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STL RAMS of the CANADIAN FOOTBALL LEAGUE?

Unless St. Louis want's to wait another 20 years for the NFL to grant us another team (as LA did), the CFL is our best option to have Professional Football in St. Louis. So, do we waste our time begging the NFL for the next 2 decades (or more) or do we get creative, and strategic, and develop a football franchise that is uniquely St. Louis?

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Permalink Reply by Dogdrool on February 29, 2016 at 4:58pm

Mathews had coached many years in the CFL before coaching the Baltimore Stallions. Well you are right that the NFL stigmatisim is the problem. It happens even with rookies coming to the cfl that played in the NFL. They think that because they played in the NFL the CFL is going to be easy. Players that make the CFL rosters are fast they have to with that larger field and the fact you have three downs to get that 10 yards there is way more passing. The other rule that is difficult for them is the motion in the backfield offensive players have a running start to hit the line of scrimmage therefor your linebackers and Db's need to be that much more agile and faster. Then there is the NFL is big money and the CFL well those players have to find an off season job as the pay is not even close. But the good part is the guys playing in the CFL are playing because the love of the sport. The NFL it is millionaires playing millionaires. I do not see a CFL move to the USA in the future it would be nice to see a few games in St Louis just to see if there is in fact interest. By the way at every Grey Cup game the Baltimore Stallion fans go to the Grey Cup and even participate.

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Permalink Reply by Doug Phillips on June 13, 2016 at 4:58pm

The NFL never snatched the Browns from Cleveland. Their owner, Art Modell, was looking to relocate for a number of years. Baltimore, who was jilted by the NFL expansion, still had stadium money in place to lure an NFL franchise. Modell saw the success at the gate of our CFL games and knew if we can average those numbers for a product little seen in the States, we would have no issues supporting a NFL team. We also had a timetable on how long the stadium funding would remain in place. If Modell didn't take it someone else would have. At the time, it was the best package on the table during the 93 expansion debacle and still was during our 2 year CFL stint.

The NFL would never allow a CFL team to be called the St. Louis Rams. Been there and done that here in Baltimore.

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Permalink Reply by Monty Burns on June 13, 2016 at 5:39pm

There was never any doubt that Baltimore could support an NFL team. It was only a matter of time before an existing team relocated or the NFL granted Baltimore an expansion team.

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Permalink Reply by Doug Phillips on June 13, 2016 at 5:50pm

I always knew that Monty, been in Baltimore for a while. I don't think the NFL would have ever expanded here though. They bypassed us in 93. I look back on it now, it was the perfect set up of events in multiple cities and two different leagues. I say this all the time, if it wasn't for the CFL and stadium financing in place, Baltimore more than likely would not have had a number of teams inquiring about moving here. There was more than one.

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Permalink Reply by Monty Burns on June 13, 2016 at 5:58pm

I know. I just always found it such a travesty that you guys lost the Colts in the first place. Baltimore loved that team. It would be like the Steelers relocating from Pittsburgh.

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Permalink Reply by Michael Bettencourt on June 15, 2016 at 3:10pm

I have always wondered, had the Baltimore Stallions stayed in Baltimore, would the city support both the Stallions and the Ravens?

It would be awesome to see the CFL in St. Louis. Hope it comes true. As a Canadian, St. Louis has my vote. Great city and great people full of sports fans.

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Permalink Reply by Doug Phillips on June 15, 2016 at 5:00pm

Michael, there were many of us that hoped for both teams, I was one. Unfortunately the CFL would not have withstood the NFL juggernaut. There was only one suitable stadium in Baltimore at the time and there would have been some overlapping. If by chance the two teams survived in conjunction the first few years, once the Ravens won their Super Bolw five years in, it would have been all over for the Stallions. They did the right thing by moving to Montreal.

I would love to see some American CFL teams again though. It's a brilliant game.

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Permalink Reply by Monty Burns on June 15, 2016 at 5:21pm

Yeah, the Stallions were toast as soon as the NFL announced it was going back to Baltimore. The Stallions won the Grey Cup that week and absolutely nobody there cared because all of the news was about the new NFL team.

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Permalink Reply by Doug Phillips on June 15, 2016 at 7:45pm

Monty some did. There were 15,000 at the harbor with the Grey Cup. No where near what it should have been.

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Permalink Reply by Monty Burns on June 15, 2016 at 7:53pm

Fair enough, I guess I shouldn't have said "absolutely nobody".

Permalink Reply by Jody Miller on February 22, 2016 at 6:14pm

I think we should pursue a CFL team. We've been jilted twice now by the NFL. It's time to move on. Maybe we could start by getting an exhibition game here or even a regular season game (sort of like London is to the NFL). This would give help guage interest.