Can Canada Fit the NFL

The eyes were watching August 15th when the Buffalo Bills played their first of 8 games in Ontario’s capital. 48,000 came to watch Buffalo defeat the Steelers in the preseason match. Now the question that arises in ones mind, is Toronto or Canada for that matter ready for 4 down football?

Canada has its fair share of NFL fans across the country and they are very familiar with the American game. Buffalo has a large season ticket base in southern Ontario somewhere in the neighbourhood of 15,000 plus. So to say that our Canadian neighbours Know nothing of NFL is a futile statement.

Judging from the crowd at Thursday’s night’s game though, it makes one wonder. The crowd was announced attendance, but rows of empty seats make that figure a lot less.

Rogers communications Canada’s Media deemed the game an overwhelming success.

Considering the fact they charged outrageous prices it’s a wonder they sold as many seats as they did. In fact reports suggest that about 30,000 fans actually paid face value.

While over 15,000 were either heavily discounted or given away.

The truth lies in the numbers, Toronto NFL fans were not willing to ante anywhere from $134.00 to $500.00 to see a football game when they can pay $80.00 to see the same team just 90 minutes down the highway.

Toronto is a world class city home to the NHL, MLB, NBA and the CFL (Canadian Football League) and therein lays the dilemma. What is to become of the Toronto Argonauts of the CFL?

There are suggestions that both the NFL and CFL could survive in Canada’s largest market. Some suggest that the CFL would eventually fold up causing a domino effect across the league and folding all eight franchises. A Canadian senator is even being so bold as to produce a bill banning the NFL from playing in Canada.

Surely one won’t think that the CFL is going to take this lying down. The CFL has enjoyed renewed interest, attendance is at its highest since 1983, and the TV ratings are among the highest rivalling only that of Hockey. The Grey Cup (Canada’s version of the Superbowl) is the most watched sporting event in Canada and even outnumbers the Superbowl in television ratings, which is a hard feat to accomplish. So with an NFL invasion what would that mean to the league? Fans across the country love their 3 down version and they will do anything to keep it alive. Yes the talent level in the CFL is not quite what it is in the NFL, but its nothing minor league either. Many a player has come from the CFL only to thrive in the NFL and vice versa. So it’s fair to say that the talent is just a rung or two under the NFL. That being said, why are some Canadians longing in the tooth for NFL football when they have a great game themselves.

The NFL has its glitz and glamour while the CFL has its grassroots. It’s sort of like comparing a Ferrari to say a Corvette both are sleek and fast but the Ferrari is the cooler of the two.

Fans are lusting after the big names and all the hype that comes from the NFL. But is it truly a better game? The CFL is played on a wider and longer field with 20 yard end zones, 3 downs and 12 players per side. It is a faster more wide open game then our American version. But for some reason some Canadian’s refuse to embrace what is truly a very entertaining game. Not that our game is just as entertaining, but Canadian’s have something that Americans or most Americans don’t and that is the ability to watch both games, either on TV or on the field. That all being said from the looks of things it just does not seem like Canada is ready or able to support NFL football. The slow ticket sales, the semi-poor attendance at Thursday nights game and really the lack of a proper venue (the Rogers Center seats 53,000 for football far short from the NFL’s minimum requirement of 65,000) and generally the overall lack of excitement from the fans makes one wonder if our Canadian neighbours or the majority of them really want to see 4 downs played in their frozen tundra.