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NFL happily follows the money

STEPHEN BRUNT

From Thursday's Globe and Mail

Latest comment posted at 10:39 PM EDT 01/05/08

Canadian invasion will be a bonanza for Bills owner Ralph Wilson ...Read the full article

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  1. Chris Michaels from Oakville, Canada writes: Guess it's too bad that the product they're selling isn't worth buying. The NFL is cool in NFL cities -- not Toronto.

    If I want to watch 350 pounders plow forward over and over again, I'll go to the Mandarin.

    Thanks...but, no thanks. I'm quite fine with my wide-open CFL football. (And, at $25 - $100 a seat, it's a pretty elementary value proposition.)
  2. J Snow Clone from O-town, Canada writes: With an NFL team in Toronto, football will increase in popularity across the country.

    The CFL can survive, and even thrive, but it has to understand who to market to. For example, why not change the business model so that Ottawa, Halifax, London, Victoria, Quebec City, Moncton, etc, can get in the game at a lower cost. If Toronto gets a team, there will be temporary Football hysteria and the CFL could ride this to the bank.

    The NBA has had considerable excitement around its "D" league, which seems to be adding franchises in new places every year. Maybe under a business model like this the CFL could have a successful expansion into the states. In reality, the CFL has been a developmental league for the NFL for years anyway.
  3. J.C. Jorgensen from Ottawa, Ontario, Canada writes: Stephen, you are clearly delusional! You seem to be making an economic argument that the NFL wants to take advantage of the Soutern Ontario market. Are you for real? The NFL is hugely profitable as it is. The Buffalo Bills have a long and storied history that contributes to the aura and culture of the NFL. Why fix what ain't broken? And how oftern are folks going to watch bottom of the barrel NFL teams take 10 minutes to drive the ball 60 yards for a 7-3 final score? We're not talking Dallas and New England here, we're talking the Bills and the Dolphins! I can't wait for your rose-coloured headline - "Impressive Defensive Struggle Marks New Era of NFL in Toronto". The fans will have to drink a lot of yankee sud to forget about the lack of entertainment on the field. Maybe you and Ted should just move to Buffalo?
  4. J.C. Jorgensen from Ottawa, Ontario, Canada writes: Clone, like Stephen, you have no idea what you are talking about. The CFL has never been a "developmental league for the NFL". There are barely a handful of players that go from the CFL to the NFL on an annual basis (maybe 3-4). The CFL actually has a bigger contribution to the NFL off the field in coaches and scouts (Just take a look at the personnel behind the Colts.) The CFL is a stand alone league filled high calibre players. Don't believe all the NFL hype bud.
  5. dippsy doodle from Crescent Beach, Canada writes: Perhaps if Stephen consulted an Atlas he would find that Toronto is NOT the largest market in North American outside Los Angeles without an NFL franchise. That distinction belongs to Mexico City, which is several times larger than Toronto, and which I believe is still on our continent.

    And speaking of declining "rust-belt" towns, the news around Toronto is not so rosy these days either. With the recent massive layoffs in the manufacturing sector and the decline of the auto industry, in a "Have-Not" province whose Premier is now seeking handouts from AB & BC, just like Quebec and the eastern provinces.

    That $78M Rogers is giving Ralph Wilson for the 8 games, would pay the salary of every player in the CFL for over two years....

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