October 23, 2007

THE NFL WON’T BE IN CANADA ANY TIME SOON…AND THERE REALLY ARE ONLY TWO TEAMS THIS YEAR.

       Frenzy is the typical response of Canadian football fans whenever a possibility arises that the world’s largest hype machine might have plans to settle north of the border.  With the Buffalo Bills having put forth an interesting proposal to host eight NFL games over the next five years the excitement level in Toronto is, as they say in cooking school, ready to boil over with anticipation.  To those excitable fans I am sorry, but the burner on the stove is still on low and the NFL is still a long, long, way away from having more than a rented appliance in Canada.

        First, there are too many highly desirable American cities still vying for an NFL franchise, most notably Los Angeles, and even though Toronto is the fourth largest media market in North America the NFL is strictly, at this time, an American business enterprise.  Second, the NFL still has reasonably strong ties with the CFL and now that NFL Europe is done the CFL, such as it is, becomes their sole professional feeding ground.  With the influx of players from Europe eager to ply their trade the Canadian product will soon improve and since the CFL seems willing to share its land, a partnership is at hand, and that deal will result in NFL regular season games being played in Canada.  Having one and perhaps two NFL regular season games should be seen as a success to those Canadian football fans though, and they should take full advantage…there won’t be many more opportunities. 

      Also remember that the Canadian government has a history in denying the entry of American football into this country.  John Bassett was denied a World Football team when the new league attempted to place one of its novice franchises in Toronto thirty years ago.  Now, times have changed and the exchange would be much more cordial today than it was then.  In the interim the NFL proved to be a huge benefactor during the CFL’s troubled times, propping up three down football with subsidies and grants.  The biggest grant, of course, was allowing the Canadian game to set up shop in the United States.  Relations are much better these days and we have seen exhibitions of American football played in Canada, including an American college bowl game in Toronto last January—the first post season bowl game played outside the US since 1937.   This was a monumental step forward for American football in Canada. 

      So having the Buffalo Bills try to take advantage of an untapped market place should come as no surprise.  But those die-hard NFL fans need to put their motors in neutral—this is merely the floating up of a test balloon.  The NFL has been thinking of such a move for quite some time--there is a strong supply of Canadian money available to them--but they had not reached a decision when the Bills moved in.  There is no reason to think that the Bills won’t get their way, and thereby garner a slight foothold in this monstrous sporting arena.  The Bills know that they can not only tap into the great Toronto market, but if they can somehow get Canadians across the country to make the Bills their adopted club out of some form of national pride, then they will boost the value of the franchise and increase its importance in the league.  Naturally, for such a deal to go through there are some major Canadian dollars in play, after all the Bills need a stadium to hold these games.  Ralph Wilson is taking his last, and best shot at keeping the Bills in Buffalo after he’s gone, and he’s making a deal with Toronto’s big dollar man, Ted Rogers, to ensure it.

        It’s a win all around for the Bills—they can build support in the very rich Toronto sporting public, they can condense their number of dates in Buffalo to better accommodate their needs--but still have plenty of dates to accommodate their loyal fans—and they will see a tremendous influx of Canadian greenbacks flow across the border and into their vaults. 

        The CFL doesn’t need to worry about competition because none of these NFL games will be played in Canada until after the conclusion of the Grey Cup.  Any NFL exhibition games held will take place in the middle of the CFL season and be seen as more of an event to create interest in football rather than an attack by a business enemy.  And the Argos lose some of their audience during the summer months anyway.  The regular season game will be played in December, instead of the freezing cold of Buffalo the Bills can play in the climate controlled pleasantness of the Rogers Centre.  And the Argos and the Grey Cup are long since over.

       So, NFL fans, don’t go ringing up huge bills on your cell phones--likely talking to friends that live no more than two doors away--about the league moving up here any time soon.  We’re still just a rest-stop for the Americans, and to be honest, I would prefer to just leave it that way.  They can visit…I would prefer that they didn’t stay.

 Tea for two and two for tea.

      Nobody else is invited to this tea party; there are only settings enough for two.  All others wishing to attend this tea party need not apply for an invitation…none will be forthcoming.

        This entire season seems to be a simple prelude for two separate battles between the two biggest entities in the NFL, the Patriots and the Colts.  The first battle will be waged November 4 in Indianapolis, with the winner likely gaining home field advantage for the playoff game in January.  The Super Bowl is a mere formality—the victor will be crowned at the end of the AFC championship game.   

      The Patriots are an efficient machine—proud and resolute, with skill and experience at every key position, and now with the added impetus aimed at cleaning up a beleaguered image that has cast some stain on their previous championships.  The Patriots want to prove, once and for all, that they are the best team in the league, and that there isn’t anything that they have done previously—call it cheating or not--that would have had any effect on the outcome.  They were going to win regardless.  

      The Colts, on the other hand, are the defending champion.  While the Patriots are demolishing every team in its path this season the Colts are methodically taking games off the schedule in anticipation of greater glory down the road.  They believe that they are the best team.  Two behemoths setting the stage for two tremendous battles, and the first one is just around the corner.

       No other team need apply—there are no tickets available for this particular tea party.

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