Football season is right around the corner and frankly I can’t wait, and I’m not even talking about the NFL training camps starting this weekend, I am talking about the CFL regular season as well as the upcoming AUS and NB High School seasons.
There is going to be so much to talk about in the next few weeks as the CFL makes its return after missing over a year and a half of football. It all kicks off the first weekend of August:
Aug 5th – Hamilton @ Winnipeg 9:30PM
Aug 6th – BC @ Saskatchewan 10:30PM
Aug 7 – Toronto @Calgary 8:00PM
Ottawas @ Edmonton 11:00PM
Now I could turn this blog into negative right now based on how the CFL and TSN doesn’t give a crap about the fans in Atlantic Canada with these start times but NO… I am not going to do it because I for one can’t wait to start watching the games, listening to football podcasts, and talking football again.
I have no idea what to expect with the CFL this year, so many players have moved to other teams, I don’t even know if all the American players are back in Canada to play. I have not seen much coverage about CFL training camps so for me I am going to be learning who these teams are and the players during the week 1 matchups.
Edmonton will be interesting as they are hosting the Redblacks and they have made a big move this off-season changing their name from the Eskimos to the Elks. It will be very interesting to see how this plays out with the fans in attendance as I know through social media this was not a popular decision but with everything going on in our country right now it sounds like the right decision.
I just can’t wait to turn on the games and seeing all the Receivers in motion flying around before the ball is even snapped. That’s the thing about the CFL, it’s such a different game then the NFL, you could almost say prior to the snap the NFL is as boring as it gets with 1 person in motion. With the CFL multiple things are happening before each snap and it adds to the excitement of the game and then of course there is the Rouge!
Then finally we will have Local football back this September in Atlantic Canada, we were the first province in Canada to hold Sr Men’s and Women’s Football seasons as well as U18 and 16 Provincial football over June and July. The AUS season is set to kick off in September on the 17th this year, due to a shortened season.
Sept 17 – St. FX @ Saint Mary’s 7:00PM
Sept 18 – Acadia @ Mount Allison 2:00PM
Now if you love football, you are going to want to make the trip to one of these games. St. FX at SMU to kick off the season on a Friday night under the lights in Halifax, two great coaches Waterman vs Colzie will have their guys pumped up to take the field. These players have not been able to hit one another in some time and trust me there will be some big hits in both of these games to kick off the season.
Then you have Saturday’s match Acadia – Current Lonely Bowl Champions visiting Mount Allison a very young and talented team. Cummins and Fraser are two very loud coaches and if you listen very closely you will be able to hear these two go at it from Moncton that afternoon. I would highly suggest jumping in your vehicle and make the 25 min drive to Sackville because the atmosphere will be electric. I love all the stadiums in the AUS but there is something special about football in the town of Sackville, NB on a Saturday afternoon at 2PM.
High School football will also be kicking off in September but we are still waiting for the schedule to come out for the season once again there will be 9 man, 12 man AA, and 12 man AAA football being played in the province. This is another great experience to enjoy on a Thursday or Friday night and also on Saturday afternoons.
In other football news, I am now the president of the NB Football Officials association so I will not be providing you Local Sports this fall as I just have to much on my plate this year but hopefully Pistol Pete and his buddies will be back to give you their weekly predictions and power rankings through the season, STAY TUNED!!
FOOTBALL IS BACK!!! Well almost that is and I hope you can share some of the excitement I am feeling!
Wray Dunn #36
FDS Podcast Network 