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TORONTO — Just days before the eight-games-in-five-years Buffalo Bills in Toronto series kicks off, there is much debate as what to make of it all.
Sluggish ticket sales, a somewhat cynical marketplace and a team of mostly no-names haven't exactly made the Bills the talk of the town. And that's led to suggestions this whole NFL-in-Toronto thing was just a little overhyped in the first place.
But trying to gauge NFL interest in Toronto by the lack of buzz around tomorrow's overpriced exhibition game against the Pittsburgh Steelers is ludicrous and not at all an indicator that the market is lukewarm to the product.
The problem is that media giant Rogers Communications, as the operator of the Bills series, has given fans enough reasons to be cynical in the run-up to this week's game, even if much of that opinion is in fact misplaced.
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The Bills series was never a cash-grab by Rogers, as is often portrayed, and never an attempt to put the CFL out of business. It has always been about attracting the NFL's attention by demonstrating Toronto's economic might and making it a worthy destination for relocation of an existing NFL franchise, be it the Bills or another team.
That remains the long-term goal and the primary reason why these games are being held in Toronto.
Simply put, the only way Toronto could showcase itself to the NFL was by buying dates from Buffalo, which understandably came at a premium price. And from the very start, the math should have been simple. By agreeing to pay the Bills $9.75-million a game, and with 54,000 seats to sell at Rogers Centre, tickets to see the Bills in Toronto had to average roughly $200 each just for the operation to break even at the gate.
Had Rogers Communications president and chief executive officer Ted Rogers and his gang got that message out, it might have softened some of the sticker shock that seems to have turned many fans away.
Instead, Ted Rogers set the tone at last February's news conference announcing the series by following up a promise that some tickets would be less than $100 each by putting two fingers in the air and saying "Two," accompanied by a smile that seemed aimed at those who were being priced right out of the market.
The three-month wait until May before ticket prices were announced only heightened the sense Rogers was going for the financial kill shot. And anyone who took the time to compare prices with Buffalo, where a seven-game season-ticket package in the lower bowl can be had for less than what Rogers is asking to sit in the same area in Toronto for one game, had all the ammunition they needed.
So instead of being viewed as the folks sticking their necks out so Toronto residents can experience NFL football, Ted Rogers and company have been portrayed as the folks who've held the city's NFL fans for ransom.
And while that may be inaccurate and unfair, it's now something they'll have to work to erase.
Of course, watching all of this play out has been an unexpected bit of bliss for the CFL and its clubs, especially the Hamilton Tiger-Cats and Toronto Argonauts.
When the Bills' desire to move eight dates to Toronto was first announced last fall, CFL commissioner Mark Cohon warned NFL club owners against approving such a move because it would damage the CFL. This season, however, Argos attendance and revenue are up and the Bills seem to have made only a slight dent in the marketplace.
But Cohon's position has softened only slightly.
"We want our league to thrive here in our country, and we want the Bills to succeed in Buffalo," he said. "Insofar as this limited series helps the Bills stay in Buffalo long-term, it's fine. But we wouldn't support any expansion of it because no one knows what effect that would have on our league, a valued Canadian institution with its own proud history and a bright future."
In fact, the CFL has been able to use the Bills' presence as a bit of a rallying point. As is demonstrated in its slogan — and accompanying video — "This is our league," the CFL isn't being shy about telling fans where their loyalties should lie.
From the outset, bringing NFL games to Canada was never going to be popular with many Canadians. But a little humility and just a nod of respect to the CFL from those such as Rogers vice-chairman Phil Lind would have gone a long way toward keeping fence-sitters from viewing this as an assault on Canadiana.
It might not matter when all is said and done. If economic winds eventually blow an NFL team north of the border, the bumpy run-up to tomorrow's game would be nothing more than a footnote.
Chances are the cynicism will be lower and the excitement higher when the Bills come back in December to do things for real with the Miami Dolphins. If they're not, perhaps then, it would be time to reassess.
