CFL and the Eskimos: not what you think it means

The first CFL experience
Not even 24 hours after I landed in Edmonton, we did something super Western Canadian: we went to our very first CFL (Canadian Football League) game. We got tickets through one of David's coworkers and we lucked out as it was the biggest game of the season - Edmonton Eskimos vs. Saskatchewan Roughriders - and the most attended CFL game of the year with over 40,000 people.

Not gonna lie; it was a super hot day, sun beating down on us, we really didn't have much clue as to what was going on, and the ultimate torment was not being able to cheer for either team cause a) we were sitting in the Saskatchewan section and were surrounded by Roughrider fans (some of whom we also came with), and b) surrounding them were Edmonton fans. Not knowing who was worse to piss off, so we kept our cheers neutral. Like for when the cheerleaders and mascot performed.

The fourth quarter was pretty exciting though, a lot of back and forth between the teams, with the Roughriders eventually beating the Eskies 30-27.

The Edmonton Eskimos are called the Eskies so as not to confuse them with indigenous people who were once called eskimos.

Example: Flashback two weeks prior to a conversation between David, his mom Nancy, and I are having at the kitchen table.

David: Jen knows a bunch of Eskimos. She said she'd introduce us.
Nancy: David, I think you mean Inuit or First Nations.

Communication: Fail.

The second CFL experience, which actually happened before the first
It only occurred to me after talking to our buddy George that Edmonton is where the Food Network's The Quon Dynasty was based which is about this family who runs a Chinese restaurant called The Lingnan. Anyone else heard of this? Anyone? Anyone...? Bueller...?

So, the mom on the show, Amy, apart from the restaurant also has her own food court joint yummily called - and here's where worlds collide - Chicken for Lunch, also known for short as CFL.

George took us to CFL during our intro trip to Edmonton, and having watched a handful of episodes of show, the mom was exactly as she was on TV. She's this cute, little, overbearing Asian mother-type, treating her customers like she was feeding her own children. The instructions (per George) were clear: You line up. When it's your turn, don't order anything. Just say you like chicken and you either like it spicy or not, with noodles or rice. Hand over the cash and be on your merry way.

The strict no-talking-let-her-serve-you-and-all-you-say-is-I-like-chicken plus being a bit reality-TV-star struck made me nervous to go up and order. But once you get through the chicken version of the Soup Nazi and they give you your heaping two kinds of chicken plus noodles or rice, you kind of feel accomplished. It was actually pretty good value, in terms of quantity, price and taste. Plus, I love a good play-on-words and this was an especially happy coincidence. Mind blown.