Imagine a scenario where all pre-existing thoughts we have about pro football are wiped clean. NFL, CFL do not exist. We know what football is, we know the rules and have watched games at lower levels all our lives, but have never seen it played professionally.
Now, out of thin air two professional leagues appear. The CFL has the same rules and the same players playing at the same level they do today. And the NFL has the same rules and players they have today as well. In this scenario, however, circumstances surrounding the actual games themselves are reversed. The CFL now averages crowds around 67,000 per game, the NFL around 27,000. The CFL now has video games and more easily accessible gambling and fantasy leagues. The CFL now has major hype machines building up its league to god like status for the public to see.
Now have all football fans watch every game in both leagues through one entire season and playoffs. At the end of the year, a survey appears asking the population of Toronto their preference.
I believe the overwhelming majority would say they preferred watching the CFL.
So why is Toronto dragging down the rest of the league’s momentum? Torontonians love the hype, the larger-than-life personalities, the endless fantasy football options and gambling websites. When you watch an NFL broadcast or go to a game live, you feel you are joining not only a game, but an event. And often times the events surrounding the game are more memorable then the game itself.
People in general, but Torontonians especially, are fascinated by things that other people seem to be doing. Most people don’t take the time and energy to make decisions based on their own experiences and opinions, the quick and easy way out is to follow what the majority is doing, and the majority in Toronto are pro NFL. So the followers cycle continues.
Look at the Toronto Raptors this past NBA season, bringing in the rapper Drake and making him their “Global Ambassador”. He adds nothing to the on-court product. But what he does add is conversation throughout the city. People who live in the GTA may check out a Raptors game because, “Hey, if Drake is into it, maybe I will be too.”
Canada as a country has an inferiority complex when it comes to the United States. There are many Canadians who feel if something isn’t approved by Americans then surely it isn’t good enough for them. An absolutely ridiculous way of thinking, but it definitely exists. While this mentality is widespread across all of Canada, nowhere is it more prevalent than in Toronto. The CFL is making great strides on this issue with several games now being broadcast on ESPN for our American neighbours to see. Great idea, but there is a long way to go.
Maybe Toronto will latch on to the CFL one day and join the party with the rest of Canada. Maybe one day the CFL will gain more approval from the U.S. so Torontonians will have a reason to follow it – or maybe Toronto is too busy looking down their nose at the rest of the country to even realize what they are missing. I honestly don’t have the solution, but I do have hope the CFL in Toronto one day will be big time again. Hey, even Drake started at the bottom.
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