The recent world cup has come and gone. And no matter what your opinion of soccer is, it was a huge deal even here in Canada. It was often the lead story on Sportcentre, the main topic on sports radio, and the support for the event was apparent everywhere you went.
Preachy Soccer Guys
With it however, has come “preachy” soccer guy. Every one of us has met this guy: he feels it his life duty to promote and back the love for his sport blindly, no matter what. He will yell at you if you call it soccer instead of football.
You might even come at with him with a legitimate issue, such as how penalty kicks are an awful way to decide a game; first he’ll say “It’s not called a game, it’s a match,” and he’ll then proceed into some defensive explanation of penalty kicks and your eyes will glaze over before he can even finish. You find yourself loathing soccer even more after meeting preachy soccer guy then you ever did before.
CFL Football Fans
This, however, has got me thinking about the CFL and its fans. For the record I love the CFL game, and always have. I watch every second with great anticipation because I know quality entertainment comes out of just about every game. But I believe that “preachy CFL guy” is everywhere as well.
You either are him or you’ve met him. This guy just can’t comprehend how anyone could prefer the NFL to the CFL. He can’t wrap his mind around someone finding the rouge cheesy instead of exciting. The CFL guy will scour through past NFL seasons to find a Bills vs Brown game that ended 9 to 6, and compare that game with the 52-44 2011 playoff barn burner between Montreal and Hamilton. These isolated games will be primary weapons in future “CFL is better” sermons.
My favourite CFL is better sermon is the fair catch rule. It seems like every punt in the NFL results in a fair catch. Boring? Yes, absolutely, but is it really that much worse then the obscene number of no yards penalties we see in the CFL punting game? (Why can’t players seem to follow the 5 yard rule anyway?)
My point is, if you feel a need to attract others to the CFL game you love, go ahead, support the league. But it just comes across as petty and insecure when we fans point out only the extremes of both leagues and use them to lecture others into sharing our opinions. The CFL is a big boy league, and it’s okay to criticize it when the times are right. And if your neighbour prefers the NFL game, then so be it. There is so much good and not so good that comes from both leagues. After all, football is football.
Well, unless it’s soccer. That’s not football, and don’t ever let anyone tell you different.
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