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Ford Wants NFL Team For Toronto

Wow, that's the dumbest thing I've ever read. I wonder if the Fords have been to world-class cities in Europe. Those cities have museums, strong art scenes, smart street-scaping/planning, transit....

World-class cities in North America:

New York: 2 NFL teams
San Fran: 0 NFL teams
Chicago: 1 NFL team

I believe you're thinking of Los Angeles rather than San Francisco. The Bay Area has two teams, the 49ers and the Raiders. Los Angeles does not have an NFL team.
 
I think if Toronto got an NFL franchise, it'd be well-attended and successful. Whether the NFL is up for it, who knows. I don't think it's likely, but I certainly think it's possible.

I have no problem with the NFL coming here. Rob Ford doesn't think it'll kill off the CFL/Argos, do we have any reason to doubt such a football fan?

Yes. Because people hate ford.

I am against this until a stadium plan of substance comes forward.
 
Not in the GTA they are not! Not even close. Mississauga and Brampton are annually 1 an 2 in the "worst OHL attendance" every year....this year Mississauga is doing slightly better because they tied a bunch of tickets to the Memorial Cup.....but, without that, crowds of over 2k per game are extremely rare (2 for Brampton this year...a home opener and a New Years Eve matinee).

That's true. But there are numerous junior teams across Canada that get 2 or 3 times the attendance of Mississauga and Brampton. Sadly Mississauga and Brampton just happen to be the biggest cities in the OHL but also have the worst attendance.
 
^ not without a stadium. (yes I'm aware stadium plans are constantly in the works in LA... I'll believe it when a shovel is in the ground). And yes, Toronto doesn't have a suitable stadium either, but there's more of an appetite for one here than in LA.
 
That's true. But there are numerous junior teams across Canada that get 2 or 3 times the attendance of Mississauga and Brampton. Sadly Mississauga and Brampton just happen to be the biggest cities in the OHL but also have the worst attendance.

Actually Ottawa is the biggest city in the OHL. Doesn't change how bad the attendance is in the GTA.......come to think of it.....if you add the populations of Missauga and Brampton together ...Peel is the biggest municipality in th OHL ......if you add the two teams' average attendances from last season it is probably about half of London's ;)
 
^ not without a stadium. (yes I'm aware stadium plans are constantly in the works in LA... I'll believe it when a shovel is in the ground). And yes, Toronto doesn't have a suitable stadium either, but there's more of an appetite for one here than in LA.

I here it is a matter of time before one of San Diego or Oakland announce a sale/move involving LA
 
Actually Ottawa is the biggest city in the OHL. Doesn't change how bad the attendance is in the GTA.......come to think of it.....if you add the populations of Missauga and Brampton together ...Peel is the biggest municipality in th OHL ......if you add the two teams' average attendances from last season it is probably about half of London's ;)
Guess I should have said "2 of the biggest". Sadly last season both teams combined to pretty much equal Oshawa's attendance.
I here it is a matter of time before one of San Diego or Oakland announce a sale/move involving LA

The rumour is San Diego (I haven't heard anything about Oakland moving there actually). This is the best synopsis of it: http://www.boltsfromtheblue.com/2010/12/1/1848753/are-the-chargers-moving-to-los-angeles
Essentially Anschutz wants a stadium in LA, and he would purchase/move San Diego there (he's already been linked to the Chargers). Considering his history of stadium/arena ownership he'll probably get what he wants.

Toronto's best hope is in Buffalo when Ralph Wilson dies or in Jacksonville which has been struggling for a while now and is probably the weakest franchise in the NFL. My bet is on Buffalo just because I can't imagine the NFL would want the a team in Toronto before Ralph Wilson dies and that team is sold. It would be a disaster since any new owner of a Buffalo team would probably want to move them and there really wouldn't be any suitable options in the US for a Bills franchise.
 
The strange rumor I heard was that........SD moves to LA (yes owned by AEG)........SD attracts a different team....the Bills (allowing the Wilsons to do estate planning pre-Ralph's death)......freeing up his market/region for a weak sister (Jaguars) to move to Toronto.....it was all explained to me in some detail that made some sense but I do not know how real it all is.....but it ends up leaving NY State without a pro football team!

PS the whole "wait until Ralph dies thing makes no sense.....why not do some estate planning and avoid incoming estate/death taxes?
 
The strange rumor I heard was that........SD moves to LA (yes owned by AEG)........SD attracts a different team....the Bills (allowing the Wilsons to do estate planning pre-Ralph's death)......freeing up his market/region for a weak sister (Jaguars) to move to Toronto.....it was all explained to me in some detail that made some sense but I do not know how real it all is.....but it ends up leaving NY State without a pro football team!

PS the whole "wait until Ralph dies thing makes no sense.....why not do some estate planning and avoid incoming estate/death taxes?

I guess he won't sell.
 
IMO another good reason not to have a team here is the same one Los Angeles has. We get to see the best teams of the weel now. I am a New York Giants fan, and I can see my team on fox every sunday. If toronto gets a team, we won't get that. Same reason some in LA don't want a team. I could care less about the CFL. This would be my reason for not wanting a team here. But anything can happen. Pay attention to the TiCats fiasco right now.
 
Not true. Western Canada consist of the Majority of CFL fans.
You said 3/4 of those Grey Cup ratings were from the West. Prove it!

I have no problem with the NFL coming here. Rob Ford doesn't think it'll kill off the CFL/Argos, do we have any reason to doubt such a football fan?
You mean the same Rob Ford who was proclaiming his support for the Argos at a high school game at Esther Shiner Stadium last fall? How can you doubt a man who talks out of all sides of his mouth? He can never be wrong!
 
You said 3/4 of those Grey Cup ratings were from the West. Prove it!

You mean the same Rob Ford who was proclaiming his support for the Argos at a high school game at Esther Shiner Stadium last fall? How can you doubt a man who talks out of all sides of his mouth? He can never be wrong!

Thats what politicians do.
 
Anyone that has been involved with football beyond a 'played highschool' can tell you that the NFL in Toronto will kill the CFL, and greatly effect the game of 4 down football in Ontario, and perhaps eventually, the rest of the country. Whether you like it or not, this is ultimately the result. Anyone selling otherwise does not know what they are talking about, or just outright misleading.

Your assertion that anyone who thinks that the NFL in Toronto won't kill the CFL is "misleading" or "doesn't know what they're talking about" is daft.

The CFL does quite well outside of the GTA, and especially out west and in Montreal, and could probably survive without the Argos. More than likely, the franchise could be relocated somewhere else (Moncton? Halifax? Saskatoon? Quebec?). The TV ratings in the GTA would tank, but given the relative popularity of the league nationwide, the loss of the Argos wouldn't kill off any TV contracts.

Also, the Argos could exist with the NFL in town. Look at it this way, the people that would stop going to the Argos and go to the NFL games are those that just like "football". I guess that would account for some of the 18-20,000 people that attend games frequently, but not a lot. I think most people (and especially anyone who's gone in the last 3 years) goes because they like the CFL game and/or the Argos. I can't imagine, that your average Argos ticketholder will wake up and switch from one game and team to another game and team.

Furthermore, who says that support for the CFL is mutually exclusive of support for the NFL?

It strikes me that most of the people saying the CFL and the Argos will die, are the ones that don't get the CFL or the Argos. They are the ones that always try and compare the two leagues, as though American-style hype and marketing is the only way a league can exist. Nor do they seem to understand the support for teams in markets outside of the GTA.
 

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