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Episode 2 - CFL Vs. NFL: Why Young Canadians Prefer the Southern Game?
17 Plays6 months ago
Why are young Canadians flocking to the NFL while the CFL fades into the background?
In this episode, Leo Ernewein and Landon Semenok dig into the data, culture, and media that are reshaping football fandom north of the border. From TikTok clips and fantasy leagues to three-down football and forgotten heroes, we explore what’s driving the generational shift—and what the CFL could do to win back the youth.
Whether you're Team Grey Cup or Team Super Bowl, this convo hits harder than a goal-line stand!
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Transcript
Introduction to Leo and Lando Show
00:00:08
Speaker
Welcome back to the Leo and Lando show. I'm your host, Leo Ernawein, joined by co-host Landon Semenok. Lando, the great Landon, how you doing this weekend? Or not weekend, but how you doing this week and how was your previous long weekend there, Landon?
00:00:23
Speaker
It was good. Hard to believe that we are September the 5th already as we're recording this. It's hard to believe that we're, you know, September's just started, but ah great week.
Landon's Long Weekend in Cranbrook
00:00:37
Speaker
I was away in Cranbrook and did lots of fun things over the long weekend, went to the Labor Day Classic.
00:00:43
Speaker
It was really, really good. Like it, the weather actually started to cooperate, which was awesome. So that's my, that's been my week. Got some golf in, got some sun in. it's It was a great week. How was your week, man?
00:00:58
Speaker
Nice. Yeah, mine was pretty good. Lots of work, but you know, the weather's been nice, so I can't complain there. And, uh, Yeah. Not doing much for physical activity, but you know, people who know me know that that's a, I, I like it that way and I'll continue to stay that way. Maybe, maybe that'll change. We'll see who who knows.
00:01:16
Speaker
Anyways, we'll um
Weather and Air Quality Discussion
00:01:18
Speaker
we'll move on. Was there much smoke down there where you were at in down South London? There, there was, there was a little bit. Yes. um yeah It was, it was hazy, but you didn't really smell the smoke.
00:01:30
Speaker
You could see it. And It really blocked out the sun little bit. But one of the things that I really noticed about how hot, how hot it was down there, both the two days we were there, one day was 33. The next day was 35. then the and then the the day, which would be Thursday, September 4th, it was a cooler 28 degrees.
00:01:57
Speaker
So it was hot down there. It felt like a desert down there. But nevertheless, we haven't had this type of weather pretty much all summer, other than the folks who listen to us from Ontario would probably know how hot it's been this summer. So it's been our turn this summer, or this part the year. So that's...
00:02:17
Speaker
that's That's was my week. And yeah, it was nice to be, it was nice to have heat. That's for sure. But to answer your question about the smoke. Yes, it was smoky. So yeah. Yeah. Well, at least in Ontario, I mean, they have the humidity. I'd rather deal with a little bit of the, if we have heat, the the dry heat to that. So yes, I'm with you. But we'll move on.
00:02:45
Speaker
Oh, sorry. You were to say the same, eh? I was. You'd much rather the dry well. I'm a dry weather guy too. So i I don't like humidity either because then that's when you're on the golf course, you're sweating a little bit and it's not fun.
00:03:02
Speaker
Gotcha. Yeah. Well, thanks everyone for listening to the Leo and Lando show. That's our two minutes on weather. Just kidding.
The NFL vs CFL Cultural Shift
00:03:08
Speaker
We're about to talk about the CFL here. Now we'll dive into episode two.
00:03:13
Speaker
ah We're talking football, but not just stats or standings. We're diving into a real culture shift here in Canada. Why do so many young Canadians prefer the NFL over the CFL?
00:03:23
Speaker
Great cup. Well, it used to be a big deal. Now it kind of feels like an afterthought to a lot of the younger fans. Lando, when you were a kid, What came first for you? Was it CFL? Was it NFL? And has it changed as you've gotten older?
00:03:38
Speaker
Well, when I was a kid, obviously hockey was number one, right? I mean, that, that's a typical Canadian thing. But, um, but My first taste of the was the CFL.
00:03:51
Speaker
And when my first game was in Vancouver and we went down there when I was both six, seven years old and I saw ah BC Lions game, they were playing the Hamilton Tiger Cats. So that was my first taste of football.
00:04:06
Speaker
And then obviously with my dad being a Stan Peters fan, um I started watching uh the stampeters dynasty at the end of the 90s and they won a great cup they lost the great cup so i became lions fan and a stampeters fan and i'm still lion stamps fan to this day but the cfl was definitely number one for me um what and now as i've gotten older now it's been 50 50 um the cfl and the nfl is now 50 50 at least for me personally
00:04:42
Speaker
And what gravitated to me into the NFL was Tom Brady um in the and NFL. When I saw him win his first Super Bowl, that's when I became a New England Patriots fan.
00:04:55
Speaker
Now, obviously, before, I didn't watch much NFL, but I did know the teams of the Dallas Cowboys, the Green Bay Packers, the San Francisco 49ers, the Miami Dolphins, the Denver Broncos, the Detroit Lions.
