CFL's short-sightedness keeps team out of Atlantic Canada

by Iain Mackenzie

	Atlantic Schooners.

The Atlantic Schooners was a conditional Canadian Football League (CFL) expansion team in 1984, to play out of Halifax, Nova Scotia. The Schooners folded before they played a single game. The ownership committee for the team reportedly led by J.I. Albrecht couldn't secure the financing for a new stadium for the team. Since that time, there has been no CFL calibre stadium built in the Metro Halifax area.

However, the frustration of Atlantic Canada getting a team is because of pivotal reason far beyond stadium construction. The pivotal reason is the CFL’s shortsightedness. It is this apparent short-sightedness which inspired the CFL to pursue the expansion of the League in mostly far flung U.S. cities during the mid-1990’s, in places where most of locals probably never heard of “Canadian Football”, or the CFL.

Predictably, all of the U.S. teams became defunct after one or two years. These include the Sacramento Gold Miners (1993-94); the Las Vegas Posse (1994); the Baltimore Stallions (1994-95); the Shreveport Pirates (1994-95); the San Antonio Texans (1995); the Birmingham Barracudas (1995); and the Memphis Mad Dogs (1995).

The amount of money that the CFL wasted on U.S. expansion could have easily supported the building of an enduring franchise in Halifax.

The latest outrageous idea from the Office of the CFL Commissioner us that: “If the NFL were to encroach on CFL turf, Marc Cohon said he would demand a partnership with the U.S. league that would ensure the CFL's survival in southern Ontario.”

Mr. Cohon need to come up with something better than that, if he expects to defend the CFL from Big Business interests in Toronto that have little interests in the defence of the CFL as a treasured national institution, that existed long before the NFL.

Atlantic Canada still demonstrates their support for the CFL franchise by their continued fan participation at Grey Cup related events. The Atlantic Schooners that had been presented as an expansion franchise for the 1984 season is still being represented by loyal fans 23 years later.

More than a dozen Schooners fans had been in Toronto, hosting twice-daily socials in the Metro Toronto Convention Centre in the lead-up to the 2007 championship game between the Winnipeg Blue Bombers and the Saskatchewan Roughriders.

They hope their passion will help lead the CFL back east.

"Our job is to promote the team, the name and the franchise and let the people behind the scenes do their work," Halifax native John Ryerson told CTV.ca.

Ryerson heads the events and has been attending Grey Cup weekend for 17 years. He said the Grey Cup committee in Ottawa asked him and his fellow Schooner fans to throw a party in 2005.

Since then, The "Down East Kitchen Party" has been a part of the Grey Cup festivities, featuring East Coast music, Schoonerette cheerleaders and lobster-on-a-bun.

Become a Member:

Would you like to see other similar articles and critical commentaries in The Canadian National Newspaper? Then, show your support. Make a member-pledge donation, in support of the Membership Drive of the Pro-Democracy Media Foundation.

The Canadian can only continue to publish investigative articles in such areas, with the donations from members of the public in Canada, the U.S., and abroad. Consider making a donation of $50.00, $75.00, $100.00, $200.00 or more. Donors are eligible to receive our first collector's print edition in mail. Alternatively, you can send us a note to be placed on our special email list of members. Member-donors can also suggest articles or commentaries to be published in The Canadian.

The Canadian is a socially progressive and not-for-profit national newspaper, with an international readership. We provide an alternative to the for-profit commercial focused media, which often censors vital information and perspective of potential interest to the diverse Canadian public, and other peoples internationally.

Become a member of The Canadian, with your donation-pledge. Help support independent, progressive, and not-for-profit journalism.