Quote:
Originally Posted by Highwayman
Wow.... That's pretty sad. And then here in Winnipeg we have a sold out stadium. Over 33,000 people today at the game. I honestly do not understand the difference especially when you consider the population difference.
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Football is culturally foreign to a huge proportion of Toronto's population. I bet most the people on my street don't know what Toronto's football team is called, don't know Toronto has a football team, and/or have never watched a Canadian football game (pro, university, high school) before.... EVER.
Most of the rest view Canadian football as beneath them, an embarrassment played by hillbillies, and should be replaced by the NFL as soon as possible. Say 'Argonauts' or 'CFL' and they instantly start ridiculing it as a lame Canadian attempt to copy Americans. They have no clue that the sport comes from their own city and refuse to believe it if you tell them.
I used to play in a Toronto flag football league and perhaps 5% of the players in that league had seen a CFL game before. I threw a Grey Cup party the first year and only 20 players out of 120 showed up. Of those that did, about 18 of them were on their phones the whole time checking NFL scores. They literally looked puzzled by Canadian football and didn't understand the rules. It's sad, but that's the reality in Toronto. And if it couldn't get any worse, the Argonauts management insist that everything is fine.
I'll end on a positive note though. I managed to convert a good friend who grew up with football. His parents are American and his Dad played for Penn State. He knew nothing about Canadian football, the CFL, or its history, The first game I took him to was a flop. It was at Skydome and the atmosphere was terrible. He agreed to give it another go, this time at BMO, and he had a fantastic time. He said it was one of the best football games he'd ever been to. My other friend who attended (he follows NFL) said the same thing. They still don't go to regular season games but always says yes to a playoff game; especially if it's in Hamilton. The atmosphere at a Hamilton home game we attended really left a good impression. They were pleasantly surprised.