The Toronto Bills

Gotta say, I'm torn on this NFL thing in the GTA.

On one hand, it sure seems there's so much dough in Toronto that the tickets for eight games over five years will be snapped up in a heartbeat. But then I start to think it could be a little more complicated than that.

For starters, the mighty Rogers empire, featuring Paul Godfrey, is pulling this wagon, and given the way in which they haven't made the Blue Jays popular again, what's making everybody so certain they're locks to make this NFL thing work?

Larry Tanenbaum's in it too, but he doesn't exactly have the rep as the Bill Veeck of Toronto pro sports either. And I don't think Ted Rogers, Godfrey or Tanenbaum are exactly beloved sports figures in this town.

Second, this is basically the same riff that the Green Bay Packers played in Milwaukee for years. Why would Torontonians want to be used as a satellite for the big show in Buffalo? Suddenly we're playing second fiddle to them?

Third, pro sports works best with a wallop of passionate fan interest, and the NFL is the best example of that.

So for five years people from Toronto are going to get all worked up once a year for the Buffalo Bills to play somebody? And isn't it likely that somebody won't be a prime opponent, given that those teams are likely to be reserved for Buffalo itself?

Maybe this is all nitpicking. Maybe people will open their wallets and their hearts and this will be a roaring success.

But if the Bills don't ultimately come to Toronto, it makes no sense this would be a hit year after year indefinitely.

Comments

[Wayne Moss]

Oh please, Lord, if they do move to Toronto permanently, don't let them keep the name! The Toronto Bills fits about as well as the Memphis Grizzlies!

Also, who are you kidding? If Torontonians don't sell those games out, the rest of the country will, even if it's just to watch them play the Cardinals or Lions.

Speaking of which, wouldn't you rather see the Lions come north? No one cares about those guys at all! They seem ripe for the stealing.

[Vince Ferragamo]

If you're worried about big-draw opponents, why don't the Bills just play the Argos? Guaranteed a good crowd.

[Carl Gambacort]

Good points Damian. I do believe however, that this is Milwaukee all over again. There's talk of a new downtown stadium for the Bills in Buffalo and I would think the local politicians will at least partially finance it to keep the team there. Ralph Wilson is merely marking his territory. There is one caveat: I read somewhere that when he passes, his estate is to sell the team. Perhaps Rogers, Godfrey, Tannenbaum et al, are angling to be first in line.

[Mark]

Being too poor to buy tickets to the high profile sports (or perhaps being too smart not to pay inflated prices to watch losers), perhaps I have the objective detachment of an observer, rather than a rabid, sports fan who is too closely connected to the scene.

I think there's a lot of canny machinations and strategy going on behind the scenes here. After all, these guys didn't become rich by being stupid.

Playing a game or two in Toronto, without the commitment of actually having to move here, gives the Bills, and the NFL, the opportunity to test the market at little or no risk. Given the size of the Toronto sports market, it's too tempting for the NFL not to explore it. Besides, given the stupid amounts of money that people in Toronto will even pay for losers (read "Leafs"), they don't even have to be successfull on the field to make money here. So why not test the waters a bit? A gradual entry into Toronto also gives time to dilute and weaken resistance from politicians and others who are concerned about the Canadian CFL, and who might otherwise cause problems, even if it's only media grabbing grandstanding while waving the Canadian flag. Coming in gradually also allows the Argonauts and the CFL to adapt to, survive and coexist with the NFL if it does come in without the nuclear blast of having a team come in all at once with a full schedule. Toronto is also so close to Buffalo that they can keep the hard core Bills fan from the Buffalo area who would probably make the trip to Toronto if the team did move. Also, Ralph Wilson, who looks pretty good for age, isn't going to be around forever, and he is on record as saying the team will be sold when he passes away. A successful presence in Toronto gives Toronto a leg up on getting the Bills, or another expansion team. It also creates competition, i.e. more money, for the team when it is sold should some other group, in L.A. for instance, want to buy the team if it becomes available.

I think your questions are reasonable, Damien, but I think there's too much on the other side of the scale for this not to occur. It's certainly what I would do if I were them.

[johnny thunder]

Damien Cox, NFL expert: I beg to differ. The NFL is far to intelligent to put a bad game in toronto. I would be suprised if over the 5 year deal toronto doesn't get a thursday/sunday/monday night national broadcast game. The bills will be a playoff team in a year or two, and their schedule will command the sort of clout that brings about national broadcasts. Team that with the excitement that comes with the irregularity of a game in the smoke will only serve to build the passion within the skydome, and get the fans jacked up. Now, if only we could get those tax lovers in public office to let boys be boys, and the country finally cracks the nut of tailgating, the whole game will proceed without a hitch.