00:05:09
Speaker
I knew about them. But I didn't know about very many of the other teams. So when Tom Brady won his first Super Bowl, that's when I became a New
Landon's NFL Fan Journey
00:05:20
Speaker
England Patriots fan. And obviously, as years went on, i became a bronco Denver Broncos fan as well because obviously i'm a everybody who knows me, I'm a Colorado Avalanche fan.
00:05:30
Speaker
So i that's that's how I became a Broncos fan is because I cheer for colorado the Colorado Avalanche. So I cheer for two teams in the NFL.
00:05:44
Speaker
Cool, man. Right on. um Yeah, for me, it was kind of like the opposite. I didn't really get introduced to CFL at a young age. So shout out Irv Seminov for introducing you to the be of ah to the BC Lions and the ah the Calgary Stampeders of the CFL, both both very good teams.
00:06:05
Speaker
I got into the CFL a little bit later when I was a bit later into high school. my NFL career, kind of day started through video games. We'll, we'll jump on that topic later on here, but I think that's a big introduction to sports for kids sometimes, or new sports when they're already into other sports, um, or not even an introduction, but just a platform on, on helping them learn and get more into it and all that other jazz. But anyways, uh, I, when I got into the CFL, it was a bit more towards like the, the twenty ten s
00:06:38
Speaker
Maybe even, it was probably even before that, maybe 2007. i want to say whenever um Andy Fantuz was playing for the Rough Riders, I thought that dude was awesome.
00:06:50
Speaker
A big, big 6'4 dude out of Chatham, Ontario, wide out, and he could catch the ball. And I i don't know why. I gravitated to a towards the Rough Riders back then. I just think that they were kind of a team that was viewed as sort of the, I don't know about underdog, but they certainly had this mentality of community of, yeah, we're prairie strong.
00:07:20
Speaker
We're, and And I don't know if it's, it's, yeah, I guess it's still kind of like that. At least that's the the feeling that I gauge, but I could, could probably consider myself more of a bandwagon fan for that time. So if I were to be honest, as opposed to a true fan um for CF or for NFL, ah i I wouldn't say diehard saints fan, but a saints fan for sure ah started with Reggie, Reggie Bush and drew breeze. And honestly, I just wanted to pick a team that's,
00:07:52
Speaker
It wasn't good because I knew that at the time New England was good. Raiders were pretty good with ah Rich Gannon and Randy Moss. ah Who else was good? Peyton Manning was always good. Green Bay still had Brett Favre.
00:08:06
Speaker
Those were the days, man. your your saint Your Saints had Drew Brees from the what from what now, back then, used to be the San Diego Chargers, which are now the Los Angeles Chargers. I mean, there also was a young Alex Smith who was coming up through with the 49ers.
00:08:24
Speaker
There was, you know, Michael Vick. of the line of Falcons and there was McNabb who played for the Philadelphia Eagles at the time so there was a lot of there's a lot of stars in the NFL back then right so yeah I get it yeah I mean Michael Vick was kind of the guy that I'm surprised I didn't become a Falcons fan the sole reason I kind of got into the NFL over the CFL was because Back when I was kind of learning about football, I got a video game from one of my best friends growing up, Eric Pratt, and it was EA Madden Football 2004 with Mike Vick on the cover. And that guy, don't know if you know video game lore, he was equivalent to what would be Bo Jackson in the Sega Genesis days. What is it? The Tecmo Bowl, I think.
00:09:13
Speaker
Bo Jackson Tecmo Bowl. Yeah, something like that. yeah Yeah. It's funny you bring up Sega Genesis. Yeah. Well, you bring up Sega Genesis or even Super Nintendo.
00:09:26
Speaker
One of the two.
00:09:28
Speaker
Yeah, it would have been one of the two for sure, yeah. But Michael Vick was a legendary video game character in that 2004 year. Basically unstoppable character. And then some off the field stuff happened and we, you know, you can look up the rest of the story online if you want.
00:09:45
Speaker
um So shifting gears here, Landon, then we'll start
Young Canadians' Preference for NFL
00:09:51
Speaker
with a little bit of debt data. According to an Angus Reid poll in 2023, nearly 65% of Canadians aged 18 to 34 said they prefer the Super Bowl over the Grey Cup.
00:10:02
Speaker
And that's not just a small difference. That's a generational shift there. And while the CFL still owns the prairies like Saskatchewan and Manitoba, nationally, the NFL seems to be winning the youth market.
00:10:15
Speaker
Landon, why do you think that is? What's pulling young Canadians towards the CFL? Well, I think one of the reasons is marketing. I think, I think when you look at what's going on in Canada right now, you look at ah the different, you look in all the stores, especially like places like Lids, they have jerseys of pretty much every NFL team you can think of.
00:10:40
Speaker
So, They market it better. They market better in the in the NFL when it comes to that sort of stuff. They have hats everywhere. The other thing that I think the NFL does very well with as well is they tend to i market their star players really well.
