CFL INTRODUCES “FANS’ STATE OF THE LEAGUE” AT 2009 GREY CUP

Seating is limited for next Friday morning’s event but fans who will be in Calgary can register at http://www.cfl.ca/grey-cup-fans

CALGARY -- Commissioner Mark Cohon has come up with a new idea on behalf of the Canadian Football League: a special State of the League meeting for fans as part of Grey Cup Week.

"The Commissioner’s State of the League News Conference for the media is an annual Grey Cup tradition, and it will occur again this year. The journalists who cover our league are very important to us. But our fans are even more important to us. In many ways, they are our league,” Cohon said.

“So this year, in addition to the news conference, we’re planning something new: a State of the League Meeting for Fans, where I can brief them on behalf of our Board of Governors and our teams on everything from attendance to television ratings to expansion to whether scoring was up or down this season. More importantly, I’ll have the opportunity to take their questions.”

Seating is very limited for the event, which is scheduled for 11 a.m. to noon on Friday, November 27, at the Fairmont Palliser Hotel in Calgary. Fans who will be in Calgary for Grey Cup Week can register by visiting http://www.cfl.ca/grey-cup-fans. The first 200 hundred fans to register will be e-mailed a ticket to the event, which will be moderated by the CFL on TSN’s Dave Randorf. As space is limited, only ticketed fans will be able to attend the event.

If you can't get to Calgary for the event, submit questions in the comments module on the right side of this page or email commish@cfl.ca. We will do our best to get to as many questions as we can but there is no guarantee that your question will be answered due to time constraints.

“This is new, and a bit of an experiment, so we want to start small, gauge whether fans find it useful and hear from them on how we can make it better in the future,” Cohon said.

“This is part of living up to our mantra that our league is as accessible as it is affordable for families and an authentic part of Canadian culture. And while I’m sure there will be some tough questions from passionate fans, I know it will be fun,” he said.

“Like most of us in our league, one of the things I love most about Grey Cup is seeing fans from all over Canada, and chatting with them. This will provide us with a forum to have a longer exchange of information and conversation, and I’m looking forward to it.”

Throughout the 2009 season, the Canadian Football League has strived to reach out to fans, asking them at various times to suggest rule changes, “tweet with the Commissioner”, vote for all-stars, even select the playlist for Blue Rodeo at this year’s Pepsi Max Grey Cup Half-time Show. Cohon has also hosted pizza lunches for small groups of fans in the league office in Toronto, attended gatherings of season ticket holders hosted by CFL teams, and phoned fans to thank them for buying tickets.

“Our fans are dedicated and knowledgeable and have celebrated what is great about our league, decade after decade, generation after generation,” Cohon said. “Everyone who loves this game feels deeply indebted to them all.”