Stealth NFL in Canada promotion

Agreed.

That’s why I welcomed WinstonC. ( Never said he was disrespectful)

Nothing wrong with voicing displeasure.

I look forward to reading more of his posts.

lets just do away with the border while we’re at it and become a new state.
bow to our masters in the US.
that is where all this is going after all. lose our culture/sports and heritage and blur the lines so one can’t tell the difference between Canada and the US until we are absorbed completely. the NFL in Canada at the expense of our own sporting history is just another step.

This is a very complicated issue and not easy I will admit. Books have been written on Canadian economics and protectionism. It's a tough one. As to what extent we should protect our Canadian businesses and our culture/heritage, I don't have an answer to be honest.

No borders in Europe, you can travel between France, Germany, Italy, Belgium etc no customs. They seem to have hung on to their heritage, language etc, they can live and work where they want. Germany is the power house in Europe and they haven’t swallowed up the small economies like Belguim, Holland, Dembark.
No one is forcing them to except another countries culture. Same with the US no one is forcing us to accept the NFL or the NBA or their TV shows etc it’s a choice. You just have to look at the BBM TV ratings every week and see how many Canadian TV shows are in the top 30 - outside of the news it’s all US programming, Canadians make a choice.

If the NFL comes to Toronto it will survive only if Canadians buy tickets, if Canadians reject it, it dies. The CFL will survive if fans continue to go to the games, it’s all about choices.

I see your point mike but there is a price to be paid for 100 percent pure choice. Why do cable companies not allow currently subscribers to pick and choose on an individual channel basis for example? There are trade agreements between companies and sometimes you just won't be able to get a certain product for example in a country because of such agreements.

Mean't trade agreements between countries, not companies.

I agree, no one is forcing us to become more American. It is a reflection of Canadians who are so fixated on American culture and identify with things in a foreign nation over their own.

We don't have any patriotism or a real identity because we've allowed ourselves to be so influenced by American media, culture, sport and business.

Hasn’t worked all that well for them. Ask the Germans how they feel that their surplus have been emptied to bail out Greece and soon Italy and Spain. Not to mention that the US has turned into a police state. I’m really not interested in sharing this lifestyle with them. Something they would demand. Borders are there for good reason and nothing good comes from globalization.

We also shouldn't allow every person who wants to come into this country from wherever without a proper and well thought out immigration policy that protects and enhances what we have in Canada. Again, a good idea to maintain a border

agree 100%. Only MLSE arrogance would conclude that because they WANT a franchise and could AFFORD a franchise that they will automatically get one…there are many reasons including those listed above by Grover that will tell you why this is not likely to ever happen let alone for a long time down the road.

People point to Europe but they would never allow that. Try to immigrate to Switzerland. Even Bob Young would be a “guest”.

or

Sweden. Imported hundreds of thousands of African for cheap labour now that their economy has cooled to say the least they are deporting them all back.

Europe is no paradise and they have no lessons to give us. Does not keep them from trying to rule the world but…

Who runs this country monopolistic Corporate officers or the people?

Well we think its the people but it really is the elite of the corporate world and the bankers. :lol:

Massdestruction - you probably don't want to know what the answer to that question is. Americans asking the same question of their country would get the same answer we would get - which I'm guessing is not the one you - nor I like to hear - but it''s true.

I don't think one NFL team in Toronto would kill the CFL unless the CFL makes huge mistakes in the way it reacts to that. If it makes mistakes - sure it puts itself in peril - but if it makes smart business decisions - it should still be able to thrive. Not a perfect comparison but look at retail when some American retail giants moved in. Some like Eaton's died. Others who made progressive smart decisions - like Canadian Tire thrived and grew. Is it risk free to the CFL - no - but I firmly believe it would not kill the CFL unless the CFL made wrong choices in reaction to the arrival of an NFL team - if one were to ever arrive.

Even if the NFL came to Toronto, which is more than highly unlikely IMHO,
It would not be the death knell of the CFL.
In Canada the NHL is way bigger than the NFL, yet it has not killed the CFL
even though there is a NHL franchise in every CFL City
except Hamilton and Regina, yet these were the 2 teams that went to the Championship last season.
New Stadiums, new CBA, new Television contract, a new expansion franchise and talks of also expanding to Halifax.
The CFL is very strong right now and the future looks super strong also.

Your example proves the opposite. Pep Boys and others like TireRack didn’t come into the Canadian Market. That’s why CTC is one of the few Canadian chains left. Staples has pushed all of the stationary retailers to commercial only. Home Depot has savaged the small hardware stores. Best Buy has eliminated all but cheap chinese no name electronic stores, Wallmart killed Zellers. I can go on and on.

TravelPatB wrote: CFL unless the CFL made wrong choices in reaction to the arrival of an NFL team
My take on the wrong choice given what MLSE is about is to get in bed with them like David Braley seems to be doing and work as partners with them and Roger Goodell. That's how Winnipeg got an NHL team and Balsillie just pissed everybody off except some certain Hamilton local politicians who were as desperate as desperate can be to see Copps get an NHL team. Sorry, I digress. As Hf says, Walmart pushed Zellers out and really, does anyone give a damn? Few, very few. The "right" choice is for the CFL to be bed partners with the NFL, especially with Roger Goodell who seems like a very classy commish I would say recognizing the CFL as he has. I hope Bob Young understands this, he should, he made his money in the US and still lives there so my guess is at heart, he is American idealism all the way but keeping his Canadian roots to keep his heart happy. Which I get. We all want our cake and eat it too, of course. :wink: And in the long run us Canadians who live here are happy with the Bob Young's out there because we don't have that many willing to invest in their own country for fear of the Walmart vs Zellers phenom. And again, I get that.

And one thing Europe has hung onto is separate sports leagues. La Liga, the Premiership, Bundesliga…all separate. Every country in Europe has their own professional soccer league, and, to date they have avoided the temptation of a “Super League”. The Champions League is different, as it is really just a big tournament, and one with all countries being represented.

What would happen to the Scottish league if Celtic joined the English Premier league? What if Real Madrid or Barca left La Liga as well? What would happen?

The leagues in Europe all survive, even with differing levels of skill, due to the fact that there are no other choices. Nobody disputes the fact that the English league is superior to the Scottish league, but Glasgow isn’t lobbying for an English league franchise, that I know of.

I think Europeans know the answer.

No - my example shows it is possible to survive and thrive if you do it right. Canadian Tire is a huge general merchandiser - with tire sales being a tiny percentage of what they sell now so Pep Boys is not their competition. Considering Canadian Tire owns Sport Chek and Marks Work Wearhouse places like Walmart are their competition.

Canadian owned Transat, WestJet Vacations and Sunwing in my business thriving - UK giant Thomas Cook crawling back to the UK with their tail between their legs selling off their Canadian vacation companies Sunquest, Fun Sun Vacations and others to Canadian company red Tag for next to nothing. Sobey’s and Loblaws still seem to be doing quite well in spite of Walmart SuperCentres. Hudson Bay still showing sales growth. Smart Canadian companies are doing quite well. A smart CFL could still do quite well.