00:11:02
Speaker
And I can name a couple of them right now. You know, they market ma home Patrick Mahomes really well. Travis Kelsey, especially now that Travis Kelsey's date are now engaged to Taylor Swift.
00:11:17
Speaker
I mean, you look at Jalen Hurts, there's john Joe Burrow. um You know, that I could name a whole bunch of others, but they they they tend to market those players better and and promote them and get them out there And that's what I think is ah partly why the NFL has become so popular.
00:11:40
Speaker
The other thing, too, is there's so many different types of radio shows and podcasts and the the TV markets...
00:11:53
Speaker
tend to generate to promote the NFL more than the CFO, which is crazy to think because we live in Canada. The NFL is an American organization, and yet they promote an American product. They promote an American product.
00:12:07
Speaker
Now, I get that they're spending more money in the NFL and all that stuff, but I think that's what's causing... Right. I think that's what's causing the why why young people are going with the NFL. And and all you see on TV is, you know, there's TV ads like TSN and CTV. They tend to they have ads on all their platforms about when the the games are happening.
00:12:31
Speaker
ah what the top the start times, they give you the the team names that they're going to be promoting on Sunday, Monday, Thursday night, or even Friday night. Sometimes they're they're doing that doing that today, Friday, September 5th. They've got a Friday night show. So they're promoting the game more. They're promoting the get NFL game more with all that I just said.
00:12:54
Speaker
And that's what I think is why the NFL is much more bigger than the CFL in our country.
00:13:03
Speaker
Yeah, you're you're totally right. like The NFL, it's a media beast, basically, between Red Zone and fantasy football and all the betting apps and You know, the Super Bowl, it isn't just a game anymore. it's It's a holiday.
00:13:18
Speaker
And that's that goes for even in Canada, too. We're seeing, you know, Safeway. And this is just an example. I'm not saying it's actually at Safeway. But, for example, Safeway say Super Bowl sale or something like that in Canada. You know, it's like, come on, guys. Where's your Grey Cup sale?
00:13:34
Speaker
Would you say the CFL needs to compete more with the NFL? Or should they be shifting into a... sort of a different landscape leaning into what makes them a totally different experience.
00:13:47
Speaker
I think the, the CFL needs to create their own brand. I don't think they need to compete against the and NFL. I think what they need to do is they need to create their own brand, but here's the problem though.
00:14:01
Speaker
The problem that I think they're, they're facing right now is the fact that they are covered by organization. broadcaster and that would be TSN, which is owned by Bell.
00:14:12
Speaker
And they dictate when the games are happening. And to me, I think if you're trying to promote a Canadian product, you put it on as many days as you possibly can, whether that's on the NFL days or not.
00:14:27
Speaker
it Not everybody watches the NFL. i I know, Leo, you and I do, and we are really invested in the NFL. But if there was a Canadian game on, I think I would probably, depending on who they're playing, obviously, or who's playing on that day, I think I would watch the CFL game first before I would watch any any NFL game. That's just my opinion.
00:14:49
Speaker
But I think...
CFL's Unique Style and Its Appeal
00:14:51
Speaker
I think the CFL needs to create their own identity instead of trying to compete and make it an actual pro league instead of being a cheerleading league.
00:15:03
Speaker
And I'll get into more why I think about that why I say a cheerleading league later on in our in our podcast. Gotcha. Well, you're right. It does have some good things going for the league.
00:15:15
Speaker
ah You know, sometimes you see it a little bit more, Big plays, the wide open fields helps with that. Three downs, he can be pretty fast and high scoring and chaotic. But it's just not on young people's radar. Like we're seeing, you know, one coach ah pulled this up off Reddit here.
00:15:33
Speaker
a Canadian football coach in the high school system said not one kiddies coach has ever mentioned a CFL player. And so you're talking about like exposure and how the NFL markets their players like Patrick Mahomes and stuff. I remember there was a time when Baker Mayfield was on the – Cleveland Browns, and they just couldn't stop joking about how he did more underwear commercials than he had like completed touchdown passes or something like that.
00:15:59
Speaker
I mean, it's different now for Mayfield now that he's in a different environment. Cleveland is kind of the place that at least quarterbacks go for sure to die. ah Other positions it could be.
00:16:09
Speaker
That's true. ah too But yeah, the quarterback is ah is a tough one to notch for the – the The people south of the lake there, the mistake on the lake, as some like to call it.
00:16:21
Speaker
um Lando, do you think CFL's unique style of play, does it help or does it hurt appealing to younger fans like that faster? Because it can be faster and so can college, but it seems like, you know, the marketing machine at the NFL is just so strong these days. Do you agree?
00:16:41
Speaker
i you know ah here I think the CFL has a unique style of play. like i like um When I watched the Labor Day games through you know this past weekend, they were exciting, except for the Stampeders-Elks game. But the Labor Day games were exciting. The fans were engaged. they were you know it It went right down to the wire.
