New to CFL football? Who should you cheer for? How is it different from the NFL? Answered here. Complete Guide! 2016 EDITION

Ask question in the comments and they will be answered.

Broadcast on ESPN 2 or 3 in America and TSN 1,3,4,5 in Canada. In the UK, Ireland, and Australia most games will be live on BTsport and some will be replayed at more convenient times. Streams are located at r/cflstreams.

Fantaseh.ca for hardcore fantasy football. May not be open this year though.

Looking for a team to cheer for?

The best way is to just watch all games in the first 2 weeks and you will find one. But for a little background:

Comedic looks at fan bases for six of the teams here, from 2 years ago and here

CHECK THE SCHEDULE TO KNOW WHEN TEAMS PLAY TO UNDERSTAND WHAT TEAM FITS YOUR SCHEDULE MOST!

Predictions thread: https://www.reddit.com/r/CFL/comments/4iylxg/post_draft_prediction_thread_where_do_you_think/

How you became a fan of your team thread: https://www.reddit.com/r/CFL/comments/4c44s1/story_time_whyhow_did_you_become_a_fan_of_your/

There are currently 9 teams in the CFL, 5 play in the West Division and 4 play in the East Division. The Western teams are the BC Lions, Calgary Stampeders, Edmonton Eskimos, Saskatchewan Roughriders and Winnipeg Blue Bombers. In the East, there are the Hamilton Tiger-Cats, Toronto Argonauts, Montreal Alouettes and, Ottawa REDBLACKS.

West Division

BC Lions: The Lions are located in Vancouver, British Columbia and play home games at BC Place. The franchise was founded in 1954. Their current Head Coach is Wally Buono and the GM is also Wally Buono. The Lions have made it to 10 Grey Cups, Winning in 1964, 1985, 1994, 2000, 2006 and 2011. In 2015 BC finished the regular season with a 7-11 record, 3rd in the west and lost to Calgary in the West Semi Finals www.BCLions.com is their website.

NFL equivalent: 49ers. But most people in BC like the Seahawks. BC is a lot like Washington and California. Vancouver is like Seattle but Lions fans are almost uniquely from suburbs or towns in the region, where people care a lot about football. The closer to the ocean you get the more its a hockey city. Team popularity in Vancouver: 5/10. In the Fraser Valley: 8/10

Calgary Stampeders: The Stamps play their home games at McMahon Stadium better photo, Calgary, Alberta. They were founded in 1935 and formerly known as the Calgary Bronks until 1945. The current Head Coach is Dave Dickensen and GM is John Hufnagel. Calgary has made it to 14 Grey Cups, winning in 1948, 1971, 1992, 1998, 2001, 2008 and, 2014. In 2015 the Stamps finished 14-4 and finished 2nd the West. They lost in the division final against Edmonton.

NFL equivalent: Cowboys. Do very well in the past decade or two but don’t have as many championships as deserved. Hated Winners, especially by Saskatchewan. Calgary is the Dallas of Canada and Alberta is Texas. They are every bit as similar as they can be. Popularity in Calgary: 8/10. Seem to be the default team for southern Alberta like the Cowboys have most of Texas.

Edmonton Eskimos: Edmonton's franchise was founded in 1949 and they play home games at Commonwealth Stadium in Edmonton, Alberta. Jason Maas is their HC and Ed Hervey is the GM. They are a community owned team just like Winnipeg and Saskatchewan. Edmonton has made it to 23 Grey Cups, winning in 1954, 1955, 1956, 1975, 1978, 1979, 1980, 1981, 1982, 1987, 1993, 2003, 2005 and 2015. In 2015 Edmonton had a 14-4 record and won the Grey cup against Ottawa. They finished 1st in the west. www.esks.com

NFL equivalent: Minnesota Vikings. I came to the sad conclusion no one ever thinks about Minnesota. Minnesota is bland. No major personality traits. The Qui Gon of the CFL. Their jerseys are like Green Bay. City is like Austin. Popularity: 8/10

Saskatchewan Roughriders: The Riders were founded in 1910 and currently play their home games at Mosaic Stadium at Taylor Field , in Regina Saskatchewan. In 2017 New Mosaic Stadium will be built. Their Head Coach is Chris Jones and GM is also Chris Jones. Saskatchewan has made it to 19 Grey Cups, winning in 1966, 1989, 2007 and 2013. Often ridiculed by Bomber fans for being around for 102 Grey Cups, and only winning 4. In 2015 their record was 3-15 and they finished last in the west missing the playoffs. www.riderville.com

NFL equivalent: Packers. A few small towns in a region that has nothing else going on. All anyone cares about it might seem in their area. Wear watermelon on their heads. Best fan base.. They used to play in a really old shitbox stadium because a new one wasn’t a large priority. They have become more like the Seahawks though. They have a 13th man shtick.
Popularity 10/10 in Saskatchewan. 7/10 everywhere else.

