Originally Posted by
greatwhitenorf
Having watched my kids bring in households of friends over the years - they're now in university - I have seen and heard massive interest in pro football.
But strictly NFL football. My oldest participates in two fantasy leagues and regularly travels with groups of pals to take in games in Buffalo, Cleveland and Detroit. On my street and around my inner city neighbourhood, there's big interest in the NFL. No one, absolutely no one, gives a flea's fanny for the CFL.
Both my personal and sports business experience says that if the NFL put a team here, it would be a runaway success. Corporations would throw serious coin at it and it would draw fans from well beyond Toronto. Plus, if positioned in the AFC, it would enjoy a massive rivalry with Buffalo or Cleveland.
MLSE can trot out all the optimistic talk they want about the Argos - and they had Mike Clemons in the ACC delivering the corporate gospel not long after Seba's MVP award - but the Argos are part of something that Toronto has outgrown. This city, collectively, really doesn't care about tier-two sports experiences anymore. The Marlies could win the AHL title and it wouldn't command daily conversations like the way the Jays did this past season. The Argos won the 2012 Greh Cup they hosted (rigged?) and season ticket sales declined.
But the NFL in Toronto? No brainer to succeed.