Jamie Nye: Garth, Folk Fest know how to weather a storm; CFL does not

The Canadian Football League should learn something from Garth Brooks and the Regina Folk Festival.

Do whatever it takes to make sure your fans see the show they paid for.

Brooks was willing to wait up to five hours to get the show in on a stormy night in Regina. The Folk Fest didn’t disappoint its fans either. Organizers even adjusted the schedule to give The Dead South a mini-set after fans took to social media when the band wasn’t included on the post-storm schedule.

Too bad the CFL didn’t have the same common sense in Montreal when a storm came through on the same night.

A new protocol gives one hour for a storm to blow over, or the game will be called if the game is beyond the midway point of the third quarter.

So with 2:41 left in a 17-10 game, game over; Riders win.

Nobody I talked to since thought this was a good rule. Especially when fans find out the league will wait three hours if the game isn’t official (past the halfway point of the third quarter). Huh? How does that make sense?

This is a rule that needs immediate adjustment and the commissioner has made mid-season rule changes before. So over to you, Mr. Ambrosie. Do you care about your audience as much as Garth and the RFF?