The CFL Matters

CFL Talk
21

He just likes to leave a few droppings here from time to time, so you’re probably right debralynn.

I also like both, as most football fans probably do. I doubt it’s really about football for the likes of him though.

22

The article in itself is interesting. Having done public opinion polls it is easy to see how this survey could easily have been used to prove the other point. However, in the end it does provide for a balance.

The one thing I find interesting in this whole discussion about the NFL and CFL is there is no rational looking at things.

Yes, the Buffalo franchise is looking at having some games in Toronto....why shouldn't they come to TO and see tickets at or near Superbowl prices. They will make a fortune. But it is nothing more then that at this time. It appears as if allot of people are thinking that in 5 years or 10 years or however long it is before the current owner passes away and sells the team, that the potential owners in Toronto will buy the team. The are a number of hurdles to overcome:

  1. Buying the team, it will be sold to the highest bidder. There are places like LA that may be wanting to bid on the team. Having TO owners not a done deal.

  2. Stadium, there isn't a stadium in the TO to support the team. Even if they could find land and build it is still another $200 to the purchase price tag. I don't think the feds will add to much money to an NFL franchise....not after the NHL funding problem they had.

  3. In 5 years where will the Raptors or Blue Jays be. If TO can't support either they won't be able to support a NFL team. The NFL owners watch what is happening in other sports.

  4. When everything is all said and done, the CFL has been its own worst enemy. By going through expansion or creating cheap marketing themes. The CFL if it continues to grow support at the grassroots level and manages to maintain some level consistancy, it will be hard for any NFL team to survive.

  5. The modern sport fan, currently sport fans are created from television. That is the reason, the Bulls were popular in Canada before the arrival of the Grizz and Raptors. The same applies to the NFL, most NFL fans in the prairies relate to the Bears, Packers or Vikings, in Vancouver it is likely the Seahawks. It would take a long time before these fans would switch to a TO team. On any given Sunday, I can watch NFL on three different stations, I don't need to be spoon fed something from TO, to build my interest in the sport.

23

The more articles on football on we like this better than that or that better than this etc. - the better! It means less and less that baseball matters and that is the key, not whether the NFL is more popular or the CFL or what have you. Canada is going to become more and more football in the future.

Blue Jays, you guys have to get a new stadium as Rogers is going to make the RC more football friendly for the Bills and the Argos will be playing out of an expanded BMO. This is great. Nothing agains't baseball but I don't like it and the best thing here is that the RC is not what the baseball folks want and I don't see a new baseball stadium in Toronto going up as it's hard to make money.

This is why I have no problems with the NFL coming to Toronto, it puts the Blue Jays more on the back burner and football more on the front, but I realize few people will see this. The Argos are fine with their fan base which is around the 30,000-40,000 mark in Toronto and this will work fine for a CFL team.

I wish people would look on the upside of the NFL in Toronto. Sure, some advertising dollars away from the CFL but this is not a huge issue IMHO, especially if things can be worked out, which I'm sure they can.

24
I wish people would look on the upside of the NFL in Toronto. Sure, some advertising dollars away from the CFL but this is not a huge issue IMHO, especially if things can be worked out, which I'm sure they can.
Upside???? We are talking about serviving here... There is no «upside».