Today the CFL released a video in which CFL Commissioner Randy Ambrosie answers questions regarding the recent announcement of an alignment effort with the XFL.
He talks about when they started talking, the power of The Rock’s media influence, how they see the XFL/CFL as more than just a North America thing, and more.
Ambrosie talks about when the CFL and XFL started talking and how it came about.
“I remember perfectly how all this started, except we’ve been talking to the world of football for some time now. And of course, in this pause in our own play, it was a part of our everyday routine to just be reaching out to, our partners and thinking about the game of football and obviously looking for opportunities to accelerate our success and grow our game.”
“We ended up in this discussion with the new ownership group at the XFL and immediately found some real alignment. What they want to do and the skills and background of the group. Dany Garcia and Dwayne Johnson have been long-term business partners. And Dwayne Johnson’s success is literally unparalleled. And it led us to where we are today.”
Ambrosie talks about how Dany Garcia and Dwyane ‘The Rock’ Johnson see football outside of North America. The idea and plans for the XFL/CFL are bigger than just their own partnership.
“We are excited to be in this conversation, I think they just want to really grow the game of football. They have a great passion for the game. They want to see football grow in North America. They want to see it grow around the world.”
He talks about how Garcia and Johnson can help the CFL brand in Canada.
“They see an opportunity to use entertainment and perspectives from the world of entertainment to create greater fan engagement. And that’s something we’re really very excited about.”
Especially with The Rocks social media reach.
“I’m told that if you took the aggregate of Dwayne Johnson’s social media platform and accounted for it as a population, he’d be the fourth biggest country in the world.”
Ambrosie talks about meeting Dwayne Johnson and his ties to Canada which is more than just playing for the Calgary Stampeders long ago.
“His family came to Canada through the Underground Railroad and settled in Nova Scotia. So he’s got this very cool, very long history.
It seems like, by reading the tea leaves, that the XFL and CFL have some pretty big vision for the sport of football over the next several years.
“Actually goes beyond just pro football. This is how do we help amateur football? How do we energize amateur football? How do we help our friends that use sports and grow the game there? And I’d say to them, this is about helping us fulfill our potential and working with great partners, and exploring opportunities to work together.
When will we find out what this big vision is, it could be months. The main focus now for both leagues is getting the CFL on the field in 2021. That is becoming a taller task by the hour as recent government restrictions are going to make it harder to have fans in the stands anytime soon.
The US is light years ahead of Canada in vaccine rollouts because we make it in the United States. A delay in the CFL season seems more likely by the day.
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Mark Perry, a devoted sports journalist and founder of XFL News Hub, has been a key figure in XFL coverage since its 2018 revival. Launching XFL News Hub soon after the league's return announcement, Mark has established the platform as a primary source for comprehensive XFL updates. Renowned for his in-depth knowledge and commitment to sports journalism, Mark actively engages the XFL community, welcoming interactions at mark.perry@xflnewshub.com.
