Today is Canada’s biggest one day sporting event, the Grey Cup. This trophy is emblematic of winning Canada’s football championship. Canada plays American football, with a twist. There are 3 downs, not four. There are 12 players on the field for each side instead of 11. The field is 110 yards, with a 25 yard end zone. The field is also wider and motion is allowed by receivers and running backs prior to the snap. These changes from the American game create a pass oriented, wide open, high scoring variety to the game. It caters to mobile quarterbacks and smaller, quicker players.
This years championship game will be held in Vancouver, BC and features the Winnipeg Blue Bombers and the BC Lions. The Lions play in Vancouver. On paper and by a lot of pundits, BC is the favourite to win. Myself, I am not so sure. BC can and has been played to a standstill this year by teams with a good running game and a stout defence. Winnipeg has both. The other reason I am not so sure is that I am originally a Winnipegger and also, do not care much for the Lions.. To me the only question in the game is whether or not there are riots after the game, win or lose.
For my American friends, tear yourself away from the NFL for a bit today and watch this game. It starts at 6:30 Eastern time and can be viewed in the USA on the NFL Network.
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I remember watching this a long time ago on TV. The main thing that got me is that it’s only 3 downs.
The other thing is the end zone is so big.
The 3 down thing encourages passing game. The big end zones make for for more red zone scoring as the field doesn’t shrink as much. The other thing to remember is there is an extra player on each side of the ball which fills up some of the space. BC won the game.