Over the weekend, one of the most dramatic moments in recent Toronto pro sports took place Friday night.
The Toronto Argonauts trailed the Hamilton Tiger Cats by 13 points with less than three minutes to play, before rallying for a dramatic come-from-behind win capped by Ricky Ray throwing a 69- yard touchdown pass to win it.
You may have heard about it, but chances are you didn't see it if you live in Toronto. Even less a chance that you were there to see it live. And when you go back to work tomorrow, it won't be what everyone is talking about.
In a football city, with a real football beating heart, it would be all the buzz.
If this were Regina, Winnipeg, Calgary … even Vancouver, such an ending to a rivalry game would create ripples that would last for days if not all week.
But not here in Toronto the worst football city in North America.
Don't believe me?
Where else is there a city where the matter of a football team winning or losing isn't a matter of concern for most of the city's sports fans.
Nowhere, that's where. Except here.
Because everywhere else in the US or Canada there's a pro or college football teams that captures the souls of the local populace.
And think about it, every type of football entertainment there is has failed in Toronto.
The Argos haven't penetrated the city's mainstream sporting consciousness since the early 1980s. The university game at York University or the University of Toronto draws flies to watch teams that are usually not competitive.
They used to play the Vanier Cup in Toronto but unless a local team was involved, the crowds were embarrassingly small.
The NCAA held a college game here called the International Bowl but it turned into a money-loser.
And even the mighty NFL, the mighty NFL, flopped here when the Bills in Toronto series turned out to be a fiasco.
The most popular sport in North America, a money sport across the continent, is a consistent money loser in Toronto where there is simply no football rallying point.
Would it be different if the city ever got an NFL team? Absolutely it would.
But those prepared to count on that happening someday have to be considered dreamers.
And don't tell me that this is a great football town because everyone supports their own NFL team which adds up to a massive collective fandom. That's true, but it's also completely soulless and adds absolutely nothing to the fabric of this city because there is no rallying point, no common thread.
That's what every other city has, except ours.
Toronto is a wonderful place to live. A place with great music and theater, restaurants and nightlife and sports.
Yes our home city has an awful lot going for it.
But gawd, it sure ain't a football town.
Having lived there for 25 years - I largely agree with what he says - including this…
Would it be different if the city ever got an NFL team? Absolutely it would.Unfortunately for the sport of football in Toronto - that doesn't seem to be happening anytime soon.
You forgot the next line :roll:
"But those prepared to count on that happening someday have to be considered dreamers."
This line kills me ........
"But not here in Toronto the worst football city in North America."
I didn’t forget the next line at all. I even said ‘it isn’t happening anytime soon’ - or did you miss that somehow? :roll:
He nails what the reality is in the lines after that too -
And don't tell me that this is a great football town because everyone supports their own NFL team which adds up to a massive collective fandom. That's true, but it's also completely soulless and adds absolutely nothing to the fabric of this city because there is no rallying point, no common thread.All of that is correct but some CFL fans never seem to want to acknowledge the first part of that. Football fans in that city that follow the NFL 'adds up to a massive collective fandom'. And THAT is a problem for the CFL and the Argos.
Huge Warning Signs are flashing here Folks !! Something needs to be Addressed ! ASAP ! Or it might be too late to repair the Damage !! Actually I think the Damage has been done 
I don't think Toronto is a great sports town in general, it's a Leafs town. Other sports will be supported when they're doing well or when it's convenient, but only the Leafs have that constant support.
Oh God, here we go again!!!! Let's all bow down and believe this tripe by Dave Naylor!! "Toronto is not a Football Town..., but if the almighty (everyone bow now) NFL came to Toronto, things would be different. WHAT A LOAD OF HORSECRAP!!! Get over it people, as much as the media and some people in this forum hope, the NFL is never ever coming to Toronto!!!! Stop tramping and wishing for the Argos to disappear. People who wish this, especially in this forum, are not true CFL fans. I am an Ottawa REDBLACKS fan and don't like the Argos when we play against them, but would never hope for them to disappear.
Naylor is the worst of them all.. He pretends to be a CFL fan, but is just as bad as Brunt, Simmons , Perkins.. Etc etc....Well whatever goes on with TFC ... Nobody seems to know.. People buy tickets and then dont go to the game... This is waaaay higher then the normal no show rate because over half of the fans did not show up to the most important home game in history this year.. The rain may have affected it, but that stadium was empty. The Raptors seem to have similar issues.. ACC is half empty for most games.. If the Raptors swoon this year, it will be interesting if fans show up.. Blue Jays seem to have a core audience of about 15k.. If New York or Boston is in town or if it is a weekend then that core doubles in size..
I think you should read the article again, this time pay attention :x
Naylor is Bang on, and your rambling :roll: blah, blah, blah !
Toronto had its shot and it blew it. Its not a football market, It owns the record for the smallest NFL attendance crowd in decades, so much so that the NFL, omits it from its statistics !
Total does not include the one regular season home game the Buffalo Bills play each year from 2008–2012 at the Rogers Centre in Toronto, Ontario as part of the Bills Toronto Series.Naylor and you are both wrong. Even Sportsnet left him "The Insider" behind at TSN :lol: And you spent over a year posting daily on here how Toronto was going to get an NFL franchise, because it was the whatever ranked TV market and blah blah right until it became obvious it was not going to happen :P
I’ve only come on here over the last couple of weeks, but doesn’t he ramble on pretty well every post he makes?
LMAO :lol: Too Funny ! YUP !
TSN for some reason won't post my comment. All I said was...."Let's write some negative stuff on TFC, where they supposed to have "sell-out" crowds of 22,000 for each game, yet less than half the people bother to show up!!! No instead, we'll continually trash the Argos and the CFL instead."
As I mentioned in another thread, I’m sure the Argos would have no problem playing in front of 10,000 fans if 25,000 tickets were bought and paid for.
They announced 16+ for the Edmonton game, but there were less than 12k in the seats.
True Blue, what do u think of this Article !?!?
Mr. tc23, after snipping at each other the past couple of days on this forum, I am happy to say that I (almost) completely agree with Naylor’s article, and your support of it as being accurate!
I have come to realize that Toronto really is NOT a football town.
Like you, and several others here, I do not understand how this happened.
Back in the 1980s, NFL football pools - picking the game winners, not the current fantasy football - were common. The games were constant Monday morning conversation at work.
No more.
I mention that I’m going to the football game on the weekend and I get a surprised look and the query “oh, are they playing?”
Sigh.
The only thing in the article with which I disagree is the statement that the NFL in Toronto would make a difference.
I don’t think so.
It’s Maple Leafs in this town. Everything else is filler.
Sad.
A similar thing has happened in Montreal…
the fault is the assinine Toronto media led by rogers.