If the NFL Played a Game in Toronto, Would Anyone Notice?

Yesterday brought the second NFL regular season game ever to take place in Toronto as the Toronto Dollar Bills took on the New York Jets in the building formerly known as SkyDome. The funny thing about this game is that it apparently took place without anyone even noticing. Last year the Dollar Bills-Miami Dolphins game at least included a little bit of hype and was followed up with some heat on the City of Toronto for being a sucky place to hold an NFL game.

This year included no pre-game hype, not even in Canada for crying out loud, and little or nothing in the way of post game commentary from what I have been able to find. This game, won 19-13 by the Jets, might as well have been played in Kabul for all the attention paid to it. This begs the question, does the NFL really need Canada? In my opinion the answer is no, and these are the reasons why.

Even if the Dollar Bills were a permanent fixture in Toronto there would be little gain for the NFL in Canada. The Toronto Maple Leafs rule the Centre of the Universe (COTU) and the other sports teams are left to fight for the leftovers (and we'll know just what those leftover are because I am sure the Toronto media machine reports what everyone in the Leaf organization eats for lunch each day). Sure the novelty factor will come into play and bring some early buzz but the Dollar Bills would eventually become what the Blue Jays are right now, a small market team that must pretend to be a big market team in an attempt to remain relevant in the local market.

The NFL is very popular in Canada so, even if the Dollar Bills become a permanent fixture in the Big Smoke, it is unlikely that interest in the league,merchandise sales, etc. would increase dramatically. Sure there will be the casual follower that will cheer for "Canada's Team" but most of us who are already fans will probably stay with the team that we already cheer for. I have been a huge Dallas Cowboys fan since the days of Staubach, White and Dorsett and its not like I am going to start cheering for the Dollar Bills.

If the NFL really wanted to grow and promote football in Canada it would be wise to partner up with the Canadian Football League. The CFL is the main reason that football is relevant in this country and that we are not subject to a complete whitewash of hockey, hockey, hockey. There are a number of Canadians playing football on both sides of the border and without the CFL, and football's strong tradition in Canada, those kids would be few and far between. By all indications football is again a growing sport in Canada and it remains strong without an NFL team in Canada.

Finally, if a permanent Dollar Bills team sinks the CFL then the football market in Canada shrinks from eight teams to one and I am sure fans in those eight markets would grow to resent the Dollar Bills and do nothing to support that team. Then all our kids could just strap on skates and become hockey zombies.

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CFL Playoff Retrospective

The CFL playoffs are now complete and, like most Rider fans, I still have not quite absorbed just what the heck happened on Sunday night. It all looked so promising, then it got a little nerve racking. The joy of victory made all that nervousness go away but those damned orange flags (Out, damn'd orange flags! out, I say) and a second chance made my stomach turn nauseous.

Here is how it all shook down with the view from Section 39 following (Section V on Grey Cup Sunday)

Semi Finals:

British Columbia 34 at Hamilton 27
When Hamilton secured second place in the East I was alternatively happy and sad for them. Happy because the folks in Hamilton were going to get a home playoff game, sad because I knew the Ti-Cats were going to be in tough against the Lions. Turns out this was a very entertaining game that ended up in overtime. Unfortunately for the Tiger Cats, despite their heroics to tie the game at the end of regulation, the Lions were just too much to handle in the end.

Edmonton 21 at Calgary 24
Three weeks after this game took place why is it so surprising that the score of this game was so close?

Finals:

British Columbia 18 at Montreal 56
I actually thought that BC had a shot in this one. That lasted about five minutes into the contest.

Calgary 17 at Saskatchewan 27
Wow! The noise at Mosaic Stadium was unreal and Calgary had nothing to combat it. The underachievers continued to underachieve and the Riders moved on to the Cup. The Stampeders might want to consider a new logo for 2010.

Photo from Google images.

Grey Cup:
Montreal 28 vs Saskatchewan 27
Ecstasy and then agony for Riders fans. Agony and then sudden ecstasy for Alouette fans. The 13th man made all the difference.


