Commish Cohon goofed at his end-of-year speech this AM. Apparently, in response to a question he said he thought the NFL was coming to Toronto. While not going into a lot of detail, he opened the floodgates again and predictably, the FAN590 has spent much of the day 'debating' the issue (e.g. can the Arhos survive? can the CFL survive, when will the NFL come? will it be the Bills?....) when they should have been talking about the Grey Cup game. Cohon should have just said, that any talk of the NFL should wait for another day and kept the focus strictly on the CFL. The Fan590 could've really talked up the Grey Cup game but nooooo.....
My suspicious side says the question came from a Paul Godrey 'plant' in the crowd.
First off, doesn't the NFL have to approve any moves? As a tv revenue dominated league, there is no benefit in moving to Toronto especially when Los Angeles doesn't have a team.
Secondly, a NFL franchise costs something like a quarter billion dollars. Dig deep Ted.
Thirdly, where are they going to play? What would a eighty thousand seat covered-stadium cost to build and where? I can't imagine either federal nor provincial governments chipping in.
Fourth, how long will the near-zero attention span Toronto sports fan market sustain a NFL team? They barely pay attention to the Blue Jays.
Fifth, are Buffalo residents willing to cross the border every game day to support a team that left them?
Sixth, would the blue team fans drop their team for the Rogers Cable Bills?
Finally, the CFL is the oldest professional football league in the world. It has survived the Plague, the Inquisition, the War of 1812, Prohibition, the Depression, Fascism, the sexual revolution, disco, the energy crisis, eighties big hair, Trudeau, Communism, Mad Cow Disease, Global Warming, the AFL the USFL the XFL and any future threat the No Fun League has to offer.
I listen to the fan alot and there had been exensive CFL / Gey Cup coverage.
As for discussing the NFL in Toronto, I think it’s a good idea to bring it up right now amidst the hoopla of the Grey Cup. What better way to combat an American football invasion during the highlighting of the Canadian game with the Vanier and Grey Cups going on. It’s a reminder of what it is to be Canadian, and to celebrate Canadiana with people form all over the country. It’s probably the best time to discuss it.
Mark Cohon is right in that you cannot bury your head in the sand.
LA is dead, they don’t want a team anymore. I think Mexico would be better than Canada. Toronto would bring more TV revenue than Buffalo though wouldn’t it? Who watches Bills games? Mostly all Ontario.
Try more, and if the Bills are for sale, its going through the roof. Sadly, money is still there in T.O. And no matter what the price, they will make it back, thats a no brainer.
Dome seats 55, I can squeeze 10k more people in there easy with minor renovations, never mind any major. And if your a little short, you charge more in tickets! And you know what, the crazy people in T.O. will pay it!
Jays, Raptors now have minimal fan bases. However, they don’t play in the NFL.
Nope, the Bills franchise would lose all its American fans while moving to an area with 5-6 million potential new ones.
No again because I currently pay $600 for season tickets and don’t have $40 000 for a pair of NFL’s. But many others do, including all those who waste there money on the Leafs. If the Argos die, I will never go to the NFL franchise, but I don’t have a choice anyway, so that’s easy.
1812 is pushing it, LOL. What else is new, more NFL talk, bla bla bla. Call me when they get here. While you make many points, there are answers. Logistics are just reasons to say no.
The truth lies with the Bills. As long as they are in Buffalo, there will be no team. They already claimed this market as their own. The CFL has been through much, but so has the Bills. They are an original AFL team. Why would they leave so easy? And if they do leave for somewhere else, then Toronto has to go the expansion route. So the best way to keep the NFL out of Toronto is save the Bills, buy season tickets.