Hamilton Tiger-Cats’ quarterback Bo Levi Mitchell is sympathetic to the emotional reaction that his B.C. Lions’ counterpart, Nathan Rourke, had to the CFL’s recent rule change announcement, but the 13-year veteran doesn’t share it.
“I agree with the changes,” Mitchell told the media in Hamilton. “I wanted to preface it by saying I’ve been in this country a long time, I’ve given back to this game, I love this game — I love the CFL game. I love this country, I’ve got the Three Sisters Mountains tattooed on my arm. I’ve seen Nathan (Rourke)’s reactions to it. I think you’ve gotta give the guy a little bit of grace to understand that he’s an icon to a lot of Canadians.”
“He’s probably got hundreds of DMs from Canadians all over the place telling him to protect the game, this is bullsh*t, you can’t allow these guys to change it, so I understand his reaction. I’ve been on that side of it, I’ve been on both sides of it. I understand the love for this game, and I do agree with Nathan — this game is amazing, it’s unique, it’s been around for a very long time, for longer than the NFL, but back in the day, people got paid more here than in the NFL, superstars were deciding to come here instead of the NFL. That is no longer the case.”
The CFL announced sweeping structural rule changes to take place over the next two years at a press conference on Monday. Beginning in 2026, the league will modify the infamous rouge to eliminate a point being scored for a missed field goal (or any other kick) sent past the dead line. The 20-second play clock, which was previously whistled in by the officials, will also change to a 35-second running clock. Then in 2027, the field goal posts will move from the goal line to the dead line, while the field will shrink from 110 yards with 20-yard end zones to 100 yards long with 15-yard end zones.
Rourke was the first prominent player to speak out publicly on the changes, calling them “garbage.” The Oakville, Ont. native expressed his displeasure that the league’s current players and coaches were not consulted about the decisions, and accused the CFL’s leadership of trying to make the game more closely resemble the NFL.
Several other key players have struck a more balanced tone, with Mitchell seeing the moves in a very different light from Rourke.
“This is not about Americanizing the game; this is about modernizing the game. What can we do to put a better product on the field, a product that people want to watch, that’s faster-paced? This is not taking away the unique things — this is not taking away the waggle, the yard (off the ball), and things like that,” the 35-year-old insisted.
“If you’re mad because you see maybe the writing on the wall and you think this is taking a first step towards something that could be changing later on, then I understand the anger. But I think give the guy some grace, he’s coming from a place of love, he loves the game the same way that everyone in this room does, everyone in this country does. I agree with the changes, I’m not going to attack anybody, but I think it’s a step forward.”
Mitchell said he’s glad the rouge stayed, though he’s relieved that a Grey Cup can no longer be won or lost on a missed field goal. He also likes that the uprights are moving to the back of the end zone, as it’s no longer in the way for offences.
The veteran signal caller does have some hesitancy when it comes to the amended play clock, which he fears could reduce the likelihood of a comeback in the final three minutes. While the game clock will still have to be whistled in by the officials in those circumstances, preventing a full 35-second run-off, increased speed by the referees in spotting the ball could affect the amount of time teams have left to operate when trailing.
“I think it creates more consistent gameplay. The only concern I brought up was the three minutes — this league is built around ‘no lead is safe,’ so you can see from this year how many games have been won and lost in the last three minutes, how many times have comebacks happened,” he said. “I think there’s probably details to be ironed out, of course, there always will be with rule changes. The NFL tried to implement replay on interference, they took it away right away because they saw it was hindering the game.”
Overall, Mitchell believes Monday’s announcement was a positive moment for the league and a step in the right direction. While any changes to a storied format will cause traditionalists concern and consternation, he has full trust in the CFL Board of Governors, which reportedly voted unanimously in favour of the changes.
“I think we’ve just gotta take a breath and understand what’s important right now. We have a commissioner that’s trying to help move the game forward. We have people that if you trust the same way that I do — Orlondo Steinauer, Scott Mitchell, John Hufnagel, all the guys that are out there voting on these things and making these things — they see what this is,” Mitchell said. “This isn’t about changing the CFL game and taking away from it. This is about trying to create an entertainment factor that can add a dollar, that can make sure seven out of nine teams aren’t losing money.”
The Hamilton Tiger-Cats (9-5) will visit the Winnipeg Blue Bombers (7-7) at Princess Auto Stadium on Saturday afternoon with kickoff slated for 3:00 p.m. EDT. The Tiger-Cats defeated the Edmonton Elks last week with a walk-off field goal, while the Blue Bombers bested the Ottawa Redblacks despite completing only three passes.
The weather forecast in Winnipeg calls for a high of 22 degrees with sunny conditions. The game will be broadcast on TSN and CTV in Canada and CFL+ internationally. Radio listeners can tune-in on the Ticats Audio Network and CJOB 680 in Winnipeg.
J.C. Abbott is a University of British Columbia graduate and high school football coach. He covers the CFL, B.C. Lions, CFL Draft and the three-down league's Global initiative.