The View From Sections 39 & V:

What more can you say about the Grey Cup? Probably the most bizarre ending, ever. The Alouettes were heavy favourites, and they deserved to be, since they were a league best 15 and 3 on the season. The Riders had the Al's on the ropes but could not deliver the knockout blow. The Al's were tested like they had not been tested all season and, finally, they came through in the biggest game of the year.

All Saskatchewan is abuzz with rumours of just who was that thirteenth man on the field. A few players have been outed through various reports but hopefully the players keep this one to themselves. I am sure all the players feel sick this week but one guy out there feels much worse and it can't get any more difficult than that feeling.

Calgary was hopping on the weekend. The best night to be out, if you actually wanted to get into one of the venues, was probably Friday night thanks to a snowstorm that blew through in the afternoon and kept traffic in the downtown to a crawl. Riderville was hopping though and it seemed a good time was had by all.

Downtown Calgary was a complete zoo on Saturday night. The lineup to get into Riderville was about four hours and every other venue we passed was lined up as well. Riderville is always lined up at Grey Cup but with the Riders playing in the game, and with Calgary as the host City, it was far crazier than usual.

The set up in Calgary was very similar to Vancouver in 2005. The street fair in both cities were excellent and allowed everyone in the vicinity of the City Centre to soak up some of the Grey Cup atmosphere.

This year Grey Cup came complete with some Gossip Girl type moments. If only I had the technology to update this blog remotely. It wasn't "a dream" that someone's day went from bad to worse after the game.

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Music Monday - Drowning our Sorrows

The Rider Nation is down in the dumps today. Here is a song to pick up those spirits. Destiny wasn't calling this year but it was one heck of a season. All the experts never saw it coming.

If you're not a fan of Anime, like me, just ignore the video while listening to the song. I don't get the video either but it was the best YouTube version of this song because, of course, one can't embed the actual video.





To see the original video click here.

Go Riders. /=S=/

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Calgary, you used to be so cool man!

Have been meaning to do a CFL play-off retrospective each weekend but have been way too busy. It doesn't get any slower this week, what with the Riders in the Grey Cup and all, so I'll have to do a retrospective for the whole playoffs, including the Cup, next week.

In the meantime this was too good to pass up. I assume that it was a letter to the editors at the Calgary Herald.

Hat tip to a post on Riderfans.

Re: "Heartbreaker; Dream of defending Grey Cup at home dies in Regina," Nov. 23.

I watched the Stamps-Riders game on Sunday and saw the Riders fans screaming whenever Calgary tried to run a play. I know this has become the practice in most stadiums in the league, including Calgary, but the Riders fans seem to be the best (worst?) at this. What makes people think this behaviour makes them great fans? It just shows a lack of confidence in their team to win, without disrupting the other team's signal calling. It should be a penalty to the home team for unsportsmanlike conduct if the other team cannot hear the quarterback. I believe there used to be a rule in place for that, but it is never called.

Only if the announcer instigates it does the referee have discretion to call a penalty. It shows a lack of class and I hope the Grey Cup game will have a fan base that is diluted enough so both teams will be able to hear their quarterback. If not, I will be cheering for the team who has to overcome the Neanderthal factor.

Rick Gibeault,

Calgary


To see the original click on the following link: Cheer quietly

Calgary, you used to be so cool and now you sound like somebody's Grampa. (For the record I totally understand that Mr. Gibeault doesn't speak for an entire City. I'm just funnin' with ya Calgary)

Sounds like someone doesn't understand the meaning of home field advantage. That's the whole point of trying to finish in first place, Gibby. Besides your Quarterback said they were prepared for the noise and your coach said that Mosaic Stadium is noisy...but not as much as BC Place, which I personally took as a challenge to scream my face off. By the way, thanks for adding the extra incentive Huffer.

At least our crowd noise is real unlike the "noise" at BC Place, which is about as real as Pamela Anderson's breasts.

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Remembrance Day

I know its not Music Monday but what better way to honour those who gave their lives than with a classic Canadian song by a classic Canadian artist.



Sorry, but it almost seems impossible to find the original video which is a complete shame.

