The NFL is the world’s premier football league and one that arguably claims the top spot in US sports. When you consider the iconic teams, exciting action and off-field drama the league features, this is no surprise. Recently, the appetite for the NFL has spread far beyond US borders and into many other countries globally. Although places like the UK are interesting to note, close neighbors such as Canada are perhaps more worthy of further attention.
While the NFL might not always have been a massive part of life in Canada, this has been changing quickly. The league is now firmly integrated into Canadian culture and has become a sport that more people in the country than ever love to follow regularly.
Below we review some of the changes that have led to this taking place:
Sports betting on big NFL events in Canada
Sports betting is a big deal across Canada and a pastime which can be found throughout the various provinces. This has been helped by the popularity of sports in general countrywide and the number of Canadian fans who like to place wagers on the latest games, tournaments and events.
Although this might have been for sports that have been traditionally popular in the country in the past, such as Stanley Cup betting in hockey, modern times have led to big NFL events becoming popular with Canadian bettors. Against the spread picks for Super Bowl LVIII are sure to be high on Canadian bettors’ radar right now and this is also true for matches in regular season and playoff games. By attracting more people to the NFL through betting, sports wagering has embedded the league into wider Canadian culture.
Many NFL teams are close to the Canadian border
Another reason for the integration of the NFL into wider Canadian culture is the long-term effect of having top teams in the league that are located so close to the US/Canadian border. The Detroit Lions and Buffalo Bills for example are located in this region and naturally attract attention from Canadian sports fans who live there too.
Canadian fans tend to see teams like this as local teams that they not only feel an affinity for but are easy to travel to for games. By picking up fans in Canada over time due to their proximity, the NFL has increased its presence in this market and attracted a lot more people in Canada.
The CFL has laid the groundwork for the NFL’s growth
As all Canadians know very well, the country has its own pro football league in the form of the Canadian Football League (CFL). Traditionally, this league got a lot more attention from football fans in Canada who wanted to support their own home-grown sporting competitions.
The popularity of the CFL has actually been a factor behind the emergence of the NFL into Canada’s culture. The CFL introduced sports fans in Canada to just how entertaining football was, how it worked and what it had to offer. This led to a ready-made audience emerging for the NFL to tap into and an army of football fans in Canada who were eager to make leagues such as the NFL part of their everyday life.
The number of professionals moving from the CFL to the NFL has also helped. This includes top players such as Chase Claypool and Laurent Duvernay-Tardif. The net effect has been that football fans in Canada follow CFL pros who have moved to the NFL, which has expanded the NFL’s reach into Canadian culture.
Media has played its part within Canada
Canada’s media has also played a pivotal role in making the NFL a key part of the country’s culture. Major Canadian TV networks broadcast NFL games, which has allowed the league to gain much greater exposure in Canada. This increased exposure has meant more Canadians have been introduced to the NFL, seen how great it is and started to follow it regularly.
It is not just TV networks or online broadcasters in Canada which have played their part though. The country’s media in general now covers the NFL in much more depth and on a much broader scale. This includes everything from online new sites with the latest NFL news to print media and sports shows on TV. This once again has increased the appetite for the NFL with Canadians and increased its following.
NFL has made more efforts to embrace Canadian fans
There is no doubt that the NFL would not be a part of Canadian culture now without some concerted efforts of its own to achieve this. In simple terms, this has meant that the league’s management has set out to actively expand their presence in Canada and pick up an army of new fans. This has led the NFL to become a major part of culture in Canada as a result and made the National Football League more visible than ever in this market.
Popular examples of how they have made this happen include hosting NFL games in Toronto, marketing campaigns on social media targeted at Canadian fans and hosting football youth camps in the country. This has all helped forge a deeper connection with fans in Canada that has really paid off. It is expected that these efforts will continue as time moves on and maybe even lead to more NFL games being hosted in the country.
Avid followers of this league will note that this type of aggressive expansion is not something NFL leaders are only focusing on in Canada. They seem to have a general objective to expand on an international scale to make the league massive in many other countries worldwide.
American ex-pats have spread the word
Canada has always been a popular destination for US citizens interested in changing up their lives. As with any kind of immigration, people from the US bring their own culture with them when settling down. Although this might be related to food, language or music in some cases, it can also be seen in sports.
In terms of football, this has resulted in American ex-pats bringing their love for the NFL with them into Canada and popularizing the league in their communities. Over time, this has increased its presence in daily Canadian life and given it much more reach than it previously had.
NFL is now a constant in Canadian culture
Football has always been a part of Canada’s cultural fabric. Although hockey might have always held sway as the country’s top sport, football and the CFL were not far behind.
Over the years though, Canadians have started to look beyond their own borders in sporting terms and this has allowed the NFL to become a league which many fans in the country keep tabs on. It appears that the love for the NFL in Canada is only growing as time moves on and shows no signs of diminishing. This should only become more true as an increasing number of Canadian players make it into the top NFL teams and the media coverage of NFL games in the country continues apace.
