With the CIS football regular season coming to a close, the CFL, NFL and NCAA in full swing, I felt it might be a good time to defend our version of one of North America’s most popular games.
Depending on which side of the 49th parallel you reside, football can take completely different forms. On the surface, the games seem similar and to the untrained (or apathetic) eye, the games are not that different at all. The premise is the same: score more touchdowns than the other team and you will undoubtedly win the game. That being said, the games are no more similar than Republicans and Democrats.
For starters, the game to the south is played with four downs (plays) to gain increments of 10 yards moving up the field, the field is 100 yards in length from goal line to goal line and about 53 yards wide. The football itself measures 11 inches from tip to tip, 22 inches around at the centre and weighs about 14-15 ounces. The American game puts 11 players on the field and they have 40 seconds to put together an offensive play from the finish of the previous play.
By contrast, the Canadian game is played with three downs (plays) to gain the same 10 yards, the field is 110 yards in length and measures about 65 yards wide. The Canadian football, one of the more notable differences, is larger; measuring the same length of about 11 inches, however, the circumference is much larger at about 28 inches, weighing 15 ounces. There are 12 players on the field and each team has only 20 seconds to start a new offensive play.
Evidently there is a difference between the two games. At face value, these numbers would dictate that the Canadian game is faster paced, open and back and forth; this is true.
I write this for those of you who turn your nose up at the prospect of watching a CFL game in favor of three-yard runs and terrific beer commercials. I’m aware that the spectacle of five-hour coverage and 65,000 seat stadiums make it hard to turn to the more modest game to the north. However, the NFL is quickly moving away from the heart of the sport. A hard hit can produce a fine and the long list of teams that do not have a shot at the title every year is larger than the entire CFL, which consists of only eight teams (compared to the NFL’s 32). Based on entertainment value, it depends what you want. Flashy graphics, superstar endorsements and alumni with fake tans calling the games can be fun to watch. However, if it is about football for you, like it is for me, the CFL consists of big plays (out of necessity) and exciting competition. Going into a CFL season, everyone has a chance.
The difference trickles down to the CIS level as well. For those of you who are counting down till Sunday for your dose of the gridiron, I make my appeal to you to look just a little bit closer, for the CIS playoffs on Saturday and even Wendy’s Friday Night Football (CFL). I promise you will not be disappointed. Just give it a chance.
Medeiros and Quinlan leave behind an all-star Marauders offense, which took the Vanier by storm.
After the news broke of quarterback Kyle Quinlan’s recent signing with the Canadian Football League’s Montreal Alouettes, McMaster’s football community, still on the highs of 2011’s historic Vanier Cup-winning season, has been confronted with the harsh reality that has long been entrenched in collegiate athletics: players of the highest calibre will eventually leave, ready or not, to begin their professional careers.
After leading his team to national football supremacy, Quinlan will now be expected to work at a much higher level. From such a successful team, one deemed to be among the best in CIS history, surely more than one player would be considered to have “next-level” talent.
Enter All-Canadian guard Jason Medeiros, who has recently signed with the Hamilton Tiger Cats.
Medeiros, a Hamilton native, will get a chance to fulfill a lifelong dream of any athlete: to make the roster of his hometown team. Keeping things truly close to home, Medeiros attended the May 31 TiCats rookie camp on some familiar soil, as the camp was held at McMaster’s Ron Joyce Stadium.
Full training camp began on June 3 and it can be expected that the 6’4”, 315-lbs. sociology major will make a strong showing throughout the duration of the pre-season.
Marauder head Coach Stefan Ptaszek weighed in on Medeiros’ readiness, saying that the third-year lineman will make McMaster proud at the very least.
“I am so happy that Jay has earned the opportunity at a professional career. I know he will be a positive representative of the McMaster Marauder Football program.”
Now, supporters of the defending champion Maroon and Greys may be experiencing some mixed emotions. On one hand, Medeiros and Quinlan have a shot at joining the six CFL players who started their playing careers out of McMaster’s program. On the other, one of the country’s best offenses in 2011 could lose at least two of its players to the pros, one of whom was arguably the best player on that offense.
In fact, both Medeiros and Quinlan have one year of CIS eligibility remaining. So, if neither makes the roster of their new team, Mac can expect to have them return for the defense of both provincial and national football titles.
If successful, the two players would join the ranks of receiver Mike Bradwell, safety Jason Arakgi, linebacker Jay Pottinger and offensive linemen Andrew Jones, Chris Van Zeyl and Kyle Koch in Canada’s proleague.
A notable name missing from this CFL list is former Marauder running back Jesse Lumsden, whose career was cut short due to injury.
Now a member of the Canadian National Bobsledding team, Lumsden holds several offensive records at Mac, though he was never able to bring a national championship back to the Steel City, despite his illustrious career.
The success of both Medeiros and Quinlan as part of the 2011-12 Marauder squad that won the Vanier Cup sets them apart from those who have blazed the path from Mac to the ranks of professional football.
That note on their football resume might be indicative of a promising career for both players – one that raises the bar of excellence for those graduating out of Canada’s top university football program.
Either way, whether they don the colors of their new team, or come home to once again wear numbers 61 and 12, respectively, the future is bright for Jason Medeiros and Kyle Quinlan.
Kyle Quinlan celebrates the Marauders' Vanier Cup victory in November.
McMaster quarterback Kyle Quinlan has signed a two-year deal with the CFL’s Montreal Alouettes. He’ll get a chance to crack the team’s roster this spring.
Quinlan led the Marauders to the Vanier Cup last November, beating out the Laval Rouge et Or to capture the school's first national championship. He was named MVP of the Yates Cup, Uteck Bowl and Vanier Cup.
The star quarterback will compete for the third-stringer job with Montreal, hoping for the chance to play behind starter Anthony Calvillo and backup Adrian McPherson. He has another year of eligibility with Mac, so should he not make the cut with the Alouettes, he could be back with the Marauders. Much of the core Vanier Cup-winning team would return in Maroon and Grey next year if that were the case.
Quinlan, who many speculated would have a CFL future after last autumn's championship run, was overlooked in last week’s CFL draft, allowing him to negotiate with any of the league's eight teams in search of an opportunity to play professionally.
Calgary Stampeders backup Brad Sinopoli is the only Canadian quarterback currently on any CFL roster.
On Tuesday, the Al's signed a second Canadian quarterback, Kyle Graves of the Acadia Axemen, who will also compete for a roster spot with the team. The Marauders beat the Axemen in the Uteck Bowl prior to their Vanier Cup victory.
The 23-year old Quinlan is continuing to serve out the one-year probation following his discharge after an incident at TwelvEighty last year, for which he was initially charged with one count of assault and two counts of assaulting a police officer.
