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| Andrew Harris tears downfield for the Bombers in 2016. |
It seems we are going to find out.
A sizable group of CFL supporters believe the league can survive anything including the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic that has gripped the world.
This sizable grouping, which seems to be loud and passionate on social media channels, believes the CFL will return and roll like it did in 2019 when the COVID-19 pandemic ends and large crowds can go to stadiums again for games.
Those supporters also seem to believe the financial elephant in the room CFL clubs are facing doesn’t exist.
The financial elephant made an appearance on Monday, when the Winnipeg Blue Bombers released their annual report. The community-owned Bombers announced an overall loss of $6,982,217 for 2020.
Of course, the CFL didn’t play any games in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The Bombers experienced a $32.3-million decrease in revenue in 2020 compared to 2019.
No events have been held at IG Field since February of 2020, but the Bomber still incurred $3.4-million in expenses for the upkeep of their home stadium.
The Bombers won the Grey Cup in 2019, which was the last time the CFL held a season. For 2019, the Bombers posted a $3.5-million operating profit.
Still, Bombers president and CEO Wade Miller tried to put a positive spin on things.
“When you lose 89 per cent of your revenue, obviously it’s tough,” said Miller in a statement on Monday. “We didn’t play any football and didn’t hold any events at the stadium, so it was challenging.
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| Chris Streveler (#17) throws a TD pass for the Bombers in 2019. |
“Our fans, partners and stakeholders have stuck with is and rallied behind the team. I’m going to use the Andrew Harris line: ‘They had our back.’”
All CFL fans would love to see Harris, who is the Bombers star local product running back, tear down the field again like he did in the 2019 Grey Cup in Calgary. In that contest, Harris carried the ball 18 times for 134 yards and one touchdown, and he caught five passes for 35 yards and a major score.
Harris was named the game’s most valuable player and most valuable Canadian as the Bombers romped to a 33-12 victory.
Still, the reality is we don’t know when Harris, the Bombers or any of the CFL’s other eight franchises will be on the field again.
While vaccines for COVID-19 are rolling out across Canada, the spread of COVID-19 variants are raising concerns.
On Monday, British Columbia introduced a three-week “circuit breaker” style lockdown to combat variants.
Saskatchewan’s provincial capital city in Regina, which is home to the CFL’s Saskatchewan Roughriders, is dealing with tighter restrictions along with surrounding areas to combat spread of COVID-19 variants. The rest of Saskatchewan is dealing with somewhat lighter restrictions.
Ontario is experiencing more concern due to COVID-19 variants.
On the financial side of things, the Bombers are viewed as arguably the healthiest team in the CFL along with the Roughriders. Miller said the Bombers hit the point where they were debt free this past September for the first time since 1992, but that distinction didn’t last long.
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| Bombers LB Adam Bighill (#4) studies an offensive look in 2019. |
The Canadian Press had previously reported the CFL’s nine teams are expected to lose a collective $60-to-$80-million for the lost 2020 campaign.
As the Roughriders and the Edmonton Football Club are community owned teams, they will have to publicly disclose their finances for 2020 at some point this year.
The British Columbia Lions, Calgary Stampeders, Hamilton Tigers-Cats, Montreal Alouettes, Ottawa Redblacks and Toronto Argonauts don’t have to publicly disclose their finances, but you can expect them all to be crying for financial help.
If the CFL doesn’t play in 2021 or has a shortened season or plays with limited fan attendance, how much more red ink will be added to the already mounting losses?
Do private owners keep eating the financial losses?
Do creditors look the other way when it comes to community franchises that own them money?
If a team posted a loss like the Bombers did for 2020 in the late 1980s or early to mid 1990s, there wouldn’t even be discussions about the team folding. The team would fold.
It is safe to say a $7-million loss in the current day is viewed differently than a $7-million loss in 1986.
Ultimately, teams will need money in order to continue operating. Your options at that point are hope governments step in and pay off all the debts that are incurred by the CFL member clubs or you attract new owners or investors.
On March 10, news broke that saw the CFL and XFL reveal they’re poised to begin serious discussions about a potential partnership. The XFL is the spring start up league in the United States that was bought out of bankruptcy in August of 2020 by Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson, Dany Garcia and Gerry Cardinale’s RedBird Capital.
