Happy Thanksgiving – CFL Style
By Chris Lawton
It’s that time of year. Time for turkey, trimmings, and football. Thanksgiving has arrived. Now I know some people reading this will be confused. If you are used to the NFL then the thanksgiving games come in November. But this is all about the CFL, and the celebration comes earlier in Canada.
Get set to celebrate Thanksgiving Weekend in the CFL with a full slate off games. All of which will be keyed by a Thanksgiving Day Classic matchup when the Montreal Alouettes host the Ottawa Redblacks on Monday the 9th of October to celebrate Thanksgiving itself. (Yes, on a Monday).
The League is certainly excited by one of its signature games coming up. Looking back recently to some real Thanksgiving classic moments.
The First CFL Thanksgiving games
The first official CFL Thanksgiving games were played in 1958 and involved every team except the Winnipeg Blue Bombers.
I say the first “official” CFL Thanksgiving games because the Canadian teams had been playing each other long before the advent of the CFL. Plus, originally Thanksgiving in Canada was in November.
However, on January 31st, 1957, the Canadian Parliament announced that Thanksgiving would be on the second Monday in October. And with the formation of the CFL in 1958 an opportunity was taken for these games.
Since the UK Has Been Watching
We are lucky enough in the UK to be watching our eighth full season of CFL action this year.
Which means we encountered our first Thanksgiving game in 2015. A game that saw the Toronto Argonauts win 25-17 in Montreal.
In that time, between 2015 and 2022 there have been a total of nine games played involving six different teams – Toronto, Montreal, Edmonton, Calgary, Saskatchewan, and Ottawa.
The Team’s Thanksgiving records
We are lucky enough in the UK to be watching our eighth full season of CFL action this year.
Which means we encountered our first Thanksgiving game in 2015. A game that saw the Toronto Argonauts win 25-17 in Montreal.
In that time, between 2015 and 2022 there have been a total of nine games played involving six different teams – Toronto, Montreal, Edmonton, Calgary, Saskatchewan, and Ottawa.
Team by Team Record:
Montreal Alouettes: 17-19
Edmonton Elks 19-13-1
Hamilton Tiger-Cats 17-15-1
Winnipeg Blue Bombers 18-10-1
Calgary Stampeders 14-14
Toronto Argonauts 11-17
Saskatchewan Roughriders 11-11-1
Ottawa Rough Riders/Renegades/REDBLACKS 9-12
BC Lions 5-10
For a window into the CFL world if you haven’t tried it before, this is a great game to pick up and it is on at a very reasonable 6PM UK time – for free on CFL+ which you can find here.
Feature Image Credit: CTV News
CHRIS LAWTON
CFL ANALYST
Chris originally started following the NFL with the ‘first wave’ of fans when it was shown on Channel 4 in the 1980’s. He has been a keen supporter of the Miami Dolphins since 1983. Chris first encountered the CFL in 2016 and instantly fell in love with the Canadian game. He has been writing about the CFL 2017. Chris has a degree in history, postgraduate degree in librarianship and can be found on twitter as @CFLfanUK