Tag: the rouge

  • The Rouge in American Football?

    Last week’s post centred around the debate about abolishing the rouge in Canadian football. This week let’s take a different approach to the single point and ask the following: What if the rouge were adopted into the American game?

    While there is certainly no ongoing debate over such a move, it actually has been discussed before. In fact, the rouge has even been used in exhibition scrimmages in American college football. Below are a few news articles from the late 1930s about the possibility of the North Central Intercollegiate Athletic Conference incorporating the Canadian rouge into the U.S. game.

    Article in the Montreal Star (1938) about American college conference adopting the rouge.
    Source: The Montreal Star, 1 Dec 1938, page 31. (newspapers.com)

    The pro-rouge camp was led by Charles Aaron West, the head coach at the University of North Dakota. Interestingly, the main argument for adopting the single-point rouge was that it would be an easy and effective way to break tied games. Plus, the rouge was deemed a reward to teams who moved the ball downfield by giving them the opportunity to simply kick for singles.

    Canadian Press Article in the Brantford Expositor about an American Winnipeg Blue Bomber in favour of the rouge
    Source: The Brantford Expositor, 2 Dec 1938, page 21. (newspapers.com)

    Of course, the Canadian rouge was ultimately not adopted and used in the broader U.S. college football game. But, Coach West and others certainly saw merit in the play. In 1946, West headed north and became the head coach of the Winnipeg Blue Bombers. His love for the Canadian rouge would have made the move a natural fit. Throughout history, the unique rules and nuances of Canadian football have been embraced by numerous American football coaches and players alike.

    Article in the Edmonton Journal (1939) about U.S. college coaches liking the Canadian rouge.
    Source: The Edmonton Journal, 27 June 1939, page 15. (newspapers.com)

    But, just imagine what it would be like today had Charles West got his way back in 1939. Would Americans be questioning whether the Rose Bowl or Super Bowl should be won on a missed field goal?

  • 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 back out of the end zone by the opposing team. This can be as a result of a kickoff, punt, or missed field goal.

    If the opposing team doesn’t get the ball out of their end zone or if the ball passes the dead ball line at the back of the end zone, a single point is scored for the kicking team.

    From time to time a debate ensues over whether to keep or get rid of the rouge. Most CFL and Canadian football fans argue it’s an integral part of the Canadian game both strategically and culturally. But, others say its inclusion rewards failure (because a point is often scored on a missed field goal) or, worse, makes the CFL look unprofessional or gimmicky.

    Regardless, the debate over the rouge is nothing new. Below is an article that appeared in the Toronto Star in 1912 about abolishing the rouge in Canadian football. Remember, back then Canadian football was often referred to as rugby.

    The main argument in this article seems to be that getting rid of the rouge would encourage more touchdowns and drop kicks – and that teams would no longer be able to take advantage of strong winds to score single points.

    Source: The Toronto Star, 19 November 1912, page 13. (newspapers.com)