A big topic of conversation currently in the Canadian Football League are the closed practices. First in Saskatchewan and then Calgary.
The secrecy began last week at Mosaic Stadium in Regina when the Saskatchewan Roughriders announced they were banning fans from attending two practices per week.
According to Andrew Bucholtz of Yahoo! Sports, there were some people in Regina who attended practice sessions recently who created personnel and play schemes on message boards.
Then in Calgary, Stampeders General Manager and Head Coach John Hufnagel closed off part of the Stampeders practice late last week so the franchise could work on trick plays.
The bottom line is the major reason for the closed practice session is the existence of the world wide web. Without the information superhighway, fans just don’t have the opportunity to discuss these all of a sudden secretive topics for the entire world to see.
We are living in a new world now and I’m actually quite surprised it has taken this long for the CFL to recognize problems like this one, can arise. The days when children can spend their summer afternoons watching CFL practices, like I did, whenever they want is sadly coming to a close.
On a side note, the Stampeders and Roughriders won their week one games in an impressive fashion. It could be just a matter of time before the other six CFL teams follow suit. But at the end of the day, it’s practice, and what happens in practice doesn’t always happen in game situations.
Loading ...
