I think it is silly to say that the NFL won't go to Canada because of some secret handshake. If the NFL finds a city that would be profitible, they'd take it in a heartbeat.

The problem is this. The NFL makes money on two things, stadium sales and TV. Right now most of the Canadian teams would have to play outdoors, which means sub-zero temps most of the season. Sounds like fun, but it's not easy to sell out a city in 10 degree weather if you aren't good. Some cities like Chicago, New York, New England, Buffalo, and Green Bay can do it because of long storied history and football being so popular. However, could Toronto draw 60,000 in 5 degree weather if they are 3-9? Probably not. In that case, they'd need a new stadium, much like the ones you are seeing built like Ford Field. These stadiums provide big revenue and lots of luxury boxes.

Second is the TV. There just isn't a huge following in Canada like there is in the US. You also won't have fans in the US being fans of a Toronto team like you do here. Go to any major city and you'll find people who are fans of all different teams. Without a history, it won't help.

So unless a city like Toronto decides to build a state of the art stadium for football, and keeps the Argonaut name for it along with the history and following, it will never happen.

Question for the CFL buffs: Didn't they add a couple American teams for a few years? I thought I remembered a Nashville team.

You really should have left it while you were behind, and stop talking out of your buttchute about what Canadians understand or don't understand. :1orglaugh

Come up here sometime before making these idiotic assumptions.... Hit any major city on Superbowl or Grey Cup Sunday and walk into just about any sports bar and you'll find out just how rear-end wrong you are about "what Canadians don't understand about football"

Some of you 'mericans are too funny for words. :1orglaugh

Yes, but we don't like to talk about "that time" :D

I just refuse to watch a football game where they put the goal's post in the middle of the touchdown area (CFL) lol

NFL rocks :thumbsup

Not without Canada's and the CFL's approval they wouldn't. Sorry.

We do have a few domes up here, but I agree in that your NFL goes until well into January, whereas our Grey Cup game is played in November. Unless we had every franchised city having an indoor dome it wouldn't work, but like I said earlier it won't work anyway because Canada wants to preserve it's league, not have yet another thing of ours absorbed into the US. In that light the sport of football is unique, for Canada.


You're right, it will never happen.

And there is more of a following for both the CFL and the NFL up here than you might think. We may not get 50,000 fans out to each game like the NFL does, but millions of Canadians are watching both the NFL and CFL on the tube every week. Millions. We are cheering, betting, following the stats and injuries and coaching changes, everything. Just like you.

There are still plenty of US cities that the NFL could expand to, the CFL is just fine where it is, as it is, in Canada.

Hahahahahahhahahahhahhahahahhhah please don't compare Americans love to Football with Canadians love for Football. AHHAHAHHAHAHAHHAHAHA

oh boy. thanks for the laughs :1orglaugh

because we dont like canada

The CFL tried to make in the USA by puting teams in the USA (Baltimore, San Antonio and Shreveport all tried... and failed.) They also tried to get on US TV, including network TV during a Labor Dispute in 1987. NBC put a CFL game on, on a rainy, miserable day in Edmonton. I think one of the teams scored a couple of Rouges and the final score was 2-0 or 2-1 or some ridiculously low score. Not that CFL football wouldn't sell in the USA, it's just that it's a different game, like Arena Football. If the CFL moved most of their games to mid-week and did a revenue sharing cable TV deal with a US network, they'd find a niche audience.

And yes, the main reason Toronto, Montreal, Vancouver, etc. don't have NFL teams is that the NFL agreed not to put teams in Canada as they are an investor in the CFL. It's in the NFL's best interest for the CFL to succeed. What they like about it is that the CFL season ends just as the NFL season hits the stretch run, so the audience in Canada can then watch the NFL after the CFL.

Of course if the CFL failed, the NFL would be in Canada either with a new league (NFL Canada) or expanding teams into the big cities.

There was a rumor that the Arena League might also try to move into Canada...

There's not enough black people up here.

50 Canadian football leagues


woj.. where u been bro?

Exactly right.

I wasn't comparing them, I was showing you how your previous comment was in error.

Idiot. :1orglaugh

Paul Godfrey is in serious talks right now to bring an NFL team to Toronto. In fact hes already taken the necessary steps to meet NFL guidelines regarding luxury boxes etc. Where do you get your mis-information?

I just don't believe that an NFL team in Toronto would make it.

resorting to name calling....classic :) I love it when I bring people down to that level simply by laughing at them.

Toronto has the skydome.. Vancouver has BC PLACE etc.. temp isn't a problem.. Vancouver has a milder winter than a lot of american cities..

so teams like jacksonville and carolina have a big history?

Those aren't new stadiums though. New stadiums = lots of luxury boxes = tons of cash. Jacksonville and Carolina are in states that have a rich tradition of high school and college football. There are a lot of fans of football in those states.

I'm not saying it wouldn't survive or even flourish. I just think right now the NFL is more concerned with putting teams into markets like LA.

touch football rocks

that rocks

welcome flames fan ;)