Canadian Football League in the United States

The Canadian Football League (CFL), the sole major professional sports league in the United States and Canada to feature only teams from Canada, has made efforts to gain further audience in the United States, most directly through expansion into the country from 1993 to 1995. The CFL plays Canadian football, which is somewhat different from the American football usual in the United States.

The first American team, the Sacramento Gold Miners, joined in 1993. The league expanded to four American teams in 1994 and five in 1995. In the latter year, the teams were aligned into a new South Division. The three years saw numerous franchise moves, foldings, and ownership debacles on both sides of the U.S.–Canada border. The Baltimore Stallions became the only American-based team to win the Grey Cup championship, in 1995.

With the exception of Baltimore, the American teams consistently lost money. CFL games in the United States by its American teams averaged 10,000 to 15,000 in paid attendance, while the Stallions ranged from 30,000 to 37,000. (At the time, the CFL was a gate-driven league.) Tension also arose between the American and Canadian contingents over rule changes, scheduling, import rules, and even the name of the league itself. Facing these difficulties, the league again fielded only Canadian teams beginning in 1996.

While expansion was the most notable CFL effort in the United States, the league had also made previous inroads. Eleven neutral-site CFL games (including exhibition games) have been held in the United States, while National Football League (NFL) teams have been invited northward for interleague play. The CFL has also attempted to find a television audience in the United States, most notably during an NFL players' strike in 1982, and more recently on ESPN.

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