Yeah, that was one of the more unusual things I heard while I was travelling in Europe. It is a kiwi thing, apparently.

"I remember the look of shock when a woman asked for a rubber to do a pony, since apparently adding the words "band" and "tail" takes too long in some parts of the world."

Thanks for that. Glad I wasn't drinking anything when I read this. Coulda been messy >_<

I know it wasn't meant to offend, more explain it to people who had no idea what it was. Minor league gives an impression that just isn't accurate, though. That's all I was pointing out.

You're correct. The CFL isn't the NFL minor leagues. A lot of people consider it that, however, because the NFL does pick up a lot of players from there (and you're also right that many of them go back for the reasons you've stated.) It wasn't meant to offend, just that's what I was told & learned from research back when I was looking into options after HS.

Watch it calling the CFL "minor league." It is a different league with different rules and no affiliation with the NFL. The only difference is the pay scale, though there have been a bunch of CFLers who have gone to the NFL for the money and come back since they would rather play than sit on the practice roster.