The Grey Cup, Canada’s largest annual sports and television event, takes place this Sunday at six pm eastern. It regularly draws a Canadian viewing audience of about 4 million persons which, as far as Canadian audiences go, is higher than Super Bowl ratings.

The Grey Cup is the trophy awarded each year to the champion of the Canadian Football League; but it hasn’t always been that way. Donated by the then Governor General of Canada, Earl Grey, in 1909, it was initially to be awarded to the Rugby Football Champion of Canada. For the first 45 years of its history, football teams from various leagues in Canada could bid to compete for the championship and the trophy. In the early years, the winners were teams representing universities and even local athletic associations. Since 1954, however, only teams that are members of the CFL have been allowed to compete for Earl Grey’s Cup.

There are a number of story lines in this, the 97th Grey Cup.

Can the Alouettes win a second Cup in this their seventh chance over the past decade? How much impact will Rider Nation invading Calgary have on the outcome of the game? Will this be the end of the line for so many veterans in the Montreal line-up, if they manage to win?

The story line I’m most interested in is the impact of this game on discussed changes to the Can-Con rule. There are 42 roster spots in the CFL, three of which are occupied by the QB’s. The other 39 though need to be made up of 20 non-imports (mostly Canadian-born) with the remaining 19 spots taken up by American recruits.

Further to that rule, it is also required that of the 20 Canadians, seven need to be starters. The proposed rule change has the seven Canadian starters reduced to four. The Riders have been making a case recently both vocally and by their play that that would be a ridiculous idea.

Historically the non- imports have been utilized on the offensive line, as place kickers and safeties. Uniquely, the Riders use Canadian players in many of their skill positions. Most of their receiving core is home-grown talent, and even after losing their most dangerous receiver Winston Dressler (an import), for the year, they haven’t missed a beat. The Riders, on top of putting a high premium on Canadian talent, have taken it a step further. Over a third of the non-imports on the Riders are Saskatchewan-born. Further to that, the practice roster is also loaded with local recruits. Why? They are being groomed to be the next wave of great Saskatchewan talent.

So while many want to change the Can-con rules, there is no point. What is really needed is for other teams to put the same premium on grooming and developing home-grown talent. There is no doubt that a country of over 300 million could supply more than enough talent to flood the CFL. The real question though is: is that necessary?

While it is true that football is a game that showcases athleticism, it requires an equal measure of precision and savvy. These are qualities that are often developed to a greater degree in individuals of lesser athleticism. There is plenty of room for both types of player in the CFL. There is no reason to further drop the amount of required non-import starters (already been done once in the 90’s). If they really want to change the rule, why doesn’t the league require each team to have a minimum of seven Saskatchewan-born players on each team? If you want true quality play, that’s the only answer!