Dallas defensive linemen Tyrone Crawford (98) and Jeremy Mincey (92) are pictured during the New York Giants vs. the Dallas Cowboys NFL football game (Louis DeLuca/The Dallas Morning News)
Some call it the big show. Others say it’s where modern-day gladiators collide. For a few, it is the ultimate career goal–a profession where only the best of the best are allowed to perform.
It is, of course, the National Football League.
If money is the best way to measure the popularity of an athletic league, none is more popular than the NFL. According to sportscasting.com, it rakes in at least $13 billion USD. It’s teams boast rabid fan bases spread out across the United States and around the world. It’s players are among the world’s most elite athletes–there are fewer than 1,700.
And more than a few are from Canada.
Yes, football fans, Canada has been, is and probably will be well-represented in the NFL. In fact, Jim Bryant and Perce Wilson both broke into the league in 1920. Bryant was born in Toronto, Wilson in Lifford. Both were blocking backs and both represented the country well.
And today, 100 years later, the tradition continues.
If you’re the type of person who likes to visit betting sites, like Comeon Canada for example, to put down a little money down on NFL games from time to time, why not personalize it just a bit by betting on teams that include some home-grown talent?
Here is a look at the top Canadians playing in the NFL today:
Tyrone Crawford, Dallas Cowboys
The Dallas Cowboys may be called “America’s Team,” but that doesn’t mean their coaches are unwilling to look to Canada for talent–especially when he’s six feet, four inches tall and 290 pounds. They say everything is bigger in Texas, and that’s certainly the case for Crawford, a defensive end from Winsor, Ontario.
This is his eighth year in the league, all of which he’s spent with the Cowboys.
Brent Urban, Chicago Bears
Urban has the right name for the city in which he plays. Chicago is the third-largest city in the United States, with more than 2.7 million people–almost all of whom are most certainly Bears fans. And the 29-year-old from Mississauga, Ontario, is also big enough for the big city, standing six feet, seven inches and tipping the scales at 300 pounds. Wow.
L.P. LaDouceur, Dallas Cowboys
Not every Canadian who makes it in the NFL is huge, highly drafted or even all that heralded on game day. Case and point: L.P. LaDouceur. He’s “only” six feet, five inches tall and doesn’t even weigh 260 pounds.
And if you’re not watching closely, you might not even notice he’s on the team–because he only plays a handful of snaps each game. LaDouceur is a long snapper. He went undrafted out of college, but has perfected the art and science of delivering a perfect snap every time. That explains why he’s lasted in the league for 15 years. Not a bad run at all.
Luke Willson, Seattle Seahawks
Can you imagine what it’s like to play in the Super Bowl, much less win it? As a rookie. That’s exactly what Luke Willson did in 2013, when the Windsor, Ontario native joined the Seattle Seahawks in 2013. He jumped over the the Detroit Lions last year but is back in Seattle for 2020. Beyond being a six feet, five inch, 255-pound tight end who is known for his excellent blocking skills, Willson also has some of the longest locks in the league, making him a fan favorite.
Anthony Auclair, Tampa Bay Buccaneers
Anthony Auclair isn’t a household name, but that may change soon do to some personnel changes in Tampa Bay. After two years with Jameis Winston as his quarterback. But this year, the six feet, six inch, 256-pound tight end will be catching passes from none other than former Hall of Famer and six-time Super Bowl champion Tom Brady.
Auclair grew up in Notre-Dame-des-Pins, Quebec, and just might be a trajectory to become the first person from that town every to bring home a Super Bowl ring (if history repeats itself).
N’Keal Harr, New England Patriots
Speaking of catching passes from a legend, that’s exactly what Harry did last season when he played for the New England Patriots–where Brady led them up and down the field. The 22-year-old speedy wide receiver from Toronto didn’t get a ring, but he did haul in 12 catches for more than 100 yards and made the winning grab in an exciting, come-from-behind 13-9 win over the Cowboys.
So there you have it, football fans. Canada is well-represented in the NFL. Now use this knowledge as you go about your betting.
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