There aren’t many things better than playoff football, especially in the Canadian Football League. Frosty weather, crazy loud crowds, wide open playbooks and players going all out.
We had all of the above, minus the wacky weather, this past weekend in Ottawa and Winnipeg.
And we will also have a new Grey Cup champion this year after Saskatchewan marched into the nation’s capital and took down the 2016 champion Ottawa Redblacks.
That sets up an intriguing matchup next Sunday in Toronto, where the Argonauts will try to prevent Saskatchewan from becoming the first western crossover team to advance to the Grey Cup.
Out west, as well as Winnipeg played this season, it appears nothing could stop us from getting another Battle of Alberta, with Edmonton moving on to play league-leading Calgary in a week’s time.
I think you can flip a coin on both the East and West Division finals, although I’d give the well rested teams — Calgary and Toronto — the edge.
I will say this: if the Riders beat the Argos, it will further the conversation of replacing the East-West Division format in favour of a one-division league.
There are pros and cons to both formats.
The two-division format allows just about every team to be in the playoff race right up until the final couple of weeks of the season. And in the CFL, which is a gate-driven league, that keeps more fans interested in their team’s fortunes and buying tickets.
A one-division league would put more pressure on the lesser likes to improve their talent on the field. If not, they’d be out of the playoff race by Labour Day, fans would throw in the towel, and those gate receipts would greatly diminish.
Commissioner Randy Ambrosie and other CFL brass are already having the conversation. Maybe a league that is hoping to entice more fans to check it out is getting ready to make the switch.
If so, this could be the last East vs. West playoffs that we will see. At least for a while.
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