Week 13: Atlanta Falcons at Buffalo Bills in Toronto :(

[Damian Zero]

Nice to see a game in Toronto, there are football fans everywhere im sure. Im not sure what to expect from this game. Falcons are favored by 3, but I can see them losing this game outright. Matt Ryan hasnt been playing well, but our defense is complete booty and I can see them giving up a few some scores.

It's on of those games where I can see the Bills winning 30-17 but then I can see the Falcons winning 21-14, but the former is more likely...

[muggins]

Quote from #Falcons HC Mike Smith: “We need to get some of these young guys some experience and see how they handle playing in live action."

[Majingir]

Quote: Originally Posted by kehlis

How? Are there more Atlanta fans in the Toronto area than Bills fans? I seriously don't get it.

http://canada.nfl.com/2013/10/21/can...e-nfl-teams-2/

It's not so much about being more Atlanta fans in Toronto, it's about how in Canada overall the Bill barely crack the top 5. If Toronto had a game such as Pats vs Steelers or something, fans would love it.

The NFL in Toronto stuff has failed mostly because they've not only gotten a team which isn't insanely popular in Toronto, but that team isn't good either. Toronto has enough of those bad teams in the city, fans aren't gonna pay even more money to watch a bad team that's not even from their city(and in this games case, it's 2 bad teams going head to head).

However, as proven by MLB,NHL and NBA...Fans are real loyal to the team they like in Toronto. Leafs are sold out no matter how they play. Raptors still have better attendance than majority of the league(including many playoff teams) and if the Jays actually put together good teams, fans will pay to go to the games.

Many events really get sold out in Toronto. Concerts,UFC events,WWE events among many other things do get sold out in the city. Just not NFL for various reasons.

[muggins]

Yeah that is like a who's who of bandwagon teams

Sent from my LG-LS970 using Tapatalk

[SPTO]

Quote: Originally Posted by muggins

Yeah that is like a who's who of bandwagon teams Sent from my LG-LS970 using Tapatalk

The Bills brand was top dog when they were good. In a lot of ways Toronto is the epitome of the "if it's cool it rules" syndrome not only in sports but just in popular culture as a whole.

[KingV2k3]

Quote: Originally Posted by SPTO

The Bills brand was top dog when they were good. In a lot of ways Toronto is the epitome of the "if it's cool it rules" syndrome not only in sports but just in popular culture as a whole.

Exactly!

We discussed this in another thread: major market versus small market "fan loyalty"...

Toronto is a MAJOR metropolitan / international city, so the "small market rules" don't apply...

Too much competition for the entertainment / sports entertainment dollar, as well as a myriad of pop culture options...

I've spent a LOT of time in both places, and the difference is manifest...

Neither is necessarily better or worse, but the difference on EVERY level is palpable...

[ImTellinTim]

Quote: Originally Posted by SPTO

The Bills brand was top dog when they were good. In a lot of ways Toronto is the epitome of the "if it's cool it rules" syndrome not only in sports but just in popular culture as a whole.

Unless you are talking about the Maple Leafs, who could sell out the building at the highest ticket prices in the league fielding a team of trained chimpanzees.

[TripleCrown9]

Quote: Originally Posted by SPTO

Sorry for the double post but didn't see this when I first made my response It's not that other fans are able to get here easier it's the fact that early on in this series they scheduled teams that had as big/bigger following in the Southern Ontario region than the Bills do. I think the border crossing issue is one problem but the MAIN problem is that Toronto has a ban on tailgating. They can't even create an atmosphere outside the building before the game so it's a more buttoned down quieter crowd already (we Canadians are generally polite) but a crowd without any kind of "rah rah" feeling beforehand makes it seem even duller.

Only reason I liked this.