00:17:05
Speaker
you don't see that too much in the NFL where it runs down into the wire, right? Like you don't not very often when, when teams have a 14 point lead, they tend to, you know, shutter down, right? Like not too many teams are able to make comebacks like they do in the CFL.
00:17:22
Speaker
And so I, I think, I think if I was a younger person, I would definitely try to, would be intrigued of what, why is the CFL have such, you know, bizarre momentum swings compared to the NFL.
00:17:36
Speaker
And I forget what the last part of the question that you asked. ah but You asked the, ah I forget the last part of the question that you asked. so
00:17:45
Speaker
um Let's see. Like, no, you kind of answered it. at Do you think the CFL's unique style of play helps or hurts when it comes to appealing fans? And and i I tend to,
00:18:00
Speaker
agree that, um here, where was I going with this, that, you know, the the closer games that you were mentioning, but sometimes you just don't see in the NFL as much. ah We'll reference this past Labor Day weekend here with the ah Bombers visiting the Rough Riders, lost by four points in the Argos, beating the Ticats on a field goal, tossed ah what was it, like a 64-yard bomb to wide out to Jean Bursette, and he caught it.
00:18:26
Speaker
at the four yard line when stepped out with like a, like one second he left, like that is absolutely highlight reel TV football made for TV right there.
00:18:38
Speaker
And, ah and I, I'm starting to, to love it more and more as I get older here, the more I start to learn about it. And my dad would always tell me this when, when I would talk about NFL and it's not like he was knocking it.
00:18:53
Speaker
But he was just like, as I, we'd watch a lot of NFL games together and just be so disappointed by like the last two minutes because, you you know, the game gets close and then, you know, one team turns the ball over and there's two minutes and 30 seconds left on the clock. But the other team has one or two timeouts left and, you know, the other team's going to kneel and get one or two first downs and bada bing, bada boom, the game's over.
00:19:16
Speaker
But that's all, you know, that's basically and and going to happen in the next season. 14 to 20 minutes, but you still got to sit through it and watch all the commercials. It was a paid. And he's like, this just doesn't happen as much in the CFL, the three downs, the larger field. You just don't, the the finishes are way more tight. And I, I start to notice that a lot more now when I'm older and I love it.
00:19:39
Speaker
If you were 14 today, Landon, and starting to get into the sport, what would make you pick the CFL over the NFL? I think what I what would pick... i if If I was a 14-year-old, I think I would pick the CFO because of how close it is, like we just talked about.
00:19:57
Speaker
um I think if I was a 14-year-old, the tickets are obviously cheaper. the and mom and dad would be able to drive me to ah ah football game instead of flying me to a football game.
00:20:13
Speaker
And and i think... It's also a Canadian product. But I also, as a 14-year-old, I'd be like to go watch a hero that I like in the NFL.
00:20:25
Speaker
And I'd really convince my mom and dad, if I was 14 years old, to fly me to the city that I'd cheer for and go watch an NFL game. I really would. um That's just my answer for as a 14-year-old.
00:20:39
Speaker
The only difference between the the two is that one's culture closer than the other. Yeah, you'd like to go down to ah Mile High Stadium and watch Sean Payton coach Bo Nix into throwing three interceptions. No, i'm just kidding. i like Sean Payton and Bo Nix is a good quarterback.
00:20:57
Speaker
I'm just being mean. um that's That's cool. Well, yeah, the vibe isn't hate. That's a Shane Spann talking right there. i know My team is doomed, man.
00:21:07
Speaker
we're not even We're not even in the running for Arch, and it's not even like anybody wants to be in the running for Arch Manning anymore after what happened last weekend and in college football. He kind of, he was playing for Texas. They lost to number one ranked Ohio State.
00:21:23
Speaker
Ohio State had former Lions and Patriots coach Matt Patricia as their defensive coordinator. And I'm sure as soon as he saw a film on Arch Manning, he was just salivating at what he can get to get this guy confused because he had that man seeing ghosts.
00:21:40
Speaker
Anyways, the Saints, ah it's only a pipe dream if they were to ever get Arch Manning and B, if Arch Manning were to ever pan out into a viable NFL quarterback is a whole other story. But we'll move on to ah the back to the topic here. You know, the vibe, it isn't necessarily hate. it It's just disinterest. The CFL isn't part of the conversation for younger fans.
00:22:00
Speaker
I'll read you a few. Well, just one real take here I found on Reddit as well. Somebody said, every young football fan I know is an NFL fan first, like me. The CFL is trying, but the NFL is just a content machine.
00:22:13
Speaker
Landon, can the CFL win the audience back, or do you think the NFL already owns that kind of generation and the CFL just has to start to adapt?
00:22:24
Speaker
Well, here's here's what I think the CFL needs to do. And and i before we got came on the air, you and I talked about this, and I talked to ah this about with my best friend and my father about this when we went to the Labor Day game.
