Why would you talk about the NFL during Grey Cup Week?
can't you leave that until the Season is finished??
what is wrong with everyone that you HAVE to discuss the Freakin NFL and the "problems in Ontario" When it's Suppose to be about the CFL!!!!!
Jees Cohon.. get a Brain!
At least you can get on to hear him! I can't even log in, it gives me an error message. Sometimes, the CFL is #$%^& irritating!
Don't take it so hard. Everyone's doing their job. Part of his is addressing the media and the public and the topic has been a hot button recently.
Exactly, Tecmo. The fact that Cohon is willing to take the issue on head on instead of painting everything as just fine is a positive. I'd prefer him do this than what a lot of poeple on here do - stick their heads in the sand and rely of the "CFL is the best and nothing will ever harm/kill it". Just because it is a Candian icon does not make it immune from the realities of today's cash driven markets.
Cohen sounds like a naive media chump and really makes me miss Tom Wright. Weakly suggesting that an NFL presence would hurt our southern Ontario market and hoping to work out some kind of parnership with them isn’t what I call tackling the issue head on. He should be controlling the headlines better. I thought he was supposed to be a marketing whiz. So far…very unimpressive as commissioner.
ruff - so you are saying the NFL in Toronto will have no effect on the southern Ontario market...
You'd prefer he come out and say everything is fine. The NFL will never come into Canada. If it does we have nothing to worry about. We will be at 10 tems by 2010.... blah blah blah.
His job is not controlling headlines. His job is to run the league and ensure it's survival and growth. He was simply stating a reality and that he has not ignored it. It keeps the owners and board members at ease and is not a sign of being weak.
Exactly Alpha. Cohon is anything but a media chump. He knows exactly what he is doing and saying and to what effect his words have. His experience and training has taught him that.
How about saying NO we do not want the NFL to come into Canada, save and except the odd game and we will do anything possible including Government intervention to fight it.
Wouldn’t that have been the right thing to say publically?
How would that look on the CFL, the board, owners and investors? Pretty bad I'd say. Bad that you didn't see this in advance, you didn't try to better your situation nor did you try to make in-roads with these people before it came to this. You just sat on your hands and said all was well with the league and how happy with our place it the market.
A major part of his job is to put out a positive image of the CFL, part of doing that IS controlling the kind of publicity (headlines) the league gets. You don’t have to pretend that everything is fine, but what you don’t do is accentuate the negative, especially during Grey Cup week.
NFL boosters, and I include most of the media in Toronto, must love Cohon, because he’s playing right into their hands.
Not sure what he said to ease the concerns that the owners and board members have. Until he has a solid plan to deal with the NFL, he shouldn’t say anything, because to me he does sound very weak and defensive right now.
re-pay the franchise fee and have the marketing power to sustain the franchise…
----------------- would 70,000 people regularly attend nfl games, for sub 500 team? at $25,000 seat licences and $500 a ticket? Be honest How many people really want to see Arizona or Cleveland??? isn’t the nfl just cleverly going about marketing in Ontario all ready, without having to put a franchise here???
ruff- yes part of his job is to put a positive image...
Let me ask you this. How would not saying anything have helped the situation? This issue has come up again for a reason... a move with the Bills may be coming a lot sooner than most of us may think. One way or the or other plans must be drawn up and a strategy put in place for all possibilites. This was all he really said.
Massdestruction -maybe.. I don't know. I think there are a lot of people who would. Judging by the number of people who drive to Buffalo. maybe...
If the team was to move here a lot of American would drive up here to see the games too - don't forget that.
Btw - The Browns are doing well this year... Arizona - well- that's another story
don't get me wrong here I love football the CFL and the NFL. I've played both sets of rules and think the American game is not all that bad. It has some major issues like the time between plays, smaller field etc... but it's not boring as most people here like to say.
Problem is you’ve got the commissioner allowing the NFL to grab the headlines again…during Grey Cup week. This Bills story is an old story now, it’s been circulating for weeks and he’s already made almost identical comments on this matter a couple of weeks ago. He couldn’t ignore the question but he could have easily spun it better.
So far, I’m not impressed with Cohon. I hope he changes my opinion down the road.
What I don't understand is how come the NFL can bring in American football players to play in a foreign country, but when the CFL went into the states, we couldn't enforce the Canadian quota rules down there because it went against their immigration law. I.e. Canadian football players would be stealing American jobs.
Why can't Canada do the same thing?
I hear ya ruff... this week should be about the Gray Cup. I think you onto something there - he has issued similar statements before. Maybe that was his intention? Hold the line and don't say anything too crazy. Let this week unfold. The media will write anoth NFL to T.O. story but will still cover the Grey Cup one way or the other.
Maybe more will be watching this game now? Just to see how pro-NFL Toronto turns out of the CFL's biggest game?
And the NFL coming to T.O. is even older... lol.
Yukoner - It has to do with what you bring to the table and how much leverage you have. Unfortunately Canada has a track record of bowing to American pressure on labour issues, especially when unions are involved.
the Toronto media elite is a want-a-be-usa type of media who thinks that Torono is superior ... long live the CFL...
If Toronto USA gets its NFL team... then football is finished for me as a sport of interest.. I will concentrate on rugby which is a great spectator sport..
Right now the Grey cup & Sask will win... !!
Somebody with the CFL should talk to Mark Cohon.
Because by answering the expected question about the NFL coming to Toronto, and saying how it could hurt the CFL, he has taken the media's attention away fromt he Grey Cup.
Because go to the Toronto Star and Globe website, and the big headline is Cohon Says NFL Will Kill CFL{
Cohon should have said we'll discuss that topic another day, and instead focus on the positives for the league.
But now its all about the NFL. And its Cohons fault for feeding the trolls. This guy to me comes across as a Stephan Dion clone. Not good when we need somebody strong to lead the CFL against any potential challenges.
Sorry. I didn't see this thread and made my own. But I'm glad someobdy agrees with me.
This guy to me acts like a scared rabbit.
Because the NFL doesn’t restrict by Nationality. They can hire Canadians if they want. The Canadian government can not claim that Canadian jobs are being lost.