Canadian and American Football: Similarities, Differences, and Histories

Gridiron football remains one of the most popular sports in North American. Despite being popular in two countries that neighbor each other the rules of Canadian and American gridiron football have notable differences and each has its own unique identity. Here is a brief overview of how the two leagues are similar, how they are different, and the unique history of the biggest football leagues in each country.

Canadian And American Football The Similarities

As both sports are based on the same base game there are a lot of similarities in the broader structure of the game. No matter if its Canadian or American football still makes use of similar equipment, offense, and defensive sides, and take place in stadiums. Many of the differences between the two countries’ rules are in the fine details of team structure, the size of the field of play, and different ways to score.

Another area where both leagues are alike is in gambling as fans of both leagues enjoy betting on their favorite pastime. Websites such as betboss.com make placing sports bet easier than ever as you can now place bets on several sports leagues from the comfort of your home or wherever you have an internet connection.

Canadian And American Football the Differences

When directly compared the rule differences between Canadian and American gridiron football can be rather striking creating sporting events with very different strategies, approaches, team structures, and desired player skill sets. These differences create very unique experiences for viewers and players alike.

· Down Count: notably in Canadian football they make use of a three-down system to move the ball 10 yards on offense while American football makes use of a four-down set. This results in paly differences with Canadian play favoring passing as they have less chance to use short-yardage run plays.

· The Rouge: one of the most well-known rule differences is the rouge, a one-point kicking play. Teams can score a single point on a punt or missed field goal if the ball is not returned out of the end zone by the opposing team or the ball goes out of bounds in the end zone.

· Player Motion: in American football player motion in the backfield is quite limited and it is very easy to be called offsides. By comparison in Canadian rules players are free to move around in the backfilled changing the style of play and desirable player skills.

Offensive and defense plays are based more on speed due to this freedom of movement and the ability to make use of a running start.

· Formation Structure: the differences in formation stim from the fact Canadian football has an extra player on each side with 12 verses the 11 used in American football. As these extra players cannot line up they tend to serve as an extra defensive back on deference and as an extra backfield player on offense. In Canadian football the tight end position tends not to be used and two slot backs are used instead. On defense the strong safety is not used and two half backs are used in its place.

The Unique Histories of Each League

The CFL (Canadian Football League) and the NFL (National Football League) each have their own unique histories that lead to their formation and current structure. An area where the two are alike in that both sports leagues trace their histories to much older sports leagues going back many decades that have grown, changed, and gone through mergers with other sports leagues to create their current structure.

· The NFL A Brief History: the NFL traces its history to the APFA (American Professional Football Association) founded in 1920 and shortly after renamed to the NFL in 1922. The most substance rival of the NFL was the AFL (American Football League) founded in 1960. The two rivals would announce a merger in 1966 and this would be finalized in 1970. This merger created the current basis of the modern NFL with its two conferences (the NFC and the AFC) showing the heritage of its two founding leagues.

· The CFL A Brief History: like the NFL the CFL traces itself to an old lineage. The CFL draws its history from the IRFU (Interprovincial Rugby Football Union) founded in 1907 and the WIFU (Western Interprovincial Football Union) founded in 1936. By the 1950s both leagues were equal in terms of play and merged into the CFC (Canadian Football Council) in 1956. In 1958 the CFC re-organized itself into the CFL which is the historic start of the modern league.

Final Thoughts

As the above shows Canadian and American football are unique sports each with their own histories and rules. If you’re a football fan each league is worth your time and attention as each has something different to offer viewers.

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