Flashback to the Proposals for the CFL/XFL Alliance

In what seems like forever ago, there was a moment where CFL fans were worried that the league was on the edge of falling into the abyss when the paper tiger that was XFL 3.0 came courting.  Now that we see that the reality of the new league was all bark and zero bite, it's kind of fun to go back and read the old articles about that time. 

I was one of those guys during those days that was open to the idea, because, let's face it, the CFL is far from out of the woods as the Montreal ownership situation has shown us. But unlike all of the outdoor spring American gridiron leagues, the CFL has survived the other things that would have killed a similar American league. What follows is now pure speculation and fantasy, but hey, perhaps in a parallel universe the leagues did merge and are the dominant gridiron league.

Here Comes the Long Bomb- Toronto & Montreal to the XFL

Sitting here on XFL kick off eve in Japan reading the news and catching up on all the articles regarding the latest bad news of the Montreal Alouettes.  After my hangry fueled essay yesterday I figured that it might be best to cool off and think about not where the CFL and the Als have been these last many years, but more importantly, where the CFL and all of its teams are heading... And in a few days, should the XFL launch be successful (which I believe will), and if my projections are correct, the XFL/CFL and USFL merger speculation will really heat up. Especially over at many of the leading advocates of such a merger, including all of the American based alt football branded news hubs. 

A Loving Gift to the Ghosts of Baltimore's Glorious Football Past

St. Louis Rams of the CFL?

"U.S. Football Fans Urge CFL to Play in St. Louis"

Heartbroken fans have turned to the CFL with the hope they could still have a team in St. Louis after the NFL Rams moved to Los Angeles.

By: Chris O’Leary Sports Reporter, Toronto Star, Feb. 19 2016

Canadian Football in Milwaukee? It Almost Happened

Just a few weeks after Brett Favre made a frantic headfirst dive into the County Stadium end zone to beat the Atlanta Falcons and close the book on the Packers playing in Milwaukee, there was talk – serious talk – of a team relocating to Milwaukee to replace the departed Packers and keep the Cream City in the pro football business. Of course, no NFL team would be willing (or allowed) to encroach on Packerland, but the Canadian Football League (CFL) was more than willing – eager even – to plant their flag in Milwaukee. 

A Fascinating Look Inside the CFL’s Oddest Era

There are a lot of CFL history books out there (of which I think I have most), and this one, along with Ron Snyder's book on the Baltimore Stallions, is one of the few that talks solely about the league's ill-fated expansion into the United States.  As the league moves forward with talks with the XFL, I am hopeful that the CFL Commissioner and the owners of the franchises, along with the XFL leadership all read the history books and learn the lessons of the past. If they don't they will only have themselves to blame.  

The blueprints for how NOT to run a league are on the shelves of their local libraries.  The saga of CFL USA is one that was filled with a lot of misplaced hope and only one success story. Had the Browns not left Cleveland, perhaps the Stallions success would have led to success in Texas with San Antonio, and in other markets like Portland, El Paso, Salt Lake, St. Louis, to name just a few. I recommended every fan of the XFL and CFL to read this and the numerous other books out there on the history of professional football, for they all tell the story of how to avoid the pitfalls of failure.