Part three: a culture of apathy
The future: the Canadian Football League
Ajitpaul Mangat, Staff
Does Canada subsume a genuine, authentic culture? The Canadian government would have you believe if one does exist Canadians do not care to preserve or reinforce it. Seemingly some form of board or commission oversees nearly every variety of media, from film to radio to television. Whether it be the Canadian Radio-Television and Telecommunications Commission or the Department of Canadian Heritage, the government is always there ensuring that the citizens of Canada are force-fed as much Canadiana as possible and as little of whatever other form of global media they may have autonomously chosen.
Why all this protection? From whom are Canadians to be veiled? The corporate might of Canada’s neighbours to the south and the irresistible, dazzling Americana they mass-produce in plenty.
Canadiana simply cannot compete with Americana. Cineplex burst from the seams with glittering images of Superman, Hollywood and the Jazz Age, leaving little to no room for images of snow, maple leafs and hockey rinks. Radios and IPods blare the sounds of southern rap, Detroit techno and the Delta blues, saving just enough room for Canadian musicians, like Nickelback and Avril Lavigne, who make music from their glossy American studios and for their big-business American record labels. Television sets crystallize images of Miami crime dramas, midwest sitcoms and celebrity talk shows live from New York City, which are aired by Canadian television stations, like CTV and Global. If Canada has not become America in name, its culture surely has in spirit.
Canadian sports have similarly not been saved from this washing over by a red-white-and-blue mentality. Whereas American sports have conquered Canada, Canadian sports have been conquered by America. Canadians have adopted traditionally American sports, such as baseball and basketball, as each sport’s biggest league has a successful franchise in Toronto — the MLB’s Toronto Blue Jays and the NBA’s Toronto Raptors. In fact, baseball has become so successful in Canada that four of the seven most watched programs in the history of Rogers Sportsnet are MLB playoff telecasts. Additionally, few sports moments in the past 20 years have captured Canada’s attention like the Blue Jay championship victories of 1992 and 1993. On the other hand, the traditionally Canadian sport of hockey has been appropriated by America, as Americans now run the NHL, which is predominantly played in American cities.
Even so, the most interesting dichotomy that currently exists between Americana and Canadiana lies in the sport of football.
It is no secret that football is America’s favourite pastime, having superseded baseball many years ago in terms of popularity and passion. In fact, football, or more specifically the NFL, in many ways epitomizes Americana. In a country obsessed with television, the NFL dominates the ratings. Just this past year, the league set the records for most-watched cable television program in history, the most watched non-Super Bowl television program this decade, and the second-most-watched network television program in history. In a country demanding ostentation, every NFL game is a spectacle from the gigantic stadiums and soaring production costs to the immense and swift players that produce high speed, violent collisions and elegant dexterity. In a country filled with jingoists, each American viewer knows they are watching a sport in which no other nation can compete. The NFL is Americana, yet, for many years, Canadians have, for the most part, not been spellbound by the American style of football.
The CFL has steadily, year after year, broken gate attendance records and historically defeated the National Football League in terms of regular season and playoff games television ratings in Canada. The Grey Cup has garnered similar, or typically larger, television audiences as compared to the Super Bowl. It seems Canadians have finally, at least when it comes to football, favoured Canadiana.
The Canadian style of football played in the CFL is distinctively, historically Canadian. Paradoxically, this style of play is sexier, faster and more exciting than the football played south of the border. The larger field of play allows more running room for running backs, and more space to catch footballs down the field for wide receivers. The extra player on offence means there are more receivers for the quarterback to throw to, and consequently more exciting passing plays than tedious running plays. The lack of a fair-catch signal results in more thrilling special teams returns, which are aided by the larger field. The average CFL games ends in more total points and yards than the average NFL game. It can be argued that the CFL style of football represents the stereotypical image of America — aggressive, fast-paced and flashy — more than it does the stereotypical image of Canada — pacifist, slow-paced and reticent. Yet, when the CFL attempted to expand to America it failed to acquire a significant audience and soon returned to being a strictly Canadian league. Thus, Canadian football has remained the one sport, and, facet of Canadian culture, which has opposed being conquered by Americana.
However, that steadfastness could change this year, as American football is seemingly on the brink of conquering Canada and, likely with it, Canadian football.
There are two primary reasons to believe that this could happen. Firstly, the 2007-08 sports calendar produced one of the most lopsided television rating wins for the Super Bowl over the Grey Cup in history. In Canada, five million viewers watched the 2008 Super Bowl, which is much larger than the 3.5 million people that watched the 2007 Grey Cup. Secondly, the NFL’s Buffalo Bills will play eight games in Toronto, home to the CFL’s Toronto Argonauts, over the next five years. If this test run proves successful, it could lay the groundwork for the expansion of the NFL to Canada. Thus, with the NFL gaining popularity and directly infringing on the CFL, as the NFL’s head brass contemplate a Canadian franchise, the CFL, truly the last major Canadian sport and league, sits on a precarious precipice.
The degree of value that Canadians place on subsuming a genuine, authentic culture may be answered by the fate of Canadian football. To save and support the Canadian Football League would be to preserve a Canadian custom and tradition over 120 years old. To abandon it would be to further entrench another American custom and tradition, American Football, deep in the Canadian psyche. Canada is a culture of apathy, but that allegation does not have to remain true.