Winnipeg Blue Bombers: Founded in 1930, the Winnipeg Blue Bombers play home games at Investors Group Field in Winnipeg, Manitoba. They have flopped back and forth between the east and west divisions. The Bombers Head Coach is Mike O'Shea and their GM is Kyle Walters. Out of their 24 Grey Cup appearances they've won in 1935, 1939, 1941, 1958, 1959, 1961, 1962, 1984, 1988 and 1990 (lol 24 years in a 8/9 team league). Winnipeg ended up 5-13 finishing 4th in the west in 2015, missing out on the playoffs. www.bluebombers.com

NFL equivalent: Raiders or Browns once they get a franchise QB. Have gone through more coaches and QBs than both. Used to have QB trouble and do poor. Now they have a great QB and have a serious shot. Winnipeg is a carbon copy of Cleveland and Manitoba is Alabama. Loudest fan base without their new stadium, but even better with their new larger stadium. New stadium has roofs for weather that are shaped for maximum noise like in Seattle. Popularity: 9/10.

East Division

Hamilton Tiger-Cats: The Ticats were merged from the Hamilton Tigers (1861) and Hamilton Wild-Cats (1941) in 1950 and play their home games at the new Tim Hortons Field (photo is with stadium upper bowl incomplete) , in Hamilton, Ontario. Hamilton's Head Coach is Kent Austin, GM is Eric Tillman. Hamilton has made it to 18 Grey Cups, winning in 1953, 1957, 1963, 1965, 1967, 1972, 1986 and 1999. In 2015 the Ticats lost in the East division Final against Ottawa, finishing 10-8 to get 2nd in the East. www.ticats.ca

NFL equivalent: Steelers. Hamilton is a steel town. They have similar jerseys to the Steelers. They are a grey cup team often. Popularity 8/10

Toronto Argonauts: Founded in 1873, the Argonauts are the oldest existing professional sports team in North America still using its original name. Their home field is BMO Field in Toronto, Ontario. Head Coach is Scott Milanovich and the GM is Jim Barker. Toronto had reached the Grey Cup 22 times, winning in 1914, 1921, 1933, 1937, 1938, 1945, 1946, 1947, 1950, 1952, 1983, 1991, 1996, 1997, 2004 and 2012. Toronto lost in the East Division Semi final to Hamilton in 2015. Finishing 10-8 to place 3rd in the east. www.argonauts.ca

NFL equivalent: Giants. A lot of Grey Cup wins in the past. Toronto is not a football city, yet have their share of fans due to population. Toronto is comparable to New York. Popularity 4/10.

Montreal Alouettes: The Als (or Tardlarks by many) were founded in 1946, while the current team ended up in Montreal in 1996. Their home field is Percival Molson Memorial Stadium in Montreal, Quebec. Jim Popp is their current GM and Head Coach. They've reached the Grey Cup 18 times, winning in 1949, 1970, 1974, 1977, 2002, 2009 and 2010. In 2015 Montreal finished 6-10 to place 4th in the east and miss out on the playoffs. www.montrealalouettes.com Popularity: 6/10

NFL equivalent: Patriots after Brady. Had an amazing QB for decades until he retired. Now they are rebuilding offense, but are still a good team due to a great defence. Montreal has a lot of similarities to San Francisco. Marc Trestman’s old team.

Ottawa REDBLACKS: The REDBLACKS will be playing their third season in 2016, it's the 3rd time Ottawa has had a franchise. Their home field is TD Place Stadium in Ottawa, Ontario. Rick Campbell is the Head Coach and Marcel Desjardins is the GM. In 2015 Ottawa finished 12-6 placing first in the East and lost to Edmonton in the Grey Cup. www.ottawaredblacks.com. Popularity 8/10

NFL equivalent: Not clear yet, building offense. Ottawa is like Washington D.C. a bit.

Wondering What the Grey Cup Is?

The Grey Cup is the name of the CFL championship game and the trophy awarded to the winner. It was first awarded in 1909 and is currently held by the Edmonton Eskimos. The Earl Grey, Canada's Governor General in 1909 commissioned the trophy, hoping to donate it to Canada's senior amateur hockey winner. The trophy has a silver chalice attached to a large base on which the names of all winning teams, players and executives are engraved. The Grey Cup has been broken on several occasions, (including in 2014) stolen twice and held for ransom. It survived a 1947 fire that destroyed numerous artefacts housed in the same building.

