Genius Hour Reflection #1

OSKEE WEE WEE 

I really dove into my Genius Hour project this week head on and went to a Hamilton Tiger-Cats game with my brother and my boyfriend! After watching a few NFL games now that it is back on, it was super interesting to see the differences in the rules between the two different leagues. While my knowledge of the rules of both leagues is still a bit rusty, and definitely still needs some work, I thought going to a Tiger-Cat game would be a great opportunity to dive into this project! 

The first thing I noticed about the differences between the CFL and the NFL is that in the CFL, the goal posts are at the front of the end zone instead of on the very edge of the field. Here is a photo of the end zone, this was the most obvious difference that I first noticed! The end zones are also deeper by about 10 yards! 

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The CFL field is also longer by 10 yards and wider by 5 yards than the NFL fields, so while the CFL fan-base might not be as large as the NFL, the fields are certainly bigger! With these bigger fields, Canadian football teams get to have 12 men on the field rather than 11, and this player can be either offense or defense, there are no rules to regulate this other than if they are offensive, they must be in a backfield position (anywhere behind the line of scrimmage). Coupled with a bigger field, there is one less down in the CFL to gain 10 yards, instead of 4. After discussing with the gentleman in front of me at the game what this would mean for the game, I found out that having one less down makes it more of a passing game, whereby players running the ball to the next yard line isn't as viable as there are not as many chances to move the ball, and there is usually lots of open space! 

One of the other major differences my boyfriend especially noticed as he is a huge NFL fan (of course, because he is American!) was that backs and receivers can move around the field wherever they want before the ball is snapped to the quarterback. In American football, only one player can go in motion at a time and only backwards or laterally. This means that in the CFL the receivers can get a running start well behind the line of scrimmage and cross the line when the ball is snapped, which can make it very difficult to defend! 

I have also added a few photos of the field and one of myself at the game, this was definitely an awesome and engaging way to get a head start on learning some of the basic rules of football and to experience Canadian football culture! I wish I started this project earlier in life!!!

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