The only thing that could bring this down would be to allow canadian broadcasters within 1000km of the skydome.

I love your NFL blogs.

[chris]

Your last sentence is the key, Damien. It would seem the unholy trinity of Tanenbaum, Rogers, and Godfrey are trying to position themselves to acquire the Bills once Ralph Wilson finds himself in that big luxury suite in the sky, seeing as his family has no interest in owning the Bills.

Folks in Buffalo should be very worried about their football team's future. Because of the city's downtrodden economics coupled with the growing disparity between the richer NFL markets (Dallas, Washington) and poorer ones(Jacksonville and New Orleans), Buffalo's continuing future in the league is, at best, dicey.

And the folks in the Greater GTA, especially those who swear alligance to the CFL, should be extremely nervous themselves. A permanent NFL team in Toronto will cipher media attention, as well as many sponsorship opprotunities, away from both the Argos and the Ticats. That will end up causing a slow downward spiral for both teams as well as for the CFL. Throw in the very real possibility of having the owners of a Toronto NFL team in the taxpayers pockets, for things like a new stadium, and it doesn't look very good for everyone.

And if you think that a good ol' dose of Canadian righteouness and shame will stop the NFL and its supporters dead in its tracks, think again. In this day and age of free trade, globalization and business friendly governments, Canadian nationalists will not be able to stop the league from setting up shop north of the border the way Marc Lalonde and the Trudeau government did with the WFL in the 70's, especially with a political savy weasel in Paul Godfrey spearheading his wet dream. Why do you think CFL commissioner Marc Cohan didn't go all Winston Churchill once this story became common knowledge? It's because he knew they'd get splattered if they tried to stand in their way.

Of course, the best hope for everyone would be if someone managed to buy the Bills and keep them in Buffalo while still maintaining Toronto as Bills territory, thus keeping out any other potential NFL team from moving into Toronto. But that's wishful thinking at best.

The unholy trinity smell an NFL team all to themselves. The rest of us smell something far more unpleasant.

[Rick]

Oh yeah.
Toronto is a huge football town.
I wonder if any of these "big" NFL fans have ever even touched a football?
These are the same people who used to pack the Skydome for baseball, but wouldn't cross the street to watch the Jays now.
The same will happen with the NFL.
Becuase Toronto is not a football town.
Its a hockey first, second and last town.
And about the rest of Canada all abandoning their CFL and NHL teams to watch Toronto's NFL team?
Yeah. Just like you Hogtowners will quit supporting your teams and cheer on the Eskimos and Flames?
Like, give me a break.

[Ron]

I think Damian Cox is WAY off base.

Preseason games are charged the same as a regular season game. As an NFL fan, I don't watch preseason games unless it's the third one (where starters play at least the first half).

Second, it is just ONE, read ONE game. Some of you are making it out to be like Jesus is coming to Rogers. It is not a big deal. If you are nervous about ONE regular season game (depending on the opponent-I guarantee you it won't be the Patriots, Jets, Chargers, Dolphins or any other good NFL team), then I question the marketing of the Argos.

Third, I think an NFL presense would help the CIS-more specifically the OUA. I know Toronto and York are struggling, but having an NFL presense would help coaches and players realize how good you have to be to be in the NFL.

From a consumer point of view, if the FAN 590 reports are accurate, there is no way I would drop 250 bucks for a ticket in Toronto. For the same price, I can enjoy a game, night at a hotel and casino Niagara. Assume that the NFL does come permanently, are you the taxpayer are going to pony up for a new stadium. Rogers Centre, by NFL standards in inadequate for an NFL team.

[RJD]

Everyone says that this 5 year deal is the thin edge of the wedge, and is a harbinger for the eventual move of the Bills to T.O.

Isn't it possible that quite the opposite is true.. i.e. the Bills are laying claim (with the NFL's consent) to Toronto as part of its market so as to prevent any future expansion/relocation of another NFL franchise to T.O.?

[mark]

Damien, how can someone who claims to know so much about sports and the business of sports be so out to lunch on this one. Every game played in Toronto will be a sellout. No question. But, of course, being someone from the GTA all you can think about is how the GTA might react. Guess what? The entire GTA could give a collective shrug and the game would still be sold out. The rest of southern Ontario is interested and you can bet you're Canuck buck that a whole bunch of western New Yorkers will make the trip. Have you ever been to a Yankees / Jays game at Rogers Centre? Give your head a shake.