CFL.ca Staff
Thanks to all of the fans who submitted questions for Commissioner Mark Cohon. We received quite a few questions and will be posting the Commissioner’s answers over the course of the next several days. Please check back to CFL.ca to see the answer to your question.
Here are the first 10 questions and answers:
Please Note: No new questions will be answered after this point, so please save them for our next Q and A with the Commissioner.
1. The pre-season is too short. The training camps are too short. New skilled position players don’t get a chance to show their stuff and are relegated to holding a clip board all year. Can’t we have a QB/Receiver/Defensive back pre-camp for 6 to 10 days before camp opens? See NFL. This would make for a great deal better football in the early season and a lot better football overall. (David Winter)
Thanks for the suggestion, David. There was a time when the CFL had four pre-season games, and fewer regular season games, but I understand people felt then that the regular season should start sooner. But your idea of an early camp for some positions, particularly quarterbacks, is something that is being discussed. Of course, it would need the approval of not only our teams, but the players’ association.
2. Mark, I think you are doing an excellent job as Commissioner of the CFL. I have been a fan of this league for over 40 years, and I can tell you things are improving. The problem has always been that a lot of Canadians think they are second best and the grass is always greener somewhere else. If you can somehow overturn this feeling, we stand united and can accomplish anything. We have proved it before!! Thanks for your efforts Mark, keep up the good work. (Darrin Kingston)
Thanks for your kind comments, Darrin. There is always more to do, but we believe we’re moving in the right direction. Football is a team sport, of course, and that’s true at the management level, too. I work with a tremendous Board of Governors, which includes the leaders of our publicly owned teams and dedicated private owners such as David Braley, Bob Wetenhall, Bob Young, the ownership group in Calgary and David Cynamon and Howard Sokolowski. They would be the first to tell you the real strength of our league is our fans. They would also agree with you, that the CFL and Grey Cup are uniquely and distinctly Canadian – and that’s something to celebrate!
3. Mr. Cohon: Last September, the CFL lost one of, it not the greatest, ambassadors it has ever known. Ron Lancaster’s incredible playing career was matched by his equally prolific coaching and broadcasting careers. Always willing to give of himself to promote the league he loved, I wonder if the CFL has any plans to reciprocate what he did for the 3-down game by retiring his number in his honour?
I couldn’t agree more that Ron Lancaster was one of the greats who did so much to build our league. We honoured his memory last year at Grey Cup, when we presented the Commissioner’s Award, for outstanding service to our league, in his memory to his family. His son Ron Jr. gave a speech that reminded us of his Dad: it was sincere, straightforward, and very classy. What I remember most about that week, though, was an entire section of the stands at the game at Olympic Stadium wearing t-shirts honouring Ron Lancaster, courtesy of some wonderful Rider fans who handed the shirts out just before kickoff. Believe me, Ron Jr. was there and he noticed. We’ve traditionally left it to our teams to decide whether to retire numbers. But we continue to discuss how best to honour not only Ron Lancaster, but other CFL greats we’ve lost in recent years, including Jake Gaudaur, Bobby Ackles, Ralph Sazio, and just this past weekend, Sam Etcheverry, to name just a few. We all feel compelled to honour them, although it may turn out that they have already received the highest honour available to someone in our league: inclusion in the Canadian Football Hall of Fame. And I think I know what some of them whom I knew personally would tell us to do in their memory: Keep their league strong for generations to come.
4. Hello Mark: Football must return to Ottawa. It is imperative that the league get this deal done ASAP. Then I think the league should focus on Halifax as the much desired 5th eastern division team. Could a stadium deal like the one in Winnipeg be used as a format to build a stadium in Halifax? There are a number of universities with strong football programs in Halifax. There should be public funds available if the stadium could be utilized for a wide range of activities other than C.F.L. football. To create an all inclusive league stretching from the Atlantic ocean to the Pacific would be huge. All regions of the country would be represented and the Grey Cup would truly be a struggle between eastern & western Canada, making the C.F.L. even more compelling. I even have a catchy name for the proposed new franchise; The Nova Scotia Highlanders. Maybe we could start a grass roots movement to build that new stadium in Halifax. (Rick Fullerton, Windsor Ontario)
Thanks, Rick. I get asked about expansion more than any other topic, and your question was one of several we received on expansion. The first two things we need to make expansion work in any city are strong owners with a strong emotional commitment and deep financial resources, as well as an appropriate stadium to play in. Without those two things in place, we risk weakening our league through expansion instead of making it stronger. In Ottawa, we have the right prospective owners in place, a group of local business people I’ve called a Dream Team for our league. They’re working with the city of Ottawa to refurbish Frank Clair Stadium as part of a revitalized Lansdowne Park. This is a vitally important project to the people of Ottawa, and everyone involved is taking the time needed to get it right. You can expect to hear more about this in the weeks to come and we remain optimistic the city council there will approve the stadium plan and CFL football will return to the nation’s capital, where it belongs. As for Atlantic Canada, we’re talking now to various levels of government about bringing a series of regular season games to Moncton, New Brunswick, which is striving to become an entertainment capital (remember the Rolling Stones played there). We would add temporary seats to the stadium at the university. Playing real CFL games there will give us a foothold in Atlantic Canada, and, you never know, that could lead to great things, if the right owners, and right stadium deal, fall into place. (The Winnipeg Stadium deal is unique, and involves the land the existing stadium is on. In Halifax, there is no existing CFL-sized stadium.)
