Similarities & Differences Between The Grey Cup & The Superbowl

The Super Bowl is the name of the NFL’s yearly championship game. It has been the last game of each NFL season since 1966, and it has been dubbed the NFL Championship Game ever since. It’s been held on February 1st since 2004. Likewise, the Grey Cup is both the Canadian Football League’s championship game and the award presented to the victorious team in that league’s championship game.

 

If you ask any sports fan to choose the most crucial game in American football, they will almost certainly name the Super Bowl. The NFL championship game has unrivaled worldwide appeal. Apart from its appeal in North America, it is also highly adored in many other countries and continents of the world. In fact, punters from all parts of the world wager on Super Bowl odds. Despite the seeming dominance of the Super Bowl in many parts of the world,  many football fans in North America are still divided as to whether the season-ending tournament is bigger than the Grey Cup.

 

They have many similarities, but there are significant rule variations between the two games. For the sake of brevity, here’s a straightforward rendition of the most visible ones. We could draw many parallels between the Grey Cup and the Super Bowl. Instead, we’ve gathered the data that highlight the significant contrasts between the two historic titles.

 

Is There A Difference Between The Number Of Points And TDS Scored?

There have been 1,312 points scored in the last 25 CFL championship games. During the same time frame, the Super Bowl scored 1,201 points. The Grey Cup has more scores than the Super Bowl – a Canadian win.

 

The next question is, however, how points are calculated. Fans like to see high-scoring games, but they are more interested in touchdowns. In the last 25 Grey Cup games, 130 touchdowns have been scored.

 

In the last 25 Super Bowls, 142 touchdowns were scored. During this period, the CFL scored higher points, whereas the NFL scored the most touchdowns.

 

Who Has The Highest Structure Of The Organization?

The CFL features nine clubs divided into two conferences: East and West. The NFL has 32 teams, two divisions, and four divisions for each meeting. The CFL season is a touch longer — the CFL has a 21-week regular season as of 2019 — every team is playing 18 games and has three byes a week. The NFL season lasts 17 weeks, with clubs playing in 16.

 

Can you imagine playing through December and January in Canada? Sure, The NFL does have some cold-weather markets, such as Buffalo and Pittsburgh, but during the Grey Cup halftime concert one year, Shania Twain was hauled to her mid-field platform by a dog sled in a blizzard.

 

Who Has The Highest Winning Participation?

Both the Grey Cup and the Super Bowl are played at some of the top venues in North America. Except 2021, the Super Bowl has consistently had crowds with at least 60,000 fans since 1967.

A six-figure audience has attended the Big Game five times: during 1976, 1982, 1986,& 2010. To start with, the Grey Cup lags in this department. Because stadiums in Canada are not quite as large as those in the United States, CFL championship crowds routinely exceed 50,000 people.

 

Is There Any Difference In Offense?

One of the most significant differences in gameplay seems to be that the CFL has had one fewer down – three vs four in the NFL. In essence, this means that the team in Canadian football must be more offensive and ambitious.

 

An NFL team is taking a risk on fourth and shorter. As a result, Shotgun plays are significantly more prevalent, pass patterns with several eligible receivers are promoted. When running the ball, you need a space set up that gets you half the length to the first down marker.

 

It’s also more common to risk on third and short. Getting two and out isn’t a winning strategy; therefore, if the chances are favorable, you should go for it. The CFL wants the defense to line up a field off of the line of scrimmage, which means there’s no justification for failing to be first back on a QB keeper with just that offsides penalty of the distance between both the offensive & defensive lines.

 

What Are the Differences in TV Ratings?

It would be futile to compare TV audiences for the Grey Cup throughout Canada and the United States because the Super Bowl is one of the most-watched athletic events of the year. What about in Canada, though? Is the Grey Cup or the Super Bowl more popular in Canada? The CFL championship game was watched by an average of 4.48 million Canadians in 2010. Almost 6.6 million people tuned in to see the NFL’s counterpart during the same period. The same may be said for viewership during primetime.

 

The previous high-water mark for most Grey Cup viewers was reached in 2012, as 13 million new Canadian fans attended at some match; however, the 18.7 million viewers — well over half of Canada’s population – tuned in to see Super Bowl LIV in 2020 far outweighs this.

 

Final Verdict

The Super Bowl is nearly impossible to beat as a one-off sports competition, yet the Grey Cup stands its own in many ways. Apart from scoring more points and experiencing more extreme weather, the Grey Cup is nearly as old as the Super Bowl. That century of history has resulted in a one-of-a-kind event that focuses on the game itself rather than the surrounding pomp. It isn’t as glitzy as its American cousin, but that is irrelevant. It’s a sport and Canada celebration that’s always worth watching.