As CFL cancels season, COVID's cultural costs continue to climb

National Post, 22 August 2020

The mandate to keep apart is the most unique, and devastating, part of this pandemic. In most crises, it is the coming together which is essential.

The Canadian Football League cancelled its season this week, the latest addition to the list of pandemic casualties. It was more of a sadness than other similar news, though, truth be told, I have watched less and less of the CFL in recent years. It’s hard to take an interest in regular season games that count for little; six out of nine teams make the playoffs. In 2011, when the BC Lions won the Grey Cup after losing their first five games, I more or less gave up what was already dwindling interest. I prefer college football, where even one regular season loss can be determinative.

Nevertheless, like many Canadians, I do resume interest at Grey Cup time. In 2018, I was coincidentally in Edmonton during Grey Cup week, and took in the street party and general festivities. It was an event of genuine cultural import and — unlike most CFL stars — actually Canadian.

The 2020 demise of the CFL is a prominent sign that our cultural sector has been dealt a devastating blow by the pandemic. The critical question is whether that blow will be lethal. There is, as one would expect in the midst of the gloom, much talk that the CFL will return in 2021 better than ever. The more relevant, and haunting, question is whether it will be able to return at all, in whole or in part.

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