The CFL kicks off its season on Sunday with nine Canadian
teams and no teams in the U.S. for the first time in four years.
Today, the Toronto GLOBE & MAIL begins a nine-part series by Neil
Campbell and Marty York examining the "new-look" league. The
salary cap has been reduced, the league has recruited new and
"cheaper" American talent and training costs have been cut. But
questions remain whether the league will "finally make a comeback
in the ultra-sophisticated Toronto" and whether a new team in
Montreal will be a success (Toronto GLOBE & MAIL, 6/19). The
league's ad campaign announced yesterday is "all-Canadian, almost
anti-American," according to Michael Clarkson of the TORONTO
STAR. "Our Balls Are Bigger" and "Not American" are two of the
slogans of the "in-your-face" campaign. CFL COO Jeff Giles:
"We're Canadian with an attitude, a defiant attitude. The CFL's
tired of being kicked. It's time to kick back." CFL Commissioner
Larry Smith said season-tickets sales are going "relatively
well," ranging from 22,000 in Winnipeg to 6,000 in Ottawa. Corel
Corp., a major CFL and a backer of the new ad campaign, has
expanded its CFL promotional contract for up to $3M a year for
three years. They league is also offering CFL merchandise on the
Canadian Home Shopping Channel (TORONTO STAR, 6/19). In Toronto,
Stephen Brunt notes, with expansion plans gone, what the CFL is
now offering is "an appeal to nationalism, an emphasis on
affordable tickets and approachable, working-guy athletes"
(Toronto GLOBE & MAIL, 6/19).
