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Sweet home, Alabama: Riders recall CFL life south of 49th parallel with now-defunct teams


REGINA -- It has been 10 seasons since the Canadian Football League last set foot in the United States, a move that on many levels was nothing short of a disaster.
But for some of the men who played for U.S.-based teams, it was an enriching experience -- just not in the pocketbook.
"I loved it down there," says defensive back Eddie Davis, who broke in with the 1995 Birmingham Barracudas and is still playing today with the Saskatchewan Roughriders. "I pretty much lived like a professional football player, like I was in the NFL. I only made 30 grand that year -- and I spent every dime when I was down there.
"I left Birmingham with a truck and a TV. That's it."
The '95 season was the zenith of the CFL's presence in the U.S. The league had a five-team South Division, comprising the Barracudas, Baltimore Stallions, Memphis Mad Dogs, San Antonio Texans and Shreveport Pirates.
The following season, the Stallions were the Montreal Alouettes and players from four defunct U.S.-based teams had been dispersed throughout the Canadian-based clubs.
"I loved it," says Davis. "If (Birmingham) was still around, I'd probably still be down there.
"We had a really good team. Matt Dunigan was our quarterback and we had a few veterans on our team, but that team was pretty much all rookies. If we had stayed in the league, it would have been tough for these teams up here (Canada) to do something with us."
Alas, the point is moot. The CFL's stay in the U.S. lasted just three seasons.
"When the NFL awards a franchise, it gives (the team) a year or so to get things in place," says Roughriders general manager Roy Shivers, who was the Barracudas' GM. "We went in in something like three months.
"If (CFL types) had done their due diligence and given (the Barracudas) a year so they could get their marketing strategy in place and their season-ticket sales going, it would have been OK. The people in Birmingham loved it."
For a while, anyway. Once the NCAA season started and the Auburn Tigers and Alabama Crimson Tide got going, the 'Cudas were like fish out of water.
"Birmingham is a college town," Davis says. "Before the college season started, we'd get 50,000 fans out to games. As soon as the college season started, we'd be lucky to get 3,000 people out -- and 3,000 people in an 80,000-seat stadium is nobody.
"We'd be out there playing and you could whisper to a guy on the other side of the field and he'd hear what you were saying. It was crazy."
Some would argue the whole idea was nuts.
EXPANSION FEES BUOY LEAGUE
The CFL's first foray into the U.S. was in Sacramento, where the Gold Miners began play in 1993.
The following season, the Las Vegas Posse joined the Gold Miners in the West Division while Baltimore and Shreveport enlisted in the East.
The '95 season dawned without the Posse (it folded) and Gold Miners (they moved to San Antonio and became the Texans) and with new teams in Birmingham and Memphis. The CFL decided to go to North and South divisions, with the 49th parallel as the dividing line.

Ian Hamilton
Saskatchewan News Network