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In the same way as the most recent edition of the CFL championship, the 56th Super Bowl will be one-of-a-kind, being held at the new SoFi Stadium and taking place in the second week of February. But what other contrasts may we draw between these two professional football leagues’ championship games?
Scoring
In the last 25 CFL championship games, 1,312 points have been scored. In the same time period, 1,201 points were achieved in the Super Bowl. The Grey Cup has seen more scoring compared to the Super Bowl.
However, according to Betway, since the first Grey Cup in 1930, 130 touchdowns have been recorded. The Super Bowl has seen 142 touchdowns over the last 25 years. As a result of this, while the CFL scores more points, the NFL sees more touchdowns.
Attendance
The Super Bowl has gathered a crowd of at least 60,000 people every year since its inception in 1967. On five occasions (1976, 1979, 1982, 1986, and 2010), a six-figure audience witnessed the Big Game.
Unsurprisingly, the Grey Cup has a tough time competing in this category. The CFL championship regularly draws more than 50,000 spectators, but it’s worth noting that Canadian stadiums aren’t as big as those in the United States. In the last 25 years, 1,238,196 people have attended the Grey Cup, compared to 1,771,947 that watched the Super Bowl.
Viewings
Since 2010, an average of 4.48million people in Canada have watched the CFL title game. Over the same span, 6.58million people watched the NFL’s equivalent.
The 2012 Grey Cup had the largest television audience in history, with 13 million unique Canadian viewers watching at least part of the game. That is overshadowed by the 18.7 million Canadians who tuned into Super Bowl LIV in 2020, which is over half of Canada’s population.
The Weather
The Grey Cup is easily superior to the Super Bowl in terms of exposure. The NFL championship game is purposely staged in cities with a warmer climate or inside stadiums that are entirely enclosed.
The CFL has few options; Canada has just a handful of domed stadiums, and they can’t all host the Grey Cup every year. The temperature at kickoff was -16C in 1991, making it the coldest Grey Cup ever. The chilliest Super Bowl occurred in 1972 when the temperature was 4C.
The Halftime Shows
The halftime show, which draws hundreds of millions of viewers alone, is one of the reasons why the Super Bowl is such a big event. Michael Jackson, the Rolling Stones, Phil Collins, Prince, Justin Timberlake, Beyonce, Paul McCartney, Madonna and Lady Gaga have all performed on the Super Bowl stage over the years.
The halftime show for the Grey Cup, as well as other sports’ championships, is a little smaller in scale. Celine Dion, Shania Twain, The Black Eyed Peas, Nelly Furtado, Lenny Kravitz, Nickelback and Imagine Dragons have all performed at the Grey Cup before.
How do you think the Grey Cup stacks up next to the Super Bowl?
Featured Image Credit: via CBC News