On an almost annual basis you can find online articles and forum debates on the possibility of CFL expansion beyond the current nine teams that play.

People like balance in their lives. We are instinctively drawn to symmetry. The American physicist Alan Lightman, in his book, The Accidental Universe: the world you thought you knew says, “The search for symmetry, and the emotional pleasure we derive when we find it, must help us make sense of the world around us, just as we find satisfaction in the repetition of the seasons and the reliability of friendships. Symmetry is also economy. Symmetry is simplicity. Symmetry is elegance”.

It is the elegance that is the key. We are drawn to symmetry for its elegance – it seems instinctively right. So when we see the mismatched East and West divisions with four teams in the former and five in the latter we almost instinctively feel something is missing.

Nine teams do not lend themselves to an even weekly schedule, instead leaving one team to have a bye each week. It is this imbalance perhaps that fuels the speculation and in some cases desire for expansion to at least one more franchise.

Most speculation around expansion has previously centered around the likes of Halifax and Moncton which are helpfully situated in a way that their locations would not affect the current divisions as either could be added to the Eastern division creating the balance so many may crave. Canada’s official motto is ‘A Mari usque ad Mare’, which translates as “From Sea to Sea.” and having a team in the Atlantic region would even allow the CFL to market themselves as covering just that, – from sea to sea.

Expansion to ten teams would helpfully balance the 18-game schedule and there would be no need to change the length of the regular season, as a straightforward double round-robin format would create 18 games for each team. Further to this, the crossover playoff qualification rule could be abandoned, because the East and West divisions would both have 5 teams.

All of which may make sense, but does not mean necessarily that the CFL should do it just for the sake of balancing their divisions. Lest we forget Canada has a population of 35 million people. Not much more than 10 per cent of the US population. In fact California alone has a higher population – 39 million – and it would be hard to imagine them supporting 10 pro football teams there. Of the 4 that are there indeed, one, the Raiders, are soon to leave for Nevada.

They would have to be certain that there would be a CFL-ready stadium in place. That there would be genuine fan support. That there would be reliable ownership to step forward. None of these things are guaranteed. For example, would a new team be able to develop a consistently sizable support in a relatively short time? It is a simple truism that a team cannot survive if nobody is there to support it.

In addition to this, the league must be certain that expansion is in the best financial interests of the game. The specter of the failed expansion in the US market in the 1990’s overshadows thoughts of expansion even now, which is why the league must be certain of the success of a new franchise and arguably why they should ensure if they do expand it is within Canada.

Perhaps it will happen one day, when the league is ready and can be sure of success. If not, let us not be in thrall to the need for symmetry. In the words of the poet Emily Dickinson, “Beauty is not caused. It is“. So for now, let’s just celebrate the beauty of what we have and look forward to the soon to be starting new season.

Pic: http://www.americanfootballinternational.com/