Difference Between American And Canadian Football

Similarly, the difference between American and British language for -re and –er is centre and center. –Ed; The pronunciation differences between American and British English are due to certain vowels and their way of delivering. Similarly, the difference between American and British language for -t and –ed is learnt and learned. The extra down means that the American game is balanced between running the football, passing the football, and kicking the football. Canadian Football, they have one less down to move the ball 10 yards, so the emphasis is usually based on passing the football. The biggest difference between Canadian and American football is the size of the playing field. In Canada, football fields are 110 yards long and 65 yards wide. In America football fields are 100 yards long and 53 and 1/3 yards wide.

The origins of the sport of football date back to the mid 1800s. The sport, according to historians, was invented by the Europeans. Ironically, “the first recorded game of football was played between Canada’s McGill University in Montreal, Quebec, and Harvard University in Massachusetts, USA” (LeBlanc 1). Since the mid 1800s, Canada and the United States have developed their own rules and methods of playing the game. By using Jacques Derrida’s views on Differance, we’re able to see the differences, as well as the similarities between each country’s versions of the same sport. For example, the American and Canadian Football Leagues both wear uniforms and play with a football. An obvious statement about their leagues, but it’s to prove that both leagues have similarities between them. Although the similarities of the two leagues are often times stated, the differences of the two will be more distinguished between. Because of Derrida, we’re able to break down the differences between two seemingly similar subjects. According to Jacques Derrida, “differance is neither a word or a concept” (109). Since Differance is neither a word nor a concept, the idea of diff?rance must be revealed. We must distinguish the discrepancies between the two subjects Differance and difference.

Differance is an idea invented by Derrida that is seemingly just a misspelling of the word difference. Derrida insists that the idea is more than an alternate spelling of a word. Instead, he states that one letter, when replaced with another, gives a whole new meaning to another word. More specifically, Derrida says that “on the basis of Differance and its history we can allegedly know who and where we are, and what limits of an era might be” (112). Obviously this quote infers the real difference that one letter can make. Derrida goes on to relate Differance to temporization, which according to him means “to take recourse, consciously or unconsciously, in the temporal and temporizing mediation of a detour that suspends the accomplishment of fulfillment of desire or will, and equally affects this suspension in a mode that annuls or tempers its own effect” (112). Derrida’s interpretation of Differance isn’t much more different than the word difference that we’ve been accustomed to.

A form of Differance that will be more focused on when comparing and contrasting the American and Canadian Football Leagues is Trace. By using Derrida’s method of Tracing, the histories and origins of both leagues can be discovered.

Over the past century the National Football League has been much more popular than the Canadian Football League. There have been many contributors to this fact. First off, there’s a much greater population in the U.S., which obviously means more fans. Another main reason for the increased popularity in NFL football is its rules and regulations. The field is shorter and each team gets four downs to convert a first; whereas the CFL only gets three downs. This creates more scoring in the NFL, which in turn causes more excitement for the spectators.

In a way the NFL’s and CFL’s rules and regulations are proportional to their countries. The U.S. generally prefers a faster paced and higher scoring game, whereas Canada is seemingly more laid back, preferring a slower paced and lower scoring game. Another factor that contributes to the lower scoring game is the players. The NFL usually has the more skilled players of the two. This is also proportional to the populations of the U.S. and Canada. The U.S. obviously has many more players to choose from than Canada. Marketing also contributes to where an athlete will play. If the football player is in the money market he’ll lean towards the NFL. The salary is the main reason the NFL has more talented players than the CFL. Money, marketing, weather and skill are all differences between the two leagues.

Not to say the NFL is superior to the CFL because many greats have come from the CFL. The best example is Doug Flutie. Flutie went to Boston College where he first gained his popularity for his 1982 game winning hail-mary against Miami. He was then drafted by the Chicago Bears, where he was told he was too undersized to play quarterback in the NFL. After being cut by Chicago, he went on to play for the Argonauts and Generals of the CFL. There, Flutie won three Grey Cups, equivalent to the Super Bowls of the NFL, and was named Most Valuable Player three times. He’s 5’8” and 175 pounds, which makes it more unbelievable that he’s able to play football at such a high level. In 1999, the Buffalo Bills of the NFL asked Flutie to play for them. He was highly publicized for coming back to the NFL, where he continued his outstanding play. Flutie still plays football for the San Diego Chargers; he’s 41 years old. He’s just one of the many greats who got their start in the Canadian Football League.

Difference Between American And Canadian Football Coach

The history of the two leagues is made known by using Derrida’s method of Tracing, which like Barthes’ Mythologies, is still useful in today’s society. Derrida’s broad concept of Differance, which according to him “is neither a word or a concept,” (109) must be something else. “Differance is the non-full, non-simple, structured and differentiating origin of differences. Thus, the name origin no long suits it.” (Derrida 114) In simpler terms, Derrida is stating that his idea of Differance is more complex than his idea of Trace. Trace can be used in concepts such as learning the history of a football league or in more complex situations such as language and writing. Derrida is teaching us to distinguish between his concept of Differance and our concept of the very similar idea of difference. He believes that “the other sense of diff?rer is the more common and identifiable one (the one we use): to be not identical, to be other, discernible” (Derrida 112). Different football leagues, like different concepts of a similar word, play an important role in how we decipher between two abstract, or in the football sense, concrete subjects.

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Difference between american and canadian football players

In a football scoreboards feature, I have taken a look at the principal differences between the two great games of American and Canadian football.

Origin: The origins of both of these sports lie in the British sport of Rugby. British soldiers brought the game over to North America, and the humble beginnings of football lie in the games that they played in the University of Harvard in the U.S. and McGill University in Canada. The first football scoreboards to be produced were then utilized as McGill University went on to play Harvard in a series of games, and a tradition was born.

Size of pitch: The field is smaller in American football because in the early days of playing rugby at Harvard the available fields were smaller than in Canada. Nowadays, the Canadian pitch is 110×65 yards, whilst the American pitch is 100×53 yards. The difference in field sizes also explains the positioning of the goalposts: in the U.S. they are on the end line whilst in Canada they are on the goal line.

Number of players: The smaller pitch in American football led to a trimming of the number of players on each team so that the field was not too crowded, and as a result American football has one less player per team than Canadian (11 as apposed to 12). Both games require the same number of players in the scrimmage, but Canadian football has one additional player at the back. This affects the offense and the defense – in Canada they have 2 slot backs and 2 defensive halfbacks and a single safety. In the U.S. there is one tight end and 2 safeties respectively.

Number of downs: American football has 4 downs and Canadian has 3, and this remains the most significant difference between the two games. This affects the game as a whole – it is more pass and kick orientated in Canada as a result of the reduced number of downs.

Kicking: There are some differences in the kicking rules too. Firstly, the Canadian game does not have the fair catch rule, in which the returner can signal for a fair catch and end the play if he feels that he has no chance of moving the ball forward. Another difference is that in Canada the kicker can recover and advance his own kick. This makes kicking a much bigger part of the game for the Mounties. A third difference in Canadian football is that from the kicking team, only the kicker and players behind him may be within 5 yards of the ball if the ball has not been touched by an apposing player. Also, in Canadian football any kick that goes into the end zone is a live ball except for successful field goals. Lastly, a ball kicked into the end zone in Canadian football is live (not including successful field goals), unlike in American football.

Difference Between American And Canadian Football Scores

There are some minor differences in the two games in addition to those given above (such as time rules), but they are relatively insignificant.

Difference Between American And Canadian Football

For more information, go to:
en.wikipedia.org