Buffalo Bills Done Playing in Toronto

Thought this was sad news, actually.

The NFL, the only major North American sports league to not have a team based in Canada, is eliminating the very few games that actually were played in Canada.

After persistent rumors that the Bills were on the verge of moving to Toronto (and some wilder rumors that had it that the Bills might move elsewhere), the city of Buffalo and northwestern New York in general can relax. Their team is staying.

But if you are from Ontario, and specifically Toronto, or if you are just a Canadian in general who feels that their country should have at least one NFL franchise, than you are pretty much out of luck.

I know a Bills fan here in New Jersey who was ready to swear the team off if they moved to Toronto, and I could not help but ask why. he could not give me a good excuse, except to say, "Well...uh, it's Canada."

Yeah.

That's a very ugly American thing to say.

Especially from a Bills fan in New Jersey who, as I understand it, never actually went up to Buffalo, let alone to Toronto, to go see his team play there. Yet, it bothered him enough, apparently, just the mere idea that they would be playing somewhere outside of these American borders, that he was going to find another team?

And he probably wonders why many people outside of the United States would resent Americans just like him!

In any case, I thought that this was a little sad. I am not for franchises relocating, as tends to be the popular trend all too often in North American sports. The Atlanta Thrashers moving to Winnipeg was the most recent one, although that makes more sense than some of the others that we have seen over the course of decades.

The European model would probably be best. Get the bottom two or three teams in the league standings to be relegated to a lower league, and get the top two or three teams from that secondary league to be promoted to the top league the next season. And there would be other leagues below that, but with each community having their sports franchises, even if they are small teams in small leagues. That, to me, makes sense. A real kind of farm system, rather than big money and massive relocations, with heartbroken fans feeling a sense of betrayal. I cannot blame Buffalo fans for being skeptical about their team's almost imminent departure. It was a serious threat.

On some level, I am glad that the Bills will remain in Buffalo. It makes sense. But it would also make a lot of sense to have at least one NFL franchise in another country, particularly Canada. Just sayin'...




Why the Buffalo Bills Won’t Play in Toronto Anymore by Matt Reevy, December 3, 2014:

http://wallstcheatsheet.com/sports/why-the-buffalo-bills-wont-play-in-toronto-anymore.html/2/