East-West Shrine Game
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The East-West Shrine Game is an annual post-season college football all-star game played each January since 1925. The game is sponsored by the fraternal group Nobles of the Mystic Shrine and the net proceeds are earmarked to some of the Shrine's charitable works, most notably the Shriners Hospitals for Children. The game's slogan is Strong Legs Run That Weak Legs May Walk. The East-West Shrine Game is sometimes (erroneously) referred to as the Shrine Bowl.
The game matches teams of players who attended college in the Eastern United States against those schooled in the Western United States. The game, and especially the practice sessions leading up to it, attracts dozens of scouts from professional teams. Since 1985, Canadian players playing in Canadian university football have also been invited (even though the CIS and NCAA play by different football codes). As such, this is the only bowl game in either the Canadian or American college football schedules to include players from both Canadian and American universities.
The game is often played well into the month of January so that even players from teams whose schools were involved in bowl games can participate, which is important, as these teams often have some of the very best players.
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[edit] Canadian invitees
Despite the fact that the Shrine Game is an American football competition, players playing in Canadian university football, which play under Canadian football rules, have been invited every year since 1985. Because of this, the Shrine Game is the only game on either the Canadian or American college football schedules in which players from both sides of the border compete with or against each other. No American university currently has a Canadian football program, and no Canadian university currently has an American football program (the last university to have one, the Simon Fraser Clan, pulled out of the NAIA in favour of CIS football).
As of 2008, two players from each team are from Canadian universities: The Canadian players on the Western team come from Canada West schools, while the players on the Eastern come from the other three Canadian conferences. The practice of inviting Canadian players began in 1985 when Calgary Dinos offensive lineman Tom Spoletini was invited to play. Two Canadian players (one for each team) were invited starting in 1986, and continued every year until 2008, when four Canadian players (two per team) were invited.
[edit] History
For most of its history, the game has always been played in the San Francisco Bay Area, historically at San Francisco's Kezar Stadium and at Stanford Stadium. In recent years it has been played at SBC Park. For several years there was a similar game in Miami, Florida at the Miami Orange Bowl, also sponsored by the Shrine, involving teams from the North and South (the North-South Shrine Game).
In 2006, the game was played in the Alamodome in San Antonio, Texas, moving out of the San Francisco area for the first time in decades. The growth of cable television meant that NFL scouts could now view players around the country, making postseason all-star games less important. Even so, the Shrine Game's organizers had relaxed efforts towards attracting top players to the game, meaning that many of college football's best players went to the Hula Bowl instead.
The Shrine Game moved once again to Houston, Texas for its 2007 event. The game was moved to Reliant Stadium, which plays home to the Houston Texans (NFL), to be closer to one of the 22 Shriners Hospitals for Children. Texas is home to two Shriner's hospitals: one being in Houston, while the other hospital is 50 miles towards the Gulf of Mexico in Galveston. Due to the lack of available dates for Reliant Stadium (another event is being scheduled for the available date, January 19, 2008), the game is being played that day at Robertson Stadium on the campus of the University of Houston.
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