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CFL Swami 2009 - Not Too Far Off the Mark

Now that the 2009 CFL season is officially over it is time to go back to see how the PMB Swami picks turned out. Taking a look back it wasn't perfect but pretty darn close. Of course there were some easy predictions (Montreal, Toronto) but some of the sleeper type picks turned out too. Here are the results:

West Division:

1. Saskatchewan: Swami Said - 2nd

Most "experts" predicted a fourth place finish for the Riders so even though I was wrong too, at least I was way closer to the actual result. What can you say, this team just finds ways to win and it doesn't really seem to matter who leaves for the big bucks in free agency


2. Calgary: Swami Said - 1st

I said that you could write this one down and take it to the bank but in the end inconsistency sunk the Stampeders hopes for first place.


3. Edmonton: Swami Said - 3rd

As expected Jesse Lumsden proved to be the man of glass but the bright side for the Eskimos was the emergence of rookie Arkee Whitlock. The Eskimos were WAY too inconsistent in 2009. One week they would look like world beaters and then they would turn around and for a couple of weeks look like they couldn't beat a team from the Lingerie Football League.


4. British Columbia: Swami Said - 4th

Swami said that Buck Pierce and Jarious Jackson don't scare anyone and it proved to be true in 2009. Casey Printers does scare people though and it will be interesting to see how he'll perform in the playoffs and in 2010.


East Division:

1. Montreal: Swami Said - 1st

This pick was like shooting fish in a barrel. To be the best you have to beat the best.

2. Hamilton: Swami Said - 3rd

Swami asked if Hamilton had enough pieces around the QB`s to catch Mike Kelley`s Bombers for a play-off spot? Answer: Yes! Hamilton picked up a few key players most noticeably Otis Floyd, Arland Bruce III and Jamal Johnson to mesh with their young talent. The result: 2nd place.

3. Winnipeg: Swami Said - 2nd

The biggest question mark for the Bombers at the beginning of the season was rookie head coach, Mike Kelley. The biggest question mark for the Bombers in 2010 will be second year head coach, Mike Kelley. The other big question? How long 'til the Bombers figure out that Michael Bishop isn't very good. This is assuming that both are back for 2010.

4. Toronto: Swami Said - 4th

Back in June Swami questioned, "It couldn't get worse in Toronto than it was in 2008, could it?" Turns out the answer to that question was, YES, it could actually get worse it Toronto. This was the second easiest prediction to make for 2009.

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Music Monday

Another Music Monday has come and this week it is one of my favourite 80's songs. As an added bonus, introducing this week's song is Mr. Frasier Crane:





To see the original 80's video check out this YouTube link.

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CFL Week 19 Retrospective

The last weekend of regular season CFL action brought a number of big games but none of them really lived up to the hype as they all ended up being fairly one sided affairs. Here is how the week shook down:

Edmonton 45 at British Columbia 13

The rails come off early for the Lions as QB Casey Printers went down with a thumb injury early and was subsequently replaced by the always fragile Buck Pierce. Pierced lasted about a half before he was replaced by Zac Champion. As one would expect, the Lions fifth stringer could not get anything going as the Eskimos rolled to victory.


Montreal 42 at Toronto 17

Mercifully the plug has been pulled on the Argos for 2009. The Argos will probably be the League's most interesting off season story as the ownership situation needs to get sorted out followed by a probable "blowing up" of the whole operation.

Montreal just waits to see who they will play in the East Final.


Calgary 14 at Saskatchewan 30

This first place showdown was probably the most entertaining game of the weekend even though the score appears to be one sided. The outcome was no longer in doubt once the Stamps conceded a safety to put the Riders up by nine. Regina City Councilor Chris Szarka then scored a touchdown to seal the victory and a Rider first place finish for the first time in a generation.


Hamilton 39 at Winnipeg 17

This game was close through three quarters, as well, but ended up a microcosm of the career of Winnipeg QB Michael Bishop. Bishop was hot to start but all Hamilton had to do was wait for him to implode. By the fourth quarter rolled around the implosion began and Bishop gave up two interceptions for Hamilton touchdowns to close out the game as knock the Bombers out of the playoffs.

