which everyone knows and is aware of.

I think our 3 minute clock rule is fine as is, however the NFL also has plenty of really exciting final drives and if you aligned the rules and playclock I don't think it would be a net negative. It would just be different.

I think overall the league, spends too much time trying to differentiate itself from the NFL and not enough time trying to align itself with the most successful sports league on the planet.

If you're trying to onboard new fans are the differences helping or hurting? Are they net benefits or points of friction? Every one needs to be looked at separately but I would say in most cases it ends up being friction.

[Throw Long Bannatyne]

The only thing he has a point on is the penalties. I don't know what the league can do about that, but it's something they should look at.

The rest of his rant is way off. It comes off as arrogance veiled in "just trying to be helpful here". Furthermore, it's his opinion but he's projecting that onto a demographic. Again arrogance. I'm disappointed because I liked the guy and his analysis up to this point.

Lastly, on the fact check front, if the Riders missed a field goal at (or near I guess) the end of the game that would have sealed it, why would they be kicking off? Did TO actually elect to have them do that instead of taking the ball on the 40?

The rules were changed to create more excitement at the end of the game, the scoring team has to kick off in the last 3 minutes, maybe Wilson should have noticed the excitement it created.

As for penalties, that was a dirty game that got out of hand with vindictive payback, neither HC is good at controlling their team's emotions.

[Throw Long Bannatyne]

The CFL and TSN must be happy with this from Luke. Imagine how long an NFL network reporter would last after doing this.

Get invited to someone's  home for dinner, and proceed to give them an analysis of everything wrong with the place.

This is so American.

Sounds bad but you're not wrong, much easier to criticize and find fault with everything than focus on the positives, if that's what the young people want god help them.  The outcome is always "never good enough".

[Blueforlife]

Don't really like how he went about this but he's not wrong either on a lot of it.

I would disagree with his overall assessment that any of these suggestions would help attract a younger demographic but the points are valid enough if you're looking at it from a best product possible point of view:

I don't love the yard off the ball. It leads to toes being offside and changes the line play a bit to where American players need adjusting. Just align it with the NFL.

People love the rogue but I don't. I think it creates an element of strange that contrasts with the NFL which everyone knows and is aware of.

I think our 3 minute clock rule is fine as is, however the NFL also has plenty of really exciting final drives and if you aligned the rules and playclock I don't think it would be a net negative. It would just be different.

I think overall the league, spends too much time trying to differentiate itself from the NFL and not enough time trying to align itself with the most successful sports league on the planet.

If you're trying to onboard new fans are the differences helping or hurting? Are they net benefits or points of friction? Every one needs to be looked at separately but I would say in most cases it ends up being friction.

I believe because we keep our game different is why we are successful.  We don't differentiate ourselves from the NFL, this is how are game has been for a very long time.  There are lessons to be learned from the NFL and it's success but this is a much different market and game and always will be.  I don't mind the yard off the ball, love the rouge.  I want a drop kick baby!

[bomb squad]

The rules were changed to create more excitement at the end of the game, the scoring team has to kick off in the last 3 minutes, maybe Wilson should have noticed the excitement it created.

As for penalties, that was a dirty game that got out of hand with vindictive payback, neither HC is good at controlling their team's emotions.

I'm aware of that, but I believe that's only after a successful field goal.

So, actually the ball should have been spotted on the 40.

[VictorRomano]

the hype of the NFL is unmatched - probably only by soccer in Europe.

Literally 7 times more people watched the World Cup of Rugby (800million in 2023 - and that was down 7% from 857mil on 2019) than watched the Super Bowl (120.4mil in 2023, and that set a league record).  Just sayin.  The NFL isn't all that, and it ain't even close

[GOLDMEMBER]

I think he has let that idiotic moustache and mullet go to his head.

Pretty tough to take him seriously looking like a hobo.

[Sway]

The QB sneaks in the CFL is my only issue. It feels like there is way too many

I think if it's 2nd or 3rd down and 1 yard or less you shouldn't be able to do the sneak, and require to hand it off or do another play.

If it's 2nd and 2 you do a sneak only get a yard and a half , on 3rd downyou can't do a sneak again.

Would make for a more exciting game

[The Zipp]

Literally 7 times more people watched the World Cup of Rugby (800million in 2023 - and that was down 7% from 857mil on 2019) than watched the Super Bowl (120.4mil in 2023, and that set a league record).  Just sayin.  The NFL isn't all that, and it ain't even close

i do believe that the NFL is the largest sports league in the world by revenue. how many people watching the championship event is a relevant marker but so is revenue so i will stand by the statement that the NFL is king of "hype".

[Jesse]

I like him as a sideline guy so far, but all of this is an NFL guy complaining that the CFL is not the NFL.

It was a poorly played game in the rain - you could make up a similar rant for any number of NFL games. There were also a number of rule changes this year which teams and players haven't adjusted to yet.

His complaint of the Argos' final drive makes no sense. You think we should artificially sped up the clock at the end of the game to manufacture some excitement? That would be gimmicky.

I agree that there were too many QB sneaks. But whether it's the QB or a FB coming in for a one yard dive, it makes no difference from a fan enjoyment perspective. He's just nitpicking differences at that point.

[Jesse]

Don't really like how he went about this but he's not wrong either on a lot of it.

I would disagree with his overall assessment that any of these suggestions would help attract a younger demographic but the points are valid enough if you're looking at it from a best product possible point of view:

I don't love the yard off the ball. It leads to toes being offside and changes the line play a bit to where American players need adjusting. Just align it with the NFL.

People love the rogue but I don't. I think it creates an element of strange that contrasts with the NFL which everyone knows and is aware of.

I think our 3 minute clock rule is fine as is, however the NFL also has plenty of really exciting final drives and if you aligned the rules and playclock I don't think it would be a net negative. It would just be different.

I think overall the league, spends too much time trying to differentiate itself from the NFL and not enough time trying to align itself with the most successful sports league on the planet.

If you're trying to onboard new fans are the differences helping or hurting? Are they net benefits or points of friction? Every one needs to be looked at separately but I would say in most cases it ends up being friction.

You can't say we're spending too much time trying to differentiate from the NFL when you're speaking of things that have existed since before the NFL existed. There's no reason to arbitrarily align our rules with the NFL.

[Jesse]

i do believe that the NFL is the largest sports league in the world by revenue. how many people watching the championship event is a relevant marker but so is revenue so i will stand by the statement that the NFL is king of "hype".

That's because we're in North America though. In Europe and Asia, other sports are way bigger and there's significantly more people across the pond than on our end.

[Throw Long Bannatyne]

I'm aware of that, but I believe that's only after a successful field goal.

So, actually the ball should have been spotted on the 40.

It is the receiving teams choice, Sask opted for the kickoff.

[GOLDMEMBER]

I agree with others he was cool being the talking head with Jay on the NFL  but now he just sounds like a goof. Even before this spat I thought he is kinda useless on the sideline.