5. Is there any plan to expand BMO field to make it right for the Argos? (Chris Fischer)
There are no active discussions right now. The field there is wide enough for the CFL but the end zones would have to be expanded, which would require some modifications. The Argos have looked at moving to smaller venues from time to time, but they’re committed at this time to playing at Rogers Centre. I know it has its critics, but it was a terrific venue for one of my favourite CFL memories: my first Grey Cup as Commissioner, in 2007.
6. We would like to know how the players get into the Hall of Fame. Some seem to be left out for years and others are in as soon as they retire?? (D & J Walton)
That’s a question for the Canadian Football Hall of Fame. Our league has representation on its selection committee, but it operates independently of the CFL. Generally, though, I know the committee strives to look for the most deserving candidates, but not every inductee gets in on their first opportunity. These are exciting times for the Hall. This year, for the first time, they’re taking the Induction Weekend on the road, to Winnipeg, September 24 to 26, and tickets for those events are going fast. Hamilton has always done a fine job of hosting but sharing the event with all Canadians is one of several ideas they are pursuing to elevate the Hall even further.
7. Hey Mark, Do you think perhaps the Retro games might have been a bit over done this season and th
e novelty of them is perhaps wearing thin. There are/were over 10 retro games this year. What are the plans for next year with regards to retro games. I’ll admit I like the retro games but next year I’m sure myself and many other CFL fans would like to see the players’ names on the back of the jerseys. (K-Man)
Thanks for the comments. You’ve raised a few issues there. I like Retro Games because they honour our heritage. We strive to make sure every team has at least one home Retro game. I think that’s fair, but it makes for the current number of Retro Games. As for the players’ names on the back of jerseys, we felt it would be more authentic. However, we have heard from some fans on this topic and will certainly consider it for any future Retro inspired jerseys.
8. The TSN crew is too many times missing the beginning of the live play due to a replay being played and replayed. Suitor is the guiltiest one, it’s unprofessional and mickey mouse. The game, not Suitor’s highlights should be the focus. This has been going on for years now and still no one has stepped in to stop it.
I’m sure mistakes are made from time to time, but I have to tell you that I believe TSN is a tremendous partner who has done a great job of broadcasting our games. Our ratings are up and most fans I talk to believe the quality of the production is great as well. We work closely with everyone at TSN, including Glen and the rest of the on air broadcast crew. We have a mid-season meeting coming up, and I’ll make sure to pass on your concern, but I personally believe they do a terrific job.
9. Wish the Commissioner had talked about CFL – NFL relations and if there is progress in that area. There were some rule changes for 09. Some discussion about how they are working would have been good too.
We have good relations with the NFL, both at the league level and team level, although we are not pursuing any new formal agreement with them at this time. As for rule changes, there are two that have received the most attention: requiring teams to kick off after field goals, and moving up the kickoff after a safety touch.
I believe both have been successful. We’ve seen a lot of exciting returns this year, one of the best parts of our game. And coaches have been a little more reluctant to automatically concede two points to preserve field position. These rules changes, by the way, were suggested by fans, who did a great job of flooding us with very knowledgeable suggestions.
10. I want your job! LOL! I am a huge football fan, both CFL and NFL. Our family has had season tickets to the Hamilton Tiger Cats since 1969, 40th season. I don’t know too many faithfuls like us/me. It’s tradition now. Talking about tradition, we were also around when the CFL attempted expansion into the USA. I have to be honest, the same ol 7 teams, year after year, decade after decade is boring. I know we are in a recession although teams in Ottawa and Halifax are long past due but I remember looking forward to teams like the Baltimore Stallions or the Birmingham Barracudas coming to Ivor Wynne. What are your thoughts on adapting some of the American game, most importantly 4 downs. I would love to see 8 – 10 Canadian teams and 8 – 10 American teams. This way you always have a Canadian team and a USA team competing for the Grey Cup. I really thought we were on the right track back then, just needed more American interest and I thought it was because of the # of downs. In baseball, there is inter-league play so adapt 4 downs and maintain our rules and as far as field size goes, when we’re in their back yard, it’s a smaller field and when their in our back yard, it’s a larger field. Everyone will just have to adapt. My 2 cents. So, that’s what I would make a goal if I was the Commish! Thank you for your time.
Thanks for being a fan, and for hanging in there with the Tiger-Cats. It’s a franchise with a tremendous history and their resurgence is one of the big stories of the 2009 season so far. It’s going to be very interesting to see how they fare in the second half of the season. I’ll look forward to seeing you on Labour Day (unless you’ve managed to scoop my job by then!). I think, though, we’ll have to agree to disagree on a couple of things. While I welcome expansion within Canada under the right conditions, I don’t think expansion to the U.S. was ultimately successful in the past. And I like three downs: it’s an integral part of our Canadian game, and one of the reasons why our game features a lot of passing and excitement. Nothing against the NFL, but I like our game better.
Original Story posted Friday, August 28, 2009
TORONTO –- The CFL is nearing the midway mark of the 2009 season. With that in mind, CFL.ca sat down with Commissioner Mark Cohon to catch up on all things CFL.
CFL.ca had the opportunity to discuss some of the great on-field stories including Fred Reid’s recent breakout game and the thriller between the Eskimos and Stampeders.
We also had the opportunity to converse about issues off the field and find out more about the business side of the league.
Take a moment to watch our interview with Commissioner Cohon and then add your questions to the comments module on the side of this page. The Commissioner will answer fan questions following the weekend right here on CFL.ca.
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