@alexiskienlen Football played in open air is more suited to fall than summer. Against baseball, there’s more continuous motion and the uniform includes more padding, so more body heat is generated and trapped. This serves as protection in cold weather but is uncomfortable in hot/humid. 1/x
@alexiskienlen 2 Canada’s climate on the whole is colder than that of the US, so Canadian football seasons have always started and finished earlier. Also there’s been a close relationship with college football, and Canadian semesters begin in September, US mostly in October. 2/x
@alexiskienlen 3 For several reasons there’s been an understanding in pro sports that season finales shouldn’t be bunched up. Even before TV, team sports competed not only for spectators but sometimes for playing surfaces. TV was one more reason to spread championships through the year. 3/x
@alexiskienlen 4 Hockey being a winter sport, if only because it requires firm ice, the natural season’s end is March. Playoffs last longer than they used to; often the Stanley Cup was wrapped up by mid-April. Then everyone’s attention turned to baseball. 4/x
@alexiskienlen 5 Baseball playoffs used to consist of the World Series, period - a best-of-seven contest in early October. Now they run to the end of that month. It would have made no sense to have the CFL season start and end earlier for weather reasons - it would struggle for attention. 5/x
@alexiskienlen 6 To clarify, there was a lot of interest in baseball among Canadians even before we had major-league teams. I recall a kid in a grade-school class with a “transistor radio” turned way down, listening to an afternoon Series game & relaying plays to the rest of us. 6/x
@alexiskienlen 7 So after baseball was done it was time to focus on the CFL. Then after the Grey Cup, hockey. In the US no one south of Toledo cared about hockey - so football all the way through college bowls on Jan. 1, then pro championships. And baseball spring training in February! 7/x
@alexiskienlen 8 Later arrivals have worked into the cracks - e.g. basketball in May-June, little competition in the US & not that much in Canada if no Canadian teams are Stanley Cup contenders. Soccer, bunched up against baseball - so far not the greatest timing. 8/x
@alexiskienlen 9 Perhaps most important, I’ve always thought CFL fans wear resilience in the cold as a badge of honour. Especially in the Western stadiums. I don’t know if security pats down at the entrances these days but the mickey or hip flask for warmth used to be sort of de rigueur. 9/x
@alexiskienlen 10 There’ve been legendary bad-weather Grey Cup games. I don’t know how many Snow Bowls, games played in low-key blizzards and steady rain with wind. Only once has a Grey Cup game been suspended - the famous 1962 Fog Bowl at Exhibition Stadium (now BMO Field). 10/x
@alexiskienlen 11 The fog got so thick in the second half that forward passing became impossible. Punts disappeared into the cotton wool and reappeared only when they hit the ground. I was watching on TV; the play-by-play guys were totally lost - just like the spectators. 11/x
@alexiskienlen 12 Play was halted with 5:31 left and resumed the next day. Winnipeg maintained its 28-27 lead over Hamilton & took home the Cup.
So there it is - not a total explanation but some of the reasons.
*Exhibition Stadium was demolished and BMO Field built on the site. 12/12
So there it is - not a total explanation but some of the reasons.
*Exhibition Stadium was demolished and BMO Field built on the site. 12/12
@alexiskienlen @threadreaderapp unroll pls
