The rule changes update the game without turning it into NFL Lite
Gridiron football is one of many sports that I follow. I’m a huge fan of the National Football League, and my favourite team is the Dallas Cowboys. It’s long been a passion to watch the NFL during the week and on Sundays.
My interest in football doesn’t stop there. I also enjoy watching the Canadian Football League, which has a unique playing style of its own. It also made some intriguing rule changes that I believe will make the sport stronger in the Great White North.
We’ll get to that shortly.
The CFL season ended just over a week ago. The Saskatchewan Roughriders beat the Montreal Alouettes 25-17 to win the 112th Grey Cup at Princess Auto Stadium in Winnipeg, Man., on Nov. 16. It was a good game, and a rather close one. A fumble at the goal line late in the fourth quarter turned out to be the dagger for Montreal and earned Saskatchewan its fifth Grey Cup in team history.
It was a memorable victory for one of the Canadian Football League’s oldest teams and its most hard-luck club.
Saskatchewan has had many successful regular season campaigns since it was founded in 1910. Alas, the team formerly known as the Regina Rugby Club and Regina Roughriders has always found the Grey Cup to be its biggest nemesis. Its first eight attempts ended in failure. It had lost 15 of its previous 19 Grey Cup finals. Saskatchewan had lost two consecutive Grey Cup games to Montreal in 2009 and 2010. The Roughriders had last appeared in a Grey Cup in 2013, beating the Hamilton Tiger-Cats 45-23.
At long last, the football monkey was off their back. Rider Nation could celebrate once more.
As it happens, the first point scored in this year’s Grey Cup was a single, or rouge. Saskatchewan’s Jesse Mirco punted the football 69 yards to Montreal’s end zone, which was immediately downed. It was an early first-quarter play that didn’t become a turning point or lead to a shift in momentum.
That being said, the rouge is part of an important series of forthcoming rule changes.
CFL Commissioner Stewart Johnston announced on Sept. 22 that the league will phase in several modifications to long-standing rules. Team benches will finally be on opposite sides of the field in 2026, and a 35-second play clock will be instituted.
But the most important change will involve the rouge. A single point “for a missed field goal attempt that goes wide of the goalposts” will no longer be awarded, as well as the elimination of a single point “when a punt or kickoff sails through or rolls out the back, or sides, of an end zone without being touched by a returner.” At the same time, “if a punt, field goal or kickoff settles in the end zone, and the returner fails to take it out or takes a knee, a single point will still be awarded.”
What does this mean?
The play in this year’s Grey Cup involving a rouge will remain on the books, while the ridiculous rule involving a point for a missed field goal will be eliminated.
CFL goalposts “will be moved to the back of end zones” starting in 2027. This decision “removes an obstruction in the field of play, heightening player safety, while also offering more direct sightlines to big plays in the end zone for fans in-stadium and on broadcast.” Meanwhile, “end zones will be shortened from 20 to 15 yards” and the field “will also be shortened from 110 yards to 100, while retaining its distinctive 65-yard width.” The latter adjustment will help ensure “league-wide uniformity of end zone dimensions.”
These rule changes are welcome. Early Canadian football was largely inspired by rugby, a great sport in its own right with separate rules and a different scoring system. This helps explain why CFL goalposts are at the front of the end zone, and partially explains the rouge’s strange scoring tradition with respect to missed field goals. The modern game has been indirectly linked to our country’s rugby history for long enough and needs to branch out in different directions. These new rules are a step in the right direction.
Some CFL fans and sportswriters expressed concern that Johnston’s rule changes were an impending shift toward a more Americanized game. During Grey Cup weekend, the Commissioner told the media, “I did not do enough to emphasize something very important … Our unwavering commitment to the Canadian game.” When it comes to “three downs, 12 players, unlimited motion, 65-yard-wide field and huge end zones, these rules are not going anywhere,” according to Johnston. In his view, “the new rules embrace innovation and perpetual improvement while protecting what makes Canadian football special.”
Fair enough. Gridiron football in Canada, much like gridiron football in America, will remain unique and distinctive for years to come. As it should be.
Michael Taube is a political commentator, Troy Media syndicated columnist and former speechwriter for Prime Minister Stephen Harper. He holds a master’s degree in comparative politics from the London School of Economics, lending academic rigour to his political insights.
The views, opinions, and positions expressed by our columnists and contributors are solely their own and do not necessarily reflect those of our publication.
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You are ruining the best football on the planet. There is nothing wrong with your game, your problem is poor marketing. You need better advertising, better commercials, catchy phrases. That’s how it becomes part of Canadian culture. Don’t mess up this great unique game!