Perhaps it was because it was the first home game of the season. But I don’t think so. I get the overwhelming feeling that a B.C. Lions football game is always a BIG DEAL in Vancouver. As far as the eye can see, everything and everybody is Orange. Except for the guys from Saskatchewan with the watermelons on their heads. I still can’t quite figure that one out, but never mind – right now I’m dealing with a bad case of Anthem Envy.

My nephew Devin is a gifted singer, and I defer to him on the musical structure and intricacies of “The Star Spangled Banner”. But this I know for a fact. It’s wicked hard to sing – especially that lung-busting “rocket’s red glare” part. But anybody remotely capable of carrying a tune can sing “O Canada”. And I’m here to tell you that in Empire Field, the (interim) home of the Lions, they belt it out with gusto. As I looked around the stadium it was hard to spot anyone that wasn’t singing. The easiest gig in Canadian show biz has to be performing the national anthem at a CFL game. All you really have o do is show up and lip-synch, because you won’t be heard over the crowd anyway.

I have come to Vancouver to take in the Canadian Football League experience, and to get a pigskin jump on those in the U.S. who are patiently (sort of) waiting for the NFL season to get underway. So it’s inevitable that this game between the Lions and the visiting Saskatchewan Roughriders would stir up “compare and contrast” thought processes that have been dormant since my last English Lit final.

Let’s start with tradition. The Lions played their first CFL game in 1954, which was (and I relish every opportunity I get to say this) before my time. That makes them older than the vast majority of NFL franchises. Compared to this evening’s opponent though, they are just a passing fad, for the Saskatchewan Roughriders are celebrating their 100th season of football this year. So for those of us who tended to think arrogantly that the CFL is just a copycat of the NFL, well…we’re all wrong.

For example, let’s compare championship games. The 98th rendition of the CFL’s Grey Cup will take place this fall. For those of you scoring at home, the NFL will stage its 45th Super Bowl in February, after having conducted 33 NFL Championship Games prior to the merger of the AFL and the original NFL. So, uhhh, it appears that our friends north of the border were a little out ahead of the curve on this one.

As it approaches the century mark, the CFL is experiencing a capital investment boom, with four teams in the process of either building new stadiums or making major renovations to existing facilities. One of those teams is the B.C. Lions, who are playing in a temporary structure at Empire Field as a $425 million upgrade to 27-year-old BC Place is being done.

In terms of game day atmosphere, there is virtually no difference between the CFL and the NFL. I could have closed my eyes and listened to what was going on around me and been unable to identify whether I was in Vancouver, San Diego or Charlotte (well OK, except for the Southern drawl). Fans in both leagues closely and vocally identify with their team.

There is one thing about the onsite at the Lion’s game that did give me pause though – in fact I did a full double-take. For there, right in the middle of the concourse, literally feet away from the tunnel through which I would enter to take my seat, was a tent bearing the name SportsAction. It was a legal gambling service, taking action on, among other things, the very game that was just about to start! But wait there’s more…

Two minutes into the game, a SportsAction promo announcement came over the P.A. system, during which they announced the over/under for the game and encouraged people to stop by and place a bet on it. Later I noticed that all video board replays were “brought to you by SportsAction”. And how about that – the padding wrapped around the base of the goal posts also bore the SportsAction name and logo. A gambling company is a major sponsor of the team!

Somewhere Pete Rozelle is spinning in his grave. Paul Tagliabue and Roger Goodell are staggering around clutching their chests. And Pete Rose is verklempt – “How come they can do it and I couldn’t? Discuss.”

On the field, the most immediately noticeable thing is the size of the players. It was like somebody left an NFL team in the dryer too long. And as the game went on it became obvious that size was THE difference between an NFL and CFL squad, because the talent on display in Vancouver was every bit as good as that found on autumn Sunday afternoons in the Lower 48.

Other than the 110-yard field, the single biggest difference in the CFL game is that they use a three-down rule instead of the four downs used at all levels of American football. I initially took this as simply an exchange rate thing, but the idea grew on me. Hell, if you can’t make 10 yards in two plays, give it up and let the other team have a crack at it. This almost forces the pass – and indeed I saw a lot less of the smash-mouth football strategy that’s built around three yards and a cloud of Astroturf.

While most of the other rules of the game appeared identical across leagues, I noticed that the CFL refs were much more inclined to “swallow the flag” on passing plays. I’ve become way too accustomed to seeing what seems like every other downfield pass attempt be called pass interference in the NFL. So it was refreshing that when the ball was high in the Canadian air, the inclination among the refs seemed to be to let ‘em fight it out for position.

In fact, the last time I saw such unabashed…well, bashing, was during the NCAA Women’s Water Polo Championship, when the area in front of the goal made shark-infested waters welcoming by comparison. Given the constant battle for airborne passes, perhaps the most appropriately named player in the entire CFL is Lion’s receiver Derick Armstrong.

In this particular game, it became obvious as time went by that Saskatchewan possessed the better talent. To their credit though, B.C. was able to hang with them throughout the first half, pulled to within three points just before halftime. At that point though, starting QB Casey Printers went down with an injury, and it wasn’t the same Lions team that took the field after the break. The final was 37-18 in favor of the Roughriders, and as they sometimes say in the sports biz “it wasn’t even that close”.

But if it’s any consolation to the Lions and their fans, I had a ball. I liked the quick pace of the game, and loved all of the passing. And I’m betting 4 to 1 that it won’t be the last CFL game I’ll attend. If you want in on that, I’m sure SportsAction will take your wager.