Football, eh

One of the most challenging aspects of cutting the cord has been being able to watch a favorite sports team, or sometimes even a favorite sport overall. In the early days of cord cutting, this was quite true.

As a fan of college football, it was hard to watch the sport with a streaming device. Now, Sling TV launched in 2015, the first major live streaming service, so there have been options since then. But, I cut the cord in 2011, so while that was some years back, the early years helped form you outlook, and helped raise awareness that everything may not be easily available.

Having said that, college football isn't all that hard to find these days. Pro football can be a little more difficult, unless price is no object. You'll need the higher priced live streaming services to watch NFL football.

But the NFL isn't the only game in town. Well, I guess it is, it's not the only game on TV. There is the Canadian Football League.

I remember watch CFL football years ago. The rules differences were interesting, and took a little getting used to. I recall thinking, "Why did they make the rule changes they did?" You see, I didn't realize that Canadian football was actually the predecessor of U.S. football. Sort of.

Yes, football as we know it -- not soccer -- was a U.S. sport, but didn't catch on. Canada embraced it, and the Canadian game is closer to the roots of the game. The sport made its way back to the U.S. with some rule changes that eventually became the separate but similar sports we have today. But even with the differences, you can tell they're the same sport, just a few different rules.

Why am I bringing up Canadian football? Because the CFL 2021 season opens today. And, CFL football is available for viewing in the U.S. And not just a game of the week, like the old days. The entire CFL schedule is available for streaming online.

As part of a multi-year agreement, ESPN2, ESPNEWS and ESPN+ will combine to present every CFL game live, culminating with the Semi-Finals, Finals and 108th Grey Cup on Dec. 12. The 2021 schedule features 14 games for each team, which includes Thursday night games in the summer, Friday night football each week and Saturday night games throughout the season.

This is good. More online access to content is always helpful.

CFL football may not be your cup of tea. But, it is somebody's. Heck, I'm going to watch some of the games. It's a little different than what I'm used to, but it is fun football nonetheless. It may make your Streaming Life more fun. It will mine.