Its that time of the year again–Americans are getting ready for football. In a few months NFL teams will be opening training camp and college football teams starting practice. Up north, however, the footballs are already flying as pro football is in full swing up in Canada with the Canadian Football League (CFL).

The CFL is almost as old as the NFL, coming into existence in’30. The league’s Grey Cup championship trophy is even older, having been awarded to the best Canadian professional football team since’09. There have been a number of NFL stars who got their start in the CFL including Doug Flutie, Randall Cunningham and Jeff Garcia.

The CFL is a very professional and highly competitive league, but its important to understand some important differences between it and the NFL:

The most obvious difference is the football itself–the CFL football is longer and fatter than the NFL ball. The CFL still has their goal posts on the goal line, which the NFL moved to the back of the end zone years ago. The field is 10 yards longer and 12 yards wider than the NFL field, and the CFL end zones are 20 yards deep instead of the NFL’s 10 yards.

Teams have 12 players on the field at once as opposed to 11 in the NFL. On offense, the extra player is a receiver, on defense a defensive back. And unlike the American game, where teams have 4 downs to move the ball ten yards the CFL has only 3. Maybe the hardest thing to get used to when listening to CFL broadcasts is the frequently references to teams going two and out. There are a few other subtle differences as well”teams only have 1 time out per half, only 20 seconds between plays, and all backfield players can be in motion prior to the snap (as opposed to only one in the NFL).

There are also differences in the scoring of the game. The first time I saw a CFL score tied 1-1 at the end of the first quarter I thought I was hallucinating. A major rule difference between the CFL and NFL is the fact that teams can score a single point, which those clever Canadians call a single. Basically, a team is awarded a single point for a missed field goal or a punt that lands in the end zone.

The rule differences also extend into the front office, where teams are required to have a certain quota of their roster be Canadian born. In an effort to prevent the CFL from becoming an NFL farm system, and to protect the unique identity of Canadian football’ of the 40 players on the roster must be natives.

Many US football fans look at the rules that include more players, a wider field, and fewer downs meant to encourage more passing and expect to see a wide open high scoring style of play similar to Arena Football. That’s not really how it works out–most games end up with final score totals in the 40’s, but the game itself really isn’t much more offensively oriented than its American counterpart. The rules may be different, but as in the NFL you need a solid rushing game and a stout defense to win games and championships.

There’s also more parity in the CFL than even the NFL, which is famous for the competitive equality of their teams. The reason is fairly simple–football at the high school and college level in Canada simply isn’t as competitive as in the US. That means the mandated ratio of native players also serves to facilitate parity within the CFL.

The CFL isn’t in a financial position to draw the top level US players away from the NFL or, in most cases, even a NFL practice or developmental squad. While some US players are uniquely suited to the CFL style of play, most of the US players that end up there are of a similar talent level as to that seen in Arena Football.

Despite some major differences, the NFL and CFL have more in common–they’re both high level, intensely competitive professional football leagues. Once you understand the rule differences and the unique and fascinating history of the CFL, it is a very enjoyable brand of professional football to watch.

In the pre-Internet era, it was often difficult for US fans to find information on the CFL. They don’t get coverage on ESPN, but they receive extensive attention in the Canadian press. Each CFL city has their own sports media, and the official CFL website also has many resources including previews and statistics.

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