There's a simple comparison that illustrates the health of football in London these days. Four to twenty-four.

The "four" represents the number of teams in the London Minor Football Association just over a decade ago. "Twenty-four" is now.

Football's popular appeal is growing in Canada, and as always it's tempting to look for reasons at the upper levels: the Canadian Football League, the universities, the junior circuits and the expanding number of high school summer leagues.

But for the answer locally, you have to look even lower, to the increasing number of tykes, atoms and peewees quietly learning the game at community high school fields for the past 10 years.

"There has always been football interest in London -- but absolutely, the growth of London minor football has had an effect," says Mike Circelli, coach of the Ontario Football Conference's London Beefeaters, Catholic Central Crusaders high school team and an executive with LMFA. "If you're going to look at London as a football hotbed, then you have to look at London minor football."

This city has a rich, storied gridiron tradition that stretches from John Metras at Western to the London Lords, from countless high school heroes to endless CFL expansion chatter. The proximity to four pro teams doesn't hurt either.

But when an influx of local youths start donning helmets and shoulder pads, you know football fever has reached the infectious stage. Everything starts with the kids.

It's no mistake that this recent groundswell at the grassroots level is a key reason the city stands among Canada's great gridiron cities. So how did this minor football explosion happen? Did kids suddenly want to become the next Danny McManus or Damon Allen?

Did Vince McMahon's short run with the XFL cause pre-teens to leave their video-game screens and start running for first downs?

Chalk it up to some nifty tinkering by a knowledgeable executive, who revamped a system that was blocking out more players than a 300-pound, all-star offensive lineman.

"Ten years ago, we wondered why more kids weren't playing minor football," longtime LMFA president Dan Van Houtte said. "So we made some changes. As an organization, the plan was to pull away from the Canada Cup (all-star search system) and go with a house league format to encourage more participation.

"We aimed to make it more affordable to play and to provide all the necessary equipment for the players."

LMFA also reduced the age limit to steer clear of high school players (and keep grade 7 and 8 pupils on the same team) and stopped emphasizing weight restrictions. Besides, Van Houtte claims the big, burly kids don't always dominate -- his Lucas peewees won the championship this year with an average weight of 120 pounds.

Today, LMFA boasts eight-team leagues at three levels: tyke, atom and peewee. LMFA can accommodate 688 players; as of last week, there are 601 already registered for this season. Clarke Road, for example, is already full at all three levels.

LMFA still isn't the country's biggest tackle football association -- Ottawa's club-based National Capital association owns that distinction -- but it is among the best.

The non-profit organization operates on a $150,000 annual budget. The fees are among the cheapest in Ontario and certainly the lowest for one of the country's bigger cities: $120 for the season, $140 for late registration.

The fees represent a big reason why some pro-run summer football camps haven't worked here. Parents could not justify paying $200 for a week when their kids could play a full season for almost half that amount.

Van Houtte said the league plans to expand as necessary -- adding two teams per league to ensure balance.

"LMFA has even extended outside of the city," Circelli said. "There are three regional teams in St. Thomas and you have the odd kid who will drive from Stratford or Strathroy to play in the league.

"It requires dedication and discipline. Football is a complicated game, you have to know the positions and the plays -- even for the young kids, there are two practices for every game. But when they get to high school now, a lot of them have more experience playing the game."

Circelli is not the only gridiron guru to notice a shift in attitude toward football.

Western Mustangs head coach Larry Haylor feels London's growth is part of a nationwide resurgence that will ultimately lead to more formidable Canadian players.

"Football was one of the last sports to come to the realization that, even in a climate like ours, we could close the gap (on the Americans)," he said. "Before, you had to teach players the basics. Now, the players come into university and they already know offensive and defensive systems. They have learned the skills from a very young age.

"They're already higher up on the learning curve."

LMFA is where that learning curve begins -- the first stop in the pigskin pipeline.

The kids in minor football now will fill the high school ranks tomorrow.

At the Ontario high school level, football had the fourth-largest number of participants with 13,19 * -- behind boys' basketball (15,695), girls' volleyball (14,758) and boys' soccer (13,505), according to last year's OFSAA statistics.

About 900 of those 13,000 play in London.

All of them have more reasons to keep playing. During summers, players can shoot for the Ontario Varsity league's London Falcons and junior Falcons. Or they can try out for the Forest City Thunderbirds, formerly of the Great Lakes league and now playing in the Central Ontario circuit. Both the Varsity Falcons and T-birds have won league titles and have sent about 30 players on to the next level.

That next step, of course, is Circelli's Beefeaters, Haylor's Mustangs, U.S. scholarships or pro camps.

Few reach those heights. But that never enters the mind of the nervous seven-year-old rookie playing four-down football on the width of the field, wearing LMFA-issued gear for the first time.

In tyke (ages 6-9), there is full contact at the line but no tackling the ball carrier -- you have to pull the flag to stop the play.

Owen McCarthy, who coached the Clarke Road tykes for the past five years, said it's here where the love of the game blossoms.

"These are young kids who are used to crying to their mothers when they fall down or get hit," McCarthy said. "But when it happens, you just treat it like it's no big deal. They learn fast. You just pick them up and they don't cry the next time they get hit or fall down."

If the smiles outweighs the tears at the end of the season, then London minor football has added a few more followers and the game has grabbed a few more fans.

BY THE NUMBERS

London

Minor system: 24 teams (tyke, atom, peewee). Fees: $120 before June 14, $140 late registration

Varsity: London Falcons COMFL: Forest City Thunderbirds

Junior: London Beefeaters

University: Western Mustangs

Hamilton/Burlington

Minor system: 20 teams (tyke, atom, peewee). Fees: $175 per player

Varsity: Steel City Ironmen COMFL: Burlington Stampeders

Junior: Burlington Braves

University: McMaster Marauders

CFL: Hamilton Tiger-Cats

Windsor

Minor system: 16 teams (tyke, atom, peewee). Fees: $180 per player

Varsity: Essex County Ravens

Junior: Windsor AKO Fratmen

University: Windsor Lancers

Ottawa

Minor system: National Capital Amateur Football Association (13 clubs, average of four teams per club). Fees: $150 (tyke, atom) to $230 (midget)

Varsity: Cumberland Panthers, Ottawa Myers Riders

Junior: Ottawa Junior Riders, Ottawa Sooners (Quebec major junior)

University: Ottawa Gee-Gees

CFL: Ottawa Renegades