The Canadian Football League or CFL is an integral part of Canadian culture. It's a small league with only eight teams at present. Those teams are the BC Lions, Edmonton Eskimos, Calgary Stampeders, Saskatchewan Roughriders, Winnipeg Bluebombers, Toronto Argonauts, Hamilton Tigercats and Montreal Alouettes. Ottawa used to have a team, the Ottawa Renegades, but Ottawa is no longer in the CFL. The good news, though, is that it appears Ottawa will return soon. Though the CFL is similar to the NFL, there are some notable differences.

Most CFL players are from the USA, but every CFL team must have a certain number of Canadian players. Few CFL players have gone on to great careers in the NFL but there are a few exception. One is former Edmonton quarterback Warren Moon who had a fine career with the Houston Oilers. However, he is a notable exception.

For example, there are only three downs instead of four, a point can be awarded for missed field goals and there is a no-yards rule. As a result of having only three downs, the CFL tends to feature more passing than in the NFL and it's more difficult to maintain possession.

If the opposing team elects not to run the ball out of the endzone on a missed field goal, it concedes a single point. This is not always a bad option because teams that concede the single point start out with relatively good field position. In very close games, though, the single point can make a big difference.

The no-yards rule penalizes a team for not giving a punt returner five yards from the moment he catches the ball. This gives the punt returner some room to run the ball. Because of this rule, punt returners often make big plays in the CFL.

With its wider and longer field, the result is that there tends to be more offence in the CFL than in the NFL. Many fans of the CFL consider it a very fun game to watch. Though it's definitely a smaller and less famous league than the NFL which has faced a number of financial problems in the past, many Canadians are nevertheless very proud to have a football league that they can call their own.

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