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  • Debating the Rouge…in 1912

    Quintessentially Canadian. Quirky. A reward for failure. Embarrassing. All of these have been used to describe a scoring play unique to Canadian football: the rouge. The rouge (or a single) is a one-point score awarded to the team who kicks the ball into their opponent’s end zone and when the ball is not returned or kicked…

  • Saskatchewan Roughriders is Our Name

    Green is the ColourFootball is the GameWe’re all together and Winning is our aimSo Cheer us on through the sun and rainSaskatchewan Roughriders is our name It’s a familiar tune to many CFL football fans across the country. The chorus ends with the line, “Saskatchewan Roughriders is our name.” So, just when and why did…

  • Remembering the Radically Canadian Marketing Campaign

    In 1996, the Canadian Football League was faced with a dilemma. Having just ended a three-year run of having teams based in the United States, the CFL was retreating north and returning with an all-Canadian lineup. The Baltimore Stallions, the defending Grey Cup champions, relocated to Montreal to become the reborn Alouettes. How could the…

  • The Edmonton Elks 2.0

    This is the third of a series of posts that will explore the stories behind the names of the existing Canadian Football League teams. See the previous post on the Calgary Stampeders. Throughout the long history of Canadian football, there’s been very little controversy surrounding team nicknames. Sure, there was a time in the not…

  • “Stampeders” New Football Name

    This is the second of a series of posts that will explore the stories behind the names of the existing Canadian Football League teams. Check out the previous post on the BC Lions. Conventional wisdom says that the Calgary Stampeders are named after the world famous Calgary Stampede rodeo. The Stampeders moniker has been used…