Is it bad for the whole league that Toronto is a good team?

Noone in that city seems to care or will care about the Argos, they’ve won multiple grey cups, have a great team year in year out and it never seems to matter same crowd as if they were a trash team. All it seems they’re doing by winning is turning fans away for other teams.

Fully admit I’m a ticats fan whos not happy tonight (were bad) …but this is a legit question me and some buddies were talking about seeing a good crowd at this game realizing this kinda crowd will go down if we keep sucking but Toronto’s won’t go up even if they win out the season.

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It isn’t a huge boost in attendance or anything, but the numbers at the first couple of home games were up slightly over the last couple of years. Almost 16 k at the home opener is something for the Argos, but doesn’t sound impressive compared to others in the league.

Let’s see if the attendance climbs at all if Kelly keeps putting together a legendary season. He is likely a one-and-done QB, but we are witnessing something special in 2023 with him at the helm of the good ship Argonaut.

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The game today was a sellout. A successful Argos team is not going to turn fans away from other teams.

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Actually, some long overdue east-west parity is an absolute requirement to save the league.

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If Hamilton doesn’t win a cup soon, that’ll be bad for tbe leauge as I can see our fanbase having enough and stop showing up.

I’m definitely questioning if I want to keep buying season tickets.

It’s not right we haven’t won a championship (* won im 2014 but was taken away by a bad a call) in all these years.

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Winnipeg’s drought lasted how long? Keep the faith.

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Really , riders have only won 4 times in 100+ years and you’re complaining. Keep supporting, think positive. Everyone can’t win all the time. Or there would only be 1 team in the league.

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I don’t think it’s bad for the league that TOR is a good team. I think it’s bad for the league that such a good team can’t draw flies at home!

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Oh I fully agree there I don’t know why they’re not selling out BMO every game…

What I’m getting I guess is Toronto going undefeated, even say winning the grey cup does nothing to improve their attendance but has the potential to seriously hurt other team attendance making it a net negative overall that they keep winning.

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Or, looking at it from another perspective, fans of other teams can expect a barn-burner (or at least good quality football) when Toronto comes to town, so they come out and watch.

Plus, rivalries are built on close competition, not blowouts. Maybe if the Argos beat a few teams, they start fostering some rivalry and get opposing fans more engaged. Wouldn’t it be cool if Montreal fans packed their stadium to boo the Argos? Or Calgary fans? Really anyone besides just the Hammer?

Now the CFL needs to balance the schedule so as to build that rivalry and involvement beyond just the 3 other east teams.

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I was in attendance at that game.

Saw it happen in front of me.

Never gone, emotionally, from being so high to being so low in an instant.

But it wasn’t a bad call. It was the correct call; the rules are what they are.

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Back in the 1980s the Blue Jays put a promotion where they sold $2 tickets at grocery store chain, for every $50 in groceries bought, they were bleacher seating but the bleachers were full at games at old CNE stadium and that helped them build the fan base , Argos need to do similar and Have to erase the stigma of the NFL expansion fantasy, imho.

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Haven’t heard many people talking about NFL expansion in Toronto. The decline in interest in the Argos has nothing to do with the NFL.
The Argos have had all kinds of marketing promotions, you can buy $20 tickets which is probably equivalent to the old $2 tickets from years ago, and you don’t have to buy groceries to get them.
Cheap tickets, give aways, $4 beers, bobble head nights, grey cup ring nights, concerts are not working.

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If a winning Argos team generates threads and discussions like this, then it’s very good for the CFL

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If Toronto only as a small to medium increase in attendance, that’s fine. But if other teams have larger turnouts when Toronto visits them, it’s still a win for all. Makes it a little less painful when other teams have to pay them their social assistance

Winnipeg’s drought was 28 years… Riders was 55

In 2014 the right call was made

That’s all I got.

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What if Toronto has no increase and other places don’t turn out because they know Toronto will beat them, that’s my whole question.

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There has been an increase in attendance where good / better teams go to play in the past, for the most part…no reason for that to suddenly change now. Of course if a team is extremely bad, they may not attend when an extremely great team visits, but that would likely be one team only.

If Elks start winning, that will help fill attendance for other teams they visit, even if Elks fans themselves don’t attend home games.

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They usually have an increase in attendance every time the Ticats visit, but usually when the Ticats are winning.
The best scenario is the Argos battling with the Ticats for first.
The Argos have two home games during the CNE this year, an Argo ticket gets you into the CNE free. That should help with attendance.

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Most likely only bad in the eyes of Ticats and their fan base

So It’s not a bad thing that a team with no fans is the best in the league to anyone but Hamilton fans.