I used to do this every year, then stopped for awhile. In the interim, I've remained as big of a CFL team as ever, and this year I'm tweaking my format of these previews.
One week of action is already in the books; I watched all four games so, hey, extra insight!
BC Lions
Their starting quarterback:
Nathan Rourke, a native Canadian who broke records in his first stint in the CFL season (also with the Lions), spent a few seasons away to be warm the bench for several NFL teams, and now he's back. He is probably the best quarterback in the league, and given that he's Canadian to boot, can really have the league in the palm of his hand.
Their vibe:
They are perennially solid, but play in a cavernous domed stadium, which I think makes their home field advantage more muted than other places.
Root for them if:
You want to be the cool kid or want to root for the CFL's most California-esque team.
Winnipeg Blue Bomers
Their starting quarterback:
Zach Collaros, an Ohio kid who went to Cincinnati. Rourke might be the best QB in the CFL, but Collaros is the most decorated and proven, and is a two-time CFL Most Outstanding Player.
Their vibe:
Winners. They've been fairly middle-of-the-pack for most of their history, but they've been the Western Conference representatives in the Grey Cup for five consecutive seasons, winning two. Their fan support and stadium loudness is top-notch as well. It's usually easy to hate on the coach of a dominant team, but their HC, Mike O'Shea, is affable as hell and usually coaches in a simple team t-shirt.
Root for them if:
You're a shameless frontrunner.
Saskatchewan Roughriders
Their starting quarterback:
Trevor Harris, another Ohioan who matriculated at Division II Edinboro (PA). He's like the elder statesman of the league, 39-years-old and on his fifth CFL team. He guided two of his previous teams to Grey Cup victories.
Their vibe:
Super passionate fanbase; for my money, the best in the CFL. They are one of two CFL cities that don't have a NHL franchise to compete with. Their stadium always rocks and is beautiful at that. They are usually pretty good, with winning records and playoff appearances in five of the last seven seasons, but no Grey Cup appearances since 2013, which they won. They have a rivalry with Winnipeg called the Banjo Bowl.
Root for them if:
You like green. They are one of the few North American sports franchises that hasn't darkened their green from kelly green to forest green, and I commend them for that.
Edmonton Elks
Their starting quarterback:
Tre Ford, another Canadian (his Week 1 matchup against BC was the first CFL match to feature two Canadians starting in the pivot). He is capable of making video game-esque improvisations, but he's green and other early indicators are not great.
Their vibe:
Possibly the most storied franchise in the league (it's either them or Toronto), fallen on hard times. They've gone four straight years without a playoff appearance (there are nine CFL teams and six of them make the playoffs), and have mostly found themselves in the league basement in that span. They had a 23-game home losing streak from 2019-2023.
Root for them if:
You want to join a team at their nadir, and when they improve, you can enjoy that, as well as their 14 Grey Cup championship history, most in the Western Conference, without feeling like a bandwagoneer.
Calgary Stampeders
Their starting quarterback:
Vernon Adams, Jr. You may remember him from his days at Oregon. He's a top-tier QB who has been unlucky in his career, getting unseated more than once when he's gotten injured and then his backup plays lights out and doesn't relinquish the starter role when Adams gets healthy. He's new to Calgary and this is a real chance for him to put that unlucky past behind him. I'm rooting for him.
Their vibe:
Alberta is sometimes dubbed the Texas of Canada, and the Stamps, far more than their provincial rivals Edmonton, exemplify that with their horse and rodeo theme. They are the nature boys of the CFL.
Root for them if:
You've ever said yee-haw unironically or if you like ugly uniforms (they have these thick vertical stripes running across the top of their jerseys that are just bad).
Toronto Argonauts
Their starting quarterback:
Chad Kelly. The former Ole Miss and Clemson gunslinger. He guided the Argos to a 16-2 record in 2023 with a CFL Most Outstanding Player accolade. Since then, he's been hurt a lot and served a long suspension on the heels of sexual assault allegations. He's hurt now, too.
Their vibe:
Do you remember the CFL's foray into America into the early 90s? By far the most successful team out of that experiment were the Baltimore Stallions, who were good and well-supported. The CFL ultimately receded back to Canada, but then Baltimore got the Ravens. I bring this up as context to this incredible quote I once heard regarding Argonauts fandom:
"Baltimore tried to prove themselves worthy of an NFL franchise by going to Stallions' games. Toronto tries to prove themselves worthy of an NFL franchise by not going to Argos games."
To provide even more context, the NFL is plenty popular in Canada, too, and there's a bit of a rivalry between CFL and NFL fans. The CFL does not play regular season games on Sunday once the NFL gets rolling in the fall.
Root for them if:
You want onboard with the team that has the most Grey Cups (19). In the 20 or so years I've been following the CFL, it seems like Toronto has just squeaked into the playoff and then won it all about 15 times.
Montreal Alouettes
Their starting quarterback:
Davis Alexander. Went to school at Portland State. Filled in last year for then-starting QB Cody Fajardo and played great, so the Als jettisoned Fajardo in the offseason. With their win over Toronto last week, Montreal still has not lost a game that Alexander has started.
Their vibe:
Lowest payroll in the CFL. Smallest stadium in the CFL. Folded twice and brought back from the dead twice. The small stadium helps with intimacy a bit, but the air horns that Montreal fans have been known for was banned starting with this season.
They do well despite their handicaps, having won they Grey Cup in 2023 and having the league's best record in 2024. Part of what helps might be Francophone Quebec, which you may be surprised to learn is football-mad. Eight out of the last 12 championships in Canadian college football have been won by two French-speaking schools, Montreal and Laval. They are my adopted CFL team.
Root for them if:
You love Kevin Beane.
Hamilton Tiger-Cats
Their starting quarterback:
Bo Levi Mitchell. The 35-year-old Texan has won two Grey Cups like Harris and Collaros and has two CFL Most Outstanding Player awards like Collaros, but is not aging as gracefully as either of them.
Their vibe:
Well, someone has to be the league's laughingstock, and while Edmonton has a worse recent history, that team is clearly Hamilton. They have not won a Grey Cup since 1999. Every other CFL team has won one in the meantime. They have three Grey Cup titles in the last 57 years, and remember, for most of those years, this has been an 8- or 9-team league. They went 1-17 in 2003, setting all sorts of futility marks in the process.
All of this said, they enjoy good fan support and have won at least 7 games each of the last six seasons.
Root for them if:
You love an underdog.
Ottawa REDBLACKS
Their starting quarterback:
Dru Brown, who started games for Hawaii and Oklahoma State in college. I would say he's in the lower half of league starting quarterbacks, but he threw for over 400 yards with no interceptions in their Week 1 loss to Saskatchewan, so maybe not.
Their vibe:
The team's official name is the REDBLACKS, capitalization required, which is stupid and I'm not going to type it that way again. Like Montreal, Ottawa has gone through a couple fold-and-rebirth times. This iteration of the franchise began in 2014, made it to the Grey Cup in 2015, won it in 2016, but has now missed the playoffs four out of the last five years.
They try to theme their team after lumberjacky stuff, like cutting logs with chainsaws after touchdowns, and their logo features a circular saw blade.
Root for them if:
None of the other teams grab you.
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