00:22:38
Speaker
The problem that the CFL has, and and I'm going to go to what my point about the cheerleading thing, is the problem that the CFL has is they don't market it very well.
00:22:54
Speaker
They don't at all. The other problem that they theyro they face is our country has, you know, not very good weather throughout the year.
00:23:05
Speaker
They only have... June, July, August, September, October, bit of November for for the CFL season. The NFL starts in September and they go until February.
00:23:17
Speaker
And so where where do you think people are going to watch more? Well, obviously they're going to watch more because they're going to be in home and they're at home and they are and the weather is colder. So they're obviously going to watch a lot more NFL. And the NFL is obviously over you know during the time when the weather is colder.
00:23:35
Speaker
You know, the other thing that the CFL doesn't have do very well either is that they don't have the the star players in the CFL anymore.
00:23:47
Speaker
Like when i when I first watched the CFL, there was stars like you left, right, and center. And you you mentioned one in Andy Fantus with the Saskatchewan Rough Riders. He was ah one of the best Canadian receivers you could ever find in the CFL as far as I know. i And I've watched a lot of lot of wide receivers. He was one of the best ones. He was definitely up there for me.
00:24:12
Speaker
But when I grew up when i grew up I watched the Anthony Calvillos. I watched the Ricky Rays. I watched the Dave Dickensons. I was old enough to even remember watching Jeff Garcia, who who played for the Calgary Stampeders.
00:24:25
Speaker
There was Damon Allen, who played for the BC Lions and the Toronto Argonauts. There was Danny McManus, who played for the Hamilton Tiger Cats. Kahari Jones from the Winnipeg.
00:24:37
Speaker
Kerry Joseph, exactly from the Saskatchewan Rough Riders. um Milt Stiegel, who played for the Winnipeg Blue Bombers, who's now an ally. Lies to Milt Stiegel. Oh, he was phenomenal.
00:24:48
Speaker
Absolutely phenomenal. And he was a tank too. Yeah, he was tank. He was an absolute tank. he And there was obviously some really good running backs back in the day. There was, you know, Darren Flutie was a running back receiver.
00:25:03
Speaker
You know, Charles Roberts from the Winnipeg Blue Bombers. Saskatchewan had Wes Cates. And a couple other names I forgot. It will probably pop up to me.
00:25:14
Speaker
but they had Wes Cates, Corey Sheets, um you know, Edmonton had Mike Pringle, and, you know, Calgary, the Calgary Stampeders, they had Calvin Anderson, wide receiver Alan Pitts. They also had Travis Moore back in the day, so did Saskatchewan had Travis Moore. So my my point being is the CF, oh, G. Roy Simon is another one. G. Roy Simon played for the BC lions and the Saskatchewan rivalries.
00:25:42
Speaker
So my point being is the CFL right now has no stars that you can say, yeah, I am going to root them for them.
00:25:55
Speaker
Anytime a team has ah star, they tend to move on because they want to they want to make more money than their previous team. So the star the good players are constantly moving around. So how how does a team how does ah an average young fan gravitate to the CFL or a CFL player when the player keeps moving on or he gets caught and he's just...
Challenges Facing the CFL
00:26:21
Speaker
Poof, he's a ah puff of smoke, and you will never hear from him again. So that that's problem the problem with the CFL right now is that they got to – figure out how to get more money into the league so that they can pay these guys.
00:26:39
Speaker
And then once they pay these guys, they might be able to create more, a more star culture. The other problem that CFL has right now is they are a one trick pony when it comes to media.
00:26:52
Speaker
There's only TSN. And so what, what TSN does is, well, you know, we, we were the only thing out there so we can do whatever you want. When I first watched the CFL, CBC was in the category.
00:27:06
Speaker
TSN was in the category. They both had ah equal share, an equal partnership. And what happened in the CFL? They had more money. The stands were more full. And the league was thriving. And so I think the CFL has lost their identity.
00:27:23
Speaker
as the years have gone on, you know, and, and the other thing that I think the CFL has a problem with compared to the NFL is you watch the NFL, all 32 teams in the NFL, they have a very, very strong fan base.
00:27:39
Speaker
They have a huge fan base all around the world, all around the world. They have this humongous fan base, you know, 30% the NFL fans this is not This isn't a blow-up um stat that I just came up with.
00:27:59
Speaker
thirty percent ah Google said 30% of the fans that root in the NFL are either a Cowboys fan or a Packers fan. 30% of the NFL fans are root for one of those two teams.
00:28:13
Speaker
And obviously, you know, there's the Chiefs and then you have the Eagles and then the Patriots and you have the 49ers. And then, yeah I mean, the list goes list goes on and on.
00:28:24
Speaker
But that's the problem in the CFL too. They don't have a big fan base. and they And I think over the years, they've lost the... the fan base because of the pandemic. And then I think just the lack of lack of star power.
00:28:41
Speaker
And that's what I believe is going on with the problem with the CFL. Do I think they could get it back? I do, but they need to pull up their pants, their big boy pants, and get the ball rolling. And one of the things that they need to do, they need to get more broadcasters involved.
