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I think most American football fans are familiar with the CFL, although I don’t think it’s a stretch to assume their knowledge of the organization is largely limited to the notion that it’s where guys who don’t have what it takes to hang in the NFL go to keep leaving their dream.
As a result, I highly doubt many people who don’t reside in the Great White North are intimately familiar with the various rules and regulations that differentiate Canadian football from its American counterpart, as CFL games might look like a “real” football game at first glance but are defined by a number of notable differences.
For example, CFL fields are longer and wider than their NFL counterparts, although teams are permitted to send 12 players out onto the gridiron on each play to compensate for the larger area.
Those teams also have some different ways to put points on the board thanks to what are known as “singles” or “rogues,” which gives the defense a chance to add a single point to their total score if one of a few scenarios unfold.
The CFL also doesn’t feature the touchbacks that special teams players at the NFL and college level are allowed to deploy on punt returns and kickoffs. As a result, anyone tasked with recovering the football needs to ensure they make it out of the end zone with the pigskin in order to prevent the opposing squad from earning a point.
However, it appears no one told that to CJ Sims, who played at New Mexico Highlands University before taking his talents north across the border this year for his rookie season with the Edmonton Elks.
During a recent game against the Saskatchewan Roughriders, Sims was tasked with handling the kick return with the two sides tied up and around a minute to go in the fourth quarter and opted to let it fly over his head and into the end zone.
While he took his time getting to the football, the same couldn’t be said for the members of the Roughriders who (unlike him) were familiar with CFL rules and tackled him once he scooped the ball up to secure the single that ended up being the deciding factor in their 12-11 victory.
If you don’t watch CFL, you may not understand how this is the wrongest thing you could have done in a tie game.
Saskatchewan wins on a rouge.
— Sickos Committee (@SickosCommittee) July 7, 2023
According to TSN, Sims acknowledged he’s screwed up on what he described as a “boneheaded play,” and while it probably won’t do much to make him feel much better, Saskatchewan QB Trevor Harris said he found out about a rule in the middle of a game last season while discussing the CFL’s unique learning curve.