With all the bitter feelings, jealousy, and frustration plaguing the Buffalo Bills’ eight-game relationship with the city of Toronto, the focus has been on the fans, and rightly so. If it weren’t for them, franchise relocation wouldn’t be so gruelling. Owners wouldn’t have to move teams, with little warning, in the dead of night.
Fans on all sides of the coin (pro-Toronto Bills, pro-Buffalo Bills, pro-CFL) have vented loudly as rumours swirl that this eight-game series is a potential precursor to a full-out move.
Just check out Facebook, where the Buffalo-Toronto disdain has become political. In fact, it’s become America-Canada disdain. Here’s a small taste of the kind of commentary lacing a group entitled, “Stop the Bills from moving to Toronto”:
“Most of the dumb-ass hoser Canadians on here talk $%&# about the Bills and say they suck and lose all the time. That would be the tragedy of the Bills moving to a city that ignores their teams during tough times and jumps on the bandwagon when they're winning. Canadians are terrible fans and totally lame people in general. They don't understand that we don't care if the Bills have a bad season, cause that's part of being a real football fan. Sticking by your team and looking forward to next year, so that when you have a winning season and God willing a superbowl win, it's that much sweeter. As for the team moving to Rochester, that would suck pretty bad as well. Not as bad as moving to Canada though. God, I hate Canadians so much.”
Why has this become an international battle? Because patriotism and nationalism evoke strong emotions, and, when infuriated, people will try to hit you where it hurts the most, even if they sound absurd doing so.
Some fans are a little more rational. One Buffalo tailgater I talked to at Monday night’s Browns-Bills game explained to me that the Bills have been kept afloat by the heavy presence of Canadians at Ralph Wilson Stadium over the years, and that returning the favour with a game or two a year in Toronto was simply a new way to remain financially viable while sort of sending a thank you to Torontonians for supporting the Bills since their inception.
“I’m very happy with the Bills making a move,” said the fan, “because Toronto fans will love it. I think the Bills are the envy of the league.”
Still, being a tailgater, he made sure to point out that there was still work to be done on Toronto’s end: “They need to relax the tailgating [restrictions] in Toronto. They need to work on that. If they did, I think you’d have more U.S. fans coming up there.”
Only 20 yards away from that hardcore but understanding tailgater, I overheard one fan telling two others how great the scene was at the Ralph. The boasting fan -- a season-ticket holder since the eighties, hailed from Amherst, NY. He was preaching the allure of the parking lot to two guys who had made the drive down from the Greater Toronto Area.
Buffalo folk and Toronto folk coming together, grill to grill and Bud to Molson. Almost enough to water the eyes. Turