By admin
As Canadians get ready to gather with family and dive into their turkey dinners, many will go around the table and share what they are most thankful for over the last year.
Here’s what I think each CFL franchise needs to be grateful for, going from west coast to east.
B.C. Lions — Amar Doman
It’s clear the owner of the Lions will spare no expense in trying to return the team to relevancy in a market that has long embraced the Canucks and Whitecaps but has fallen off the Lions bandwagon of late.
Attendance is starting to rebound, and Doman’s pockets are deep enough to continue bringing in acts like LL Cool J and 50 Cent.
On the field, Doman’s commitment is shown through the contracts signed by Nathan Rourke and Mathieu Betts. There was also no immediate pressure to ship out Vernon Adams Jr., who makes a significant amount of money in his own right.
Doman wants to win on and off the field and it shows.
Calgary Stampeders — Missing the playoffs
Some might wonder how missing the playoffs can be a good thing, but I’m here to tell you that this is the best possible outcome for a team that can no longer rest on the laurels of just making the postseason.
The Stampeders have had diminishing results since their last Grey Cup in 2018, winning fewer and fewer games. Now, by finally missing out on the playoffs, they may be able to make the wholesale changes needed to return to relevancy instead of thinking they are just a step or two away from being back among the league’s elite.
P.J. Walker may be the first step in that rebuild, but when you look at how many Stampeders players have gone on to contribute at a high level for other teams because the Stampeders wouldn’t or couldn’t pay the price they demanded, it does make you wonder what might have been.
Edmonton Elks — An end to the tumult
It started with firing Chris Jones and continued with the team’s sale to Larry Thompson, but it seems like the Elks might finally have some stability in the front office.
They still need to find permanent replacements in the general manager and head coach’s offices but the minute Jones was gone, the Elks started to win again. Once Thomspon took over as owner, the fans started to fill the stands after a multi-season hibernation.
For the first time in a long time, Elks fans can comfort themselves beside a fireplace rather than an out-of-control dumpster fire.
Saskatchewan Roughriders — Wins after Labour Day
The Riders are on a four-game winning streak heading into Week 20, which is something to celebrate. Even more so, considering they didn’t win a single game after Labour Day in 2022 or 2023.
For two straight seasons, the Riders had massive losing streaks to finish the year. This year, Corey Mace has the team playing their best football as the season winds down.
As of this writing, the Riders still have an opportunity to win the West Division if they can win their last game and Winnipeg drops its season finale. That would be a far cry from the team that bungled their way out of the postseason race a year ago.
Winnipeg Blue Bombers — Rounding back into form
The Bombers of 2024 are hardly the dominant squad of the last few years, but they are just a point away from clinching the West Division again. An eight-game midseason winning streak has rocketed the team back to the top of the standings.
There is much chatter about how the team can retain its free agents and add dangerous weapons every year, and the answer is marketing money. Winnipeg leading the league in attendance and posting multi-million dollar profits the last few years have allowed them to be a little freer than other clubs when signing the creative contracts that have become all the buzz in the CFL this season.
When it results in four straight trips to the championship, with a fifth looking possible, the only question is why isn’t every other team doing the same?
Hamilton Tiger-Cats — Mitchell made them Bo-lieve
In Steeltown, the year began with Bo Levi Mitchell facing doubters at every level. Fans across the league, the media, and even team executives wondered if Mitchell was the guy anymore.
All he did after that was come out and lead the league in both passing yards and passing touchdowns. It has people asking if a guy can be the M.O.P. even if his team won’t make the playoffs.
Mitchell wasn’t without his struggles this season, benched for Taylor Powell at one point before returning to the starters job and ripping off a winning streak that put Milt Stegall in Bo-veralls on the TSN panel.
As a first-ballot Hall of Famer, Mitchell showed that maybe, just maybe, he isn’t done yet.
Toronto Argonauts — Chad Kelly news cycle has ended
While concerns about Chad Kelly haven’t completely gone away and there are still several voices within the CFL fandom that speak about the issue frequently, it is largely out of the news cycle.
The football media have moved on and leaving the issue behind allows the Argos to try and focus on what is happening between the white lines, rather than anywhere else in the organization.
With a playoff spot clinched, the Argos must also be thankful for the opportunity to continue sweeping this under the rug with a victory or two in the post-season.
Ottawa Redblacks — Back in the playoffs
The long-suffering Ottawa football fans have a reason to smile, as they have qualified for the playoffs after a six-year absence.
The last playoff game the team participated in was the 2018 Grey Cup, which they lost to the Calgary Stampeders.
Both Dru Brown and Jeremiah Masoli have taken time under centre, as each has also been injured, and they have been effective enough to lead Ottawa back into the postseason.
At times, this team has looked like world-beaters. Their fans will enter a tryptophan slumber dreaming that they will once again recapture some of the magic of their last playoff streak, when the team won their first Grey Cup as a franchise in 2016.
Montreal Alouettes — Halcyon days have returned
This team clinched a playoff spot so early in the season that they’ve been able to play winning football without the stress of its impact on the standings. They are tough to beat when playing at full speed, and they should be the heavy favourites to represent the East Division in the Grey Cup.
When the team is good, the atmosphere is excellent in Montreal, which is what we see now. With huge ratings on RDS and an average attendance of over 20,000, the Alouettes are once again the talk of La Belle Province.
Cody Fajardo missing time early in the year did nothing to slow this juggernaut down as they are on a quest to repeat as champs in 2025.
Atlantic Schooners — Another undefeated season
Someday this will be a real slot on these kinds of pages but for now, we continue to dream.
From me and mine, including all of us at 3DownNation, to you and yours, have a happy Thanksgiving!
The post What every CFL team should be thankful for this Thanksgiving appeared first on 3DownNation.