I confess to not watching the NFL much, precisely because I find it less entertaining than the CFL, but that doesn't obviate my opinions. I can see that, since there's not much chess coverage on TV, watching the NFL might be a substitute (if imperfect). Watching curling might work even better.

I'm not interested in "three yards and a cloud of dust" offences, quarterbacks who just stand in the pocket and throw short passes, with no rollouts or scrambling threat, "fair catches" which mean no runback on punts, behemoth linemen who can't move except to fall forward, and all the rest of what make American football unique. The rule differences are subtle, maybe the difference they create won't be apparent to the superficial eye, but they create a very different game.

Here's an instructive story. The Sacramento Gold Miners were the first U.S. team to play in the CFL, as part of its doomed effort at expansion south of the border. They had no coaches with Canadian football experience, and they were allowed to use all American players as an exemption to the non-import rule. They kept getting creamed. It soon became apparent that their conditioning wasn't good enough. The players were in "NFL shape", which just wasn't enough to be competitive in the CFL, and none of the coaches, being American, realized this.

This thread has crept. Perhaps we should start a new one. Does anyone know how to do a blue clicky to link us up? (I promise to learn, one of these days.)