End Zones and Border Wars is the story of the CFL's ill-fated period
of expansion into the United States during the early to mid-
1990s. It was a time filled with intriguing characters, from John
Candy to Nick Mileti to Pepper Rodgers, the coach who loved everything
about the Canadian game except the rules and the teams. With
a cast of investors who are hopeful but unfamiliar with the game,
bizarre stories emerge, from the Las Vegas Posse practising in the
parking lot of the Riviera to the Shreveport Pirates camping out
above a barn full of circus animals.

The CFL's attempts to push the Canadian game into expanded
territory brought both heartbreak and victory, with the 1994 Grey
Cup victory of the BC Lions coming alongside the quick decline of
every American club under low sales and resistance to new rules.
The CFL survived these turbulent times to the harsh realization that
it is a game for Canada alone, breaking through to a promising new
era for the venerable institution.

Before retiring in 2020, Ed Willes spent nearly four decades in sports journalism, working everywhere from the Regina Leader-Post to the Winnipeg Sun and, most notably, the Province newspaper in Vancouver, where he was a regular columnist for more than twenty years. He is the author of Gretzky to Lemieux: The Story of the 1987 Canada Cup and The Rebel League: The Short and Unruly Life of the World Hockey Association.

Ed Willes' profile page