00:29:03
Speaker
They need to get a CFL app going because, Leo, it's crazy. They don't have a CFL app at all. That is actually insane. They used to. i know, it's insane.
00:29:14
Speaker
It's absolutely insane. They used to and they got rid of it. Are you saying they got rid of it? That's insane. They got rid of it. That's like deep health. They quit updating. That sounds backwards to me.
00:29:27
Speaker
but It's insane. It sounds backwards. It is so backwards. So they don't have a CFL app anymore where you can at least go to look at all the nine teams and look at who's playing, who's actually on the rosters. And so they got rid of that.
00:29:44
Speaker
And, like, it's just insane. Where the NFL, they have an app. They have betting. They have all these things that the NFL has got going for them.
00:29:56
Speaker
They also have... um you know Like I said, sports betting, ah the the team all every single team has an app. I mean, not that the CFO teams don't either. I think they all do as well.
00:30:09
Speaker
But that's where I think they need to go to get the young viewers back. They need to get out of this old bubble of theirs and get – the ball rolling in with the times, because I, I think personally, I think they're, they're afraid to expand because it involves spending money.
00:30:34
Speaker
And that's the problem. That that's fair. Well, sometimes it's maybe money that they just don't have right now, especially after the pandemic, but you, you talked about stars a little bit and, um,
00:30:46
Speaker
You know, i'm I'm going back to, you know, you li you listed off maybe 15 people that they could be considered, that would play and that used to play in the Shrine game, right? That would play in the All-Star game back when they had it and stuff like that.
00:31:00
Speaker
And nowadays, I'm trying to think of, you know, if I could name any names if of guys that I think that would be a lock for the Shrine game nowadays. And I'm like, you know, only maybe one or two come to mind, like Bo Levi Mitchell And, you know, the other names that I really know are like guys that I followed in the college game that, you know, didn't make it to the NFL. And I i know of them through that.
00:31:23
Speaker
Like Vernon Adams Jr. who used to play ah ah out of Oregon. And he was, you know, a decent, he had a few, a decent run there. And Damian Alford and stuff like that. You know, some young up and comers. Well, not necessarily young, but up at comers and when it comes to this league. Dietrich Mills is another good one.
00:31:42
Speaker
But yeah, I don't, like, You know, that's not a big list for guys that... And you could probably add a lot more for guys that could probably play in the and a CFL All-Star game right now, could you not?
00:31:56
Speaker
You could, yeah. Yeah, but but it's a bit more difficult than, you know, banging off the list of Milt Stiegel and all those, you know, cfl hall of famers those guys were hall of famers that you listed right now it just feels like the the bar the entry level to the bar of the cfo hall of fame might be a little bit lower would it would it not be i agree with that yeah like i i don't think like other than bolivai mitchell um i could even i would probably say
00:32:32
Speaker
Yeah, he's he's right now the only one that I can think of right now that would be um you know Canadian law football of fame worthy. A lock.
00:32:43
Speaker
um I would probably throw in you know josh corn our John Cornish. He played for the Calgary Stampeters. would... i would yeah i would Yeah, the running back. um i'm trying to I'm trying to think. you know G. Roy Simon was already is already a CFO Hall of Famer. Yeah.
00:33:06
Speaker
Yeah, like right now, I can't think of anybody who off the top of my head, I'm sure when we end this podcast, I'll probably like, oh, yeah, I forgot about these this guy or forgot about that guy. But right now, I would i would honestly say Bo Levi Mitchell right now would be lock. And I know when we when when this podcast goes out, I know people are going to be screaming at me in front that that are a Rough Rider fans. Well, what about this guy? What about that guy?
00:33:34
Speaker
Yeah, well, you know what, when you' when you're in the heat of the moment and you can't think of anything, and then after it's like, you know, I i just draw a blink.
00:33:45
Speaker
And that's why it's funny when you when I brought up the in our first episode, how good are you at making split second decisions? Well, this is one of those. Yeah. I know what you mean. Yeah, it's, don't know. When somebody puts you on the spot saying, man, stars in the league right now, there ain't a lot of them. Can you name off how many on your fingers and we only got one or two? It ain't a great look, neither for us or for
CFL's Financial and Media Struggles
00:34:08
Speaker
the CFL. And I'm not sure who's it's a worst luck or look for at the moment.
00:34:12
Speaker
But we'll talk a little bit solutions here. And, you know, you mentioned ah some some PR stuff, partner with, you know, schools, maybe youth leagues, community events. We are seeing the CFL make a little bit of an effort doing that.
00:34:24
Speaker
um get players more visible and interviews behind the scenes clips i'm seeing some stuff on uh well they look like tiktoks but i'm not on tiktok but i don't know how they get on whatever apps i don't mind you know what i mean right with with that sort of stuff but if you were running the league what's the first thing that you would change to help reach out to gen z lando
00:34:48
Speaker
Well, here I've got a long list, and and i hope that I have enough time that I can bring this up. But I think one why if I was starting to run the league, my my my first thing i would do is that the Luke Wilsons, the Glenn Souters, the Milt Stegals, the David Sanchez's, those guys, you have full reign to say whatever you want.