The View from Section 39:

Michael Bishop's biggest fans? Of course that would have to be the BC Lions. Last year, as a Rider, Bishop self destructed in the playoffs and handed victory to the Lions. This year Bishop's self destruction allowed BC to back their way into the playoffs with a crossover birth to the East Division and a date with the Hamilton Tiger Cats. I wonder if the Bombers will cut ties with Bishop as quickly as Saskatchewan did last year?

Hamilton sealed up second place in the East and knocked Winnipeg out of the playoffs. The bad news for the Tiger Cats might be that they have to play the Lions. Assuming, of course, that the Lions have SOMEONE to play the Quarterback position. Zac Champion became the 5th quarterback to dress for the Lions this year bringing the final 2009 BC-Winnipeg QB total to 11. PMB pegged the over under on combined QB's for these two teams at 11. At the time the line was set, I would have taken the over.

Will Mike Kelly or Bart Andrus be back as head coaches with the Bombers and Argos respectively? I have a feeling that Kelly stays through this off season but if the Bombers falter early in 2010 he will pay the price. Andrus, on the other hand, may be told to walk the plank but the Argos would then be stuck paying him a boatload (pun intended) of money for nothing next year and maybe the year after depending on the length of his contract. My bet is that Andrus stays in the Big Smoke for one more year but many others around him walk that plank.

It was a bad week for the home teams as only the Riders prevailed on home turf in Week 19. The Mosaic Stadium crowd was not to be held back on Saturday night and it was rockin' from beginning to end. Hopefully the folks down in Green Bay were watching and learning how to hold a grudge against a former QB.

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CFL Week 18 Retrospective

Week 18 was not exactly a showcase of CFL action. With the exception of the Calgary - BC game, all the games were one sided and boring. Here is how the week shook down.

Toronto 10 at Edmonton 36

Need just one word to describe this game: Zzzzzzzzzz!

Mercifully there is only one game left in the Argos 2009 season. The only thing that awaits is the purge. Edmonton cashed in on the free spot again this week and kept their playoff hopes alive. For the Eskimos, it all comes down to a showdown next week against the Lions. One team will finish third and the other will be cheering hard for Hamilton to beat Winnipeg.

Saskatchewan 6 at Hamilton 24

This game was a bit of a snoozer as well. The Riders could not generate anything positive on Offense while Hamilton dominated. The score actually flattered Saskatchewan as they were never really in it. Hamilton has pretty much secured a playoff spot, barring a BC-Edmonton tie on Friday and a loss against Winnipeg on Sunday.

Calgary 28 at British Columbia 26

Sandro DeAngelis' game winning field goal, with no time left on the clock, put a nail in the Lions hopes for a home playoff game and moved Calgary into sole possession of first place in the West. By far, the most entertaining game of the week. The Lions have lost two close games in a row but Casey Printers seems to be back to his old form and if the Lions make it to the post season the other teams need to watch out.

Winnipeg 13 at Montreal 48

Last week, Anthony Calvillo was out of action for Montreal as they lost to the Bombers and this week he was back. Enough said about this game.


The View From Section 39:

Holy cow, was Commonwealth Stadium ever a morgue on Friday night. I guess they all fell asleep watching that game too!

Like many football fans I watched the Minnesota Vikings - Green Bay Packers game today in anticipation of the return of Brett Favre to Lambeau Field. I was totally expecting to see Favre booed mercilessly from beginning to end by the Packer faithful. Maybe it was just me, but I was was expecting a lot more animosity from the fans in Green Bay today. I think the folks in Green Bay should find a way to watch Saturday's Rider - Stampeder game from Mosaic Stadium to learn how to hold a grudge. It's been four years and we still haven't forgotten. Henry Burris won't be able to hear himself think on Saturday night.

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Music Monday!

After a big Rider win...this song is a great way to start the week.



This song is dedicated to Richard Wehlner (played by John C Reilly on the left).


(photo from the movie, The Promotion).

If you haven't seen The Promotion, check it out.

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