2019 will mark the return of the Canadian Football League's 'Touchdown Atlantic' promotional game, last held in 2013, in a contest between the Hamilton Tiger-Cats and the Montreal Alouettes, in which the 'Cats won. I've seen every Touchdown Atlantic game on TV, and I still say that there is a rather large appetite for professional football on the East Coast, as evidenced by the packed stadium for each and every game.
Ever since the Atlantic Schooners became a real possibility once again, it looks as if it was only natural to finally stage a game in the Maritimes after such a lengthy absence. There are a lot of football schools out that way (Acadia, St.F/X, just to name a couple), and I have maintained that the CFL would truly be a coast-to-coast league with the addition of a Halifax-based team. In a league like the CFL that has an odd number of teams, this would make sense for several reasons:
Even divisions. Five teams on either side would be more than logical. It would even out the schedule, and eliminate the current bye-week system (of three byes per team) that is currently in use.
Crossover. I would image that when the league evens out to those ten teams, the crossover rule would be revoked completely, as it would be redundant at that point. (I'm not saying I don't like the crossover, because I do. It just wouldn't work in a ten team league)
Fresh match-ups. Like when the RedBlacks brought Ottawa back into the fold, we had fresh match-ups and new rivalries formed along the way. One can only imagine what kind of rivalries and story lines an East Coast team would bring to the table.
Oh Canada! As much as the CFL is Canada's game and has that Great White North feel, it would be so much more enhanced with that tenth Maritime team. It would just be so much awesome right off the bat, and just really needs to happen!
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