It’s summer, it’s hot, and there is very little going on in the sports world.

The NHL and NBA are done, and we’re in the middle of the MLB season where the games are just sort of there to fill time until the playoffs start. College football and the NFL are still a couple of months away from starting.

But starting tonight the Canadian Football League gets underway, and we’re here to tell you why you should start following the CFL.

If you missed it, we had CFL expert Andrew Bucholtz on our podcast to preview the 2017 season!

They have great touchdown celebrations

The NFL has loosened its rules on touchdown celebrations this coming season, but the CFL has had a long tradition of letting its athletes celebrate in fun and exciting ways, here is the greatest touchdown celebration in league history:

Amazing.

With touchdown dances like that and a high-scoring league, we should be in for plenty more action like that this season.

Some plays look like pick-up football

Look, if you don’t know the rules to Canadian Football you are going to be stunned, amazed, and confused by what you’re about to see, so let’s just roll the tape.

So the CFL has a rouge, where if you miss a FG that stays in bounds, or punt goes into the end zone the non-kicking team has to try to get the ball out of the end zone, or they give up a rouge, or single point. So this play ended a game, in completely legal fashion. A kick wide, a kick back out of the end zone that ends up in the hands of the original kicker, who then kicks it back and a scramble for the ball ensues, resulting in a game-winning touchdown.

Got all that? OK good.

Oh and onside punts are legal.

Lots of big-name American college players

Not everyone makes it to the NFL for one reason or another, and the CFL offers those guys a chance to continue playing football at a high-level while also giving them a chance to make it back to the NFL. Here’s a list of some of the famous American college players you could see this year in the CFL:

Da’Quan Bowers, Clemson
Ricky Stanzi, Iowa
Duron Carter, Ohio State
Darvin Adams, Auburn
CJ Gable, USC
Everett Golson, Notre Dame
Jeremiah Masoli, Ole Miss/Oregon
Javier Arenas, Alabama
Vernon Adams, Eastern Washington/Oregon
Dan LeFevour, Central Michigan

And there are loads more beyond that. If you want to root for a team, just look at their rosters and see if there is a guy who went to your favorite college, and chances are there is a guy or two from your school in the CFL.

Lots of games with snow!

If you like watching games in bad weather, you’re in luck. The season runs late into the year and as the season goes along, particularly in the playoffs, the weather gets worse and worse, and there are lots of chances for snow.

So if you love a game where players are at the mercy of the elements, you’re in luck!

They also have crazy comebacks in the title game

The Super Bowl was wild with New England coming back to win after a 28-3 deficit. Well the CFL wasn’t far behind in the 104th edition of the Grey Cup, with the Calgary Stampeders attempting to rally from a 20-point-second-half deficit.

Crazy. And again, because of the crazy plays and 12 on 12 game with an emphasis on passing allows for wild comebacks to happen.

Every game is on some form of ESPN

The biggest thing that hampers smaller leagues is a lack of coverage, and there is none of that with the CFL this year, as the league has continued to grow both in Canada and America.

All four games this week are on some form of ESPN, and every game is available either on ESPN2, ESPNNEWS, or ESPN3, so really, there is no excuse for not having access to live games this year.

Here is the link for the US broadcast schedule.

So yeah, if you’re ready for some football, get excited, because the CFL season starts tonight, and it is going to be a ton of fun.