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| The Bombers celebrate a TD from Kenny Lawler (#89) in 2019. |
At the moment, no one else with deep pockets has stepped up to dance with the CFL.
Of course, some diehard supporters of the Canadian version of three-down football say they would rather see the CFL die than form a partnership or possibly merge with the four-down XFL game.
Looking at the financial numbers, the Bombers Grey Cup victory in 2019 might go down as the last game ever played in the CFL unless this partnership is explored.
At the moment, no other options seem to be presenting themselves to keep the CFL alive.
“The Rock” is watching
Canadian football supporters got an indication on Saturday that “The Rock” might be paying more attention than you might think.
Football Canada president Jim Mullin and Winnipeg Blue Bombers fullback Jon Rush sent messages back and forth on Twitter talking about a tweet that speculated what a partnership would look like between the CFL and XFL.
Mullin and Rush were commenting on a tweet from Aaron Geisler, who is the executive director of the Ontario Football Alliance. Geisler said he would be interested in a late winter early spring six to eight game CFL/XFL season and then a traditional eight game CFL season that runs August through November.
Johnson along with Dany Garcia and Gerry Cardinale’s RedBird Capital own the XFL.
Mullin said in a tweet that Johnson wanted games at various times of the year. Rush chimed in that he worried about player safety in that type of scenario and injuries could pile up without an adequate off-season to train.
Along with those concerns, Rush worried about time to fully recover physically along with the prospect of players being able to get second jobs.
Out of nowhere, Johnson sent a tweet to Mullin and Rush saying, “Hi gents, I never said that. We’ll figure out a smart season that’ll create phenomenal opportunities for players and be the best experience for fans. I played ball for years and wrestled 280+ night a year (for years) so I know the value of smart scheduling and recovery.”
While there aren’t a whole lot of specifics of what a partnership between the CFL and XFL would look like or how far those discussions have progressed, it is cool to see Johnson is paying attention to what people in Canada are saying about those talks.
Maier becomes Blades all-time wins leader
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| Nolan Maier won his 86th career regular season game on Wednesday. |
On Wednesday, Maier made 29 saves to backstop the Blades to a 3-2 victory over the Winnipeg Ice in a WHL regular season contest played in a bubble environment at the Brandt Centre in Regina. Maier also chipped in the offensive side of things picking up an assist on the Blades second goal of the contest scored by veteran star left-winger Kyle Crnkovic.
The victory was the 86th regular season win of Maier’s career with the Blades and moved him past Tim Cheveldae for the franchise’s all-time record in that department.
Cheveldae collected his 85 career regular season wins playing three seasons for the Blades from 1985 to 1988 before moving on to a lengthy NHL career. He was the Blades goaltending coach from 2013 to 2020.
Maier, who turned 20 in January, joined the Blades shortly after the 2017-18 campaign got underway and quickly cemented himself as one of the WHL’s top netminders. He has appeared in 146 career regular season games with the Blades posting an 86-46-12 record, a 2.94 goals against average, a .902 save percentage and eight shutouts.
Brandon Lisowsky and Colton Dach each netted singles for the Blades, while rearguard Aiden De La Gorgendiere has continued to break out as an offensive-defencemen picking up a pair of assists. In the Blades 10 games this season, De La Gorgendiere has two goals, nine assists and a plus-12 rating in the plus-minus department.
Anderson MacDonald and Connor McClennon replied with singles for the Ice. Zachary Benson picked up assists on both Winnipeg goals.
Gage Alexander turned away 25 shots to pick up the setback in goal for the Ice.
With the win, the Blades improved to 9-0-1 to sit first in the East Division, while the Ice fell to 6-4 to sit third in the East Division in the developmental campaign.
The Blades return to action on Friday, when they take on the Moose Jaw Warriors (8 p.m., 98.3 COOL FM).
86 and counting.
— Saskatoon Blades (@BladesHockey) April 1, 2021
Congrats, @NolanMaier1 👏 pic.twitter.com/yLwX5LUUdR
If you have any comments you would like to pass along about this post, feel free to email them to stankssports@gmail.com.
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