CFL Rules and how they differ from the NFL Here are a few of the big differences between the CFL and NFL rules, for more check out r/CanadianFootballRules, cfldb.ca, 13thman.com and, Wikipedia.

The Field: The CFL field is 110 yards long and has 20 yard long endzones, compared to 100 yards and 10 yard endzones in the NFL. The field width in the CFL is 65 yards and 53.5 yards in the NFL. The goalposts in the CFL are also at the front of the endzone, compared to the end of it like in the NFL.

Team Size: Teams have 12 players on the field, one more than the 11 in the NFL. Total roster size is 46 players and they can dress 44 players, compared to 53 in the NFL. The extra player is usually a Halfback and Slotback.

Downs and Plays: There are 3 downs to make 10 yards in the CFL. The play clock is 20 seconds compared to 40 in the NFL. The two players on the ends of the line of scrimmage may also be in motion along the line, while the RB('s) and other receivers can basically be in motion any where behind the line of scrimmage. Also defence players must be 1 yard away from the line of scrimmage before the snap.

Punt Returning: There's no fair catch in the CFL, instead players must give 5 yards to the returner. If they're within 5 yards when it's in the air then it's a 15 yard penalty and if it's on the ground then it's a 5 yard penalty.

Scoring: A Single Point, called the Rouge. This is only in the CFL and a single point is rewarded to the kicking team when

1. Kicking team misses a field goal or punts the football and the receiving team catches the football and fails to run out of their own end zone. The kicking team will receive 1 point.

2. Kicking team misses a field goal or punts the football and the ball goes out of bounds in the end zone. The kicking team will receive 1 point.

Time Warning: In the CFL there's a 3 minute warning at the end of each half, instead of a 2 minute warning in the NFL.

Slotbacks: Canadian football has an offensive player called a Slotback, who is a larger-sized eligible receiver somewhat like an American tight end but who usually gets a running start to prevent getting jammed. Most offensive schemes often use several slotbacks at once.

Halfbacks: The NFL’s version of the halfback is just called a running back in the CFL. In the CFL Halfbacks replace what NFL’s strong safeties are. In most CFL base defenses teams play with 2 Halfbacks. Halfbacks are a mix between a Strong safety and Cornerback. Their primary assignment will usually be watching a Slotback or an inside zone for pass protection and then play a component in run stopping afterwards.

Open Field Kick: Canadian football retains the open-field kick as a legal play, allowing a kick to be taken from anywhere on the field. Here's the ending of a game that involved multiple free kicks.

Schedule: The CFL regular season begins in June and ends in early November. Playoffs begin the following week and the championship game called the Grey Cup will be played in the last Sunday in November. Each team will play 18 regular season games in 20 weeks, as well as 2 pre-season games. CFL games are sometimes scattered throughout the week. But for the first half of the season games are played mostly Thursday to Saturday. And Friday to Sunday for the second half.

Check out the CFL website to view what times each team plays at.

Labour Day and Rivalries

During Labour Day weekend in September, several games are scheduled to be played every year. This is big week for Canadian fans to watch football, because of decades old traditional matches between rivals. The week after is often a rematch.

Winnipeg @ Saskatchewan: Since 1949. Largest rivalry in the CFL from the two biggest fan bases. Annual rematch is coined “the Banjo Bowl” due to a certain remark from a former player. Fans visit each other via a 6 hour drive.

Edmonton @ Calgary: Since 1949. “Battle of Alberta” type of thing. Cities are located only 2 hours apart.

Toronto @ Hamilton: Since 1948. Cities are located 45 minutes away.

Ottawa @ Montreal: Was previously BC at Montreal until the REDBLACKS were created. Not a large rivalry because Ottawa is so new but the cities are also located 2 hours away.

Salaries

Cap is set to 5.1 million which is only 29% of team earnings. NFL has around 90%. Keep in mind CFL has smaller rosters. Minimum is 50K. Average is around 80-100K. Canadians are paid more because their talent is less common. QBs are paid 350-400K. Stars are payed 200-300K. Teams do not have to publicly release salaries but a database of well known players salaries are available here:

Import Ratio

CFL teams are required to start 7 Canadian players and 24 Canadians must be on the roster.

Crossover

The top 3 in each division make the playoffs. If the 4th place team in the West is better than the 3rd place in the east, they switch. Therefore the team in the west makes it. This does not work if you are in 5th or the other team is in 2nd. Since its debut, 7 west teams have crossed over and 0 eastern teams.

Whew... 15000 characters and 2000 words. Hope you all enjoyed! And Welcome all!