00:35:14
Speaker
You can criticize the coaches. You can criticize the players. You can say anything you want as long as it's you know rated G. And that's the problem with the CFL right now is that they've got you can't say this. You you can't ridicule.
00:35:30
Speaker
and And so that's what I mean by the cheerleading league. It's a cheerleading league instead of it being a pro league. you know If you want to be a pro league, you need cheerleading.
00:35:41
Speaker
destructive criticism. It's not to hurt people's feelings. It's destructive criticism to make it better. And that's the problem with the CFL. They don't want to get better. They just want to stay status quo. But then you get they want to say, well but whoa whoa, whoa, whoa, I'm waving the flag. We're still here. Well,
00:35:57
Speaker
you got to promote yourself. So the other thing that they need to promote themselves is they need to spend more money. And how do they spend more money? Well, they need to get people into the seats.
00:36:07
Speaker
They need to make it a little bit more affordable. Then they get more people in the seats. Then they might actually get more stars out on to the field, more stars and pay for more stars and get more people the United States or the CIS or wherever they're going to get that they need to spend more money.
00:36:26
Speaker
uh, to get better players. Like right now, my dad mentioned this to me when we were on holidays. He said that the CFL has a $4 million dollar cap.
00:36:39
Speaker
A $4 million dollar cap. The NFL, I think, I'm just throwing a number out, but they have $300 million. It's a $300 million. it's a three hundred million um salary cap, I think, somewhere around there. I mean, I'm just throwing a number out.
00:36:53
Speaker
Leo, if you could help me out with that number. But i I know it's pretty high because i know they have ah they have a lot of money spent on quarterbacks, receivers, you can name it but that's one thing that that I would change as the CFL. You need to have, you need to get more money to players.
00:37:10
Speaker
The other thing that I would do as if I was a commissioner of the CFL is you need more broadcasters and what i mean by my more broadcasters i know i repeated myself beforehand but i'm going to do it say it again they need to get more canadian media involved so whether that would be getting your um your parent company that you work for rogers involved and having tsn and sportsnet split it i would love to be able to use audio
00:37:42
Speaker
Exactly, right? Like, yeah. and and And have more, have Sportsnet involved in the CFL broadcast. I'm sure there'd be ah quite a few people would jump, would be on board with that.
00:37:55
Speaker
I know, and if it's not Sportsnet, then get CBC back.
Potential CFL Expansion
00:38:00
Speaker
I'm sure there there are, CBC has a number of commentators, I'm sure, it's still to this day, that would still love to watch to cover the CFL. So that that, and if you have more broadcasters, that means you can,
00:38:12
Speaker
ask for more money from these broadcasters, which brings more money to the league, which also will raise the salary cap. And then you can get more players in and um you can have a that star league and have players like the 15 players that I named.
00:38:29
Speaker
So that's what I would do as um as a CFL commissioner is that's what I would do. And then the other thing I would do is use social media to your personal benefit.
00:38:42
Speaker
It should be everywhere. There should be jerseys everywhere. There should be hats everywhere. you get You tell your CFL teams you need to get out in the community and you need to promote yourself. The only team that I know that gets out into the community and has you know products and things like that out, the only team that does it is the Saskatchewan Rough Riders. The CFL has to follow the example of the Saskatchewan Rough Riders. They'd be they'd be ah they'd be surprised how much better the CFO would be if they promoted it well.
00:39:17
Speaker
And then the other thing, um I think for our Edmonton fans, because they're ah they're struggling with the the the attendance there, I think I'd be telling the league that and the sponsors, we're going back to the Eskimos.
00:39:31
Speaker
The market is getting killed up there. And it the Eskimos need to be back instead of the Elks. That's what I would do. like that. that's what i would That's what I would do.
00:39:43
Speaker
Kick wokeness right in the pants. yeah that's what That's what I'd say. But um yeah, so... i you know I agree with you, and you you weren't far off on the NFL's hard cap. It's at $280 million for this year. So 20 mil is not far off of a guess there, Lando, of a hard guess. So nice work there.
00:40:08
Speaker
you know that's there that's That's pennies compared to what the CFL has. it you know They're playing kickers $4 million dollars a year. It's $280 million. Yeah. Like...
00:40:19
Speaker
yeah like So that's insane. um But one thing I will ask here before we wrap things up, um Lando, if you were CFL commissioner, would you be interested in adding a 10th team out to the Maritimes?
00:40:41
Speaker
Yes, I would. I'd actually really push for that. um the other It's funny you bring that up. I would i would really push for Atlantic team. And if I can't get to like an Atlantic team,
00:40:56
Speaker
The other place that I would be trying or two places I would be trying to get to is either a Laval or Quebec City. Those two spots are football heaven when it comes to at least college and in the college.
00:41:09
Speaker
I think they would do really well in the CFL. But yes, as a commissioner, I'd be pushing so hard and for the local governments in either Halifax, Moncton, Fredericton.
00:41:20
Speaker
ah to push for a CFL team and get the ball rolling on a new stadium out there. Because I i believe Atlantic Canada is being left out when it comes to the CFL because they don't have a team out there, obviously. So i be yes, as a commissioner, I would be pushing i'd be pushing for it.
00:41:41
Speaker
Well, you heard it here for first, folks, that if Lando was your CFL commissioner, you'd have the Moncton Schooners showing up on your 2027 CFL schedule.
Future of NFL Jerseys in Canada
00:41:52
Speaker
At the end of the day, though, it isn't about saying one league is better than the other. It's about asking where the next generation is going, because if the CFL doesn't figure that out soon, it risks becoming a niche product in its own backyard. Final take in 10 years.
00:42:07
Speaker
Lando, do you think more Canadians will be wearing CFL or NFL jerseys? NFL jerseys. I really do. I think the i think as i think as as as the generations go on and as the broadcasting evolves, especially the way it's going, yeah, more and more people are going to be buying more NFL jerseys than CFL jerseys. And I'll use myself as an example.
00:42:34
Speaker
I have two Tom Brady jerseys.
00:42:38
Speaker
And I only have one i Calgary Stampede jersey i have more yeah like I said like I've I've I've two more one more jersey of the NFL than I do the CFL so to answer your question yes I I'd uh I'd say people will be buying more NFL jerseys in the next 10 years than the CFL Yeah, I mean, I was seeing it like that in Toronto when I was out there for school. There was more Buffalo Bills Josh Allen jerseys than there were Toronto Argonauts jerseys. That's for sure, right? But, you know, we got to meet Pinball Clemens, and that's that's all that matters. so
00:43:19
Speaker
But and sorry, you were going to jump in there? That's... Yeah, and that's crazy to think that there's more Buffalo Bills jerseys out there than Toronto Argonauts jerseys. and And I hate Reagan on Toronto because I know it's a big sports city, but I cannot believe that the Toronto Argonauts aren't followed more in Toronto than they are.
00:43:43
Speaker
They are the most successful franchise in Toronto. They've won... more championships than any other sports team in that city. And yet they're the least followed. It's nuts. It's absolutely nuts.
00:43:59
Speaker
But in Vancouver, it's the same because, you know, there's probably more Russell Wilson jerseys than there is Dave Dickinson jerseys when he used to play for the Lions or Cam Wake jerseys. Speaking of Cam Wake, who used to play for the BC Lions before he...
00:44:14
Speaker
became kind of a ah dominant force for the Miami dolphins down in the NFL. It's, um, But so my point being that, you know, if if if Montana had a dominant football team in the NFL, would we see more Montana Grizzlies jerseys or whatever
Global Impact of American Football
00:44:33
Speaker
they'd be called? That's the university, so I can't really use their name.
00:44:36
Speaker
But so more Montana whatever jerseys, would we see more of them around here? yeah yeah. Or at least the University of Montana. There's the Montana State something as well. But yeah.
00:44:48
Speaker
It's yeah, it's, it's, it's interesting to see the globalization of the game and the far reaches and stuff like that. So I just wanted to thank everybody for listening to the Leo and Lando show, hit us up with your takes. And we want to know, are you going to be repping the riders or the Ravens or well, the CFL or the NFL Lando, you want to give a shout out to a special someone this episode here?
00:45:14
Speaker
Yes, I do. I i met over Labor Day weekend. I got the pleasure of meeting two very special people who are now friends. And I've kept in touch with both of them, or at least one of them.
00:45:28
Speaker
ah Their names are Suman and Sydney. And they listened to our first episode and they thought it was our podcast was great. And so I want to make a special shout out to them.
00:45:40
Speaker
They are American. They are... So Sidney is a Lions fan. She's from Michigan. And Suman is from in Illinois somewhere by Chicago. So he's a Chicago Bears fan.
00:45:54
Speaker
And they live in New York City. They are in some sort of marketing or financing jobs in new York City. So I want to send out a big shout out those two in New York City. Our show is now going global.
00:46:12
Speaker
Oh, that's really cool. And when you first said that she's a Lions fan, I thought you were maybe mentioning that she's a BC Lions fan, but no, you meant Detroit Lions. And I was like, oh, I see what you mean.
00:46:24
Speaker
So we'll see if we can not necessarily flip it because, you know, I know how diehard allegiances go. You'll never get that blue and silver off her back, but maybe we can add a little bit of orange and black.
00:46:36
Speaker
uh, in the off season there. Um, thank you everybody for listening. You can catch us next episode. We hope you're enjoying the show. Give us a follow, leave us a rating. Peace. And you want to say bye London.
00:46:48
Speaker
Oh yeah. And thank guys. Thank you so much for listening. I, we really appreciate all that you do. Thanks for the feedback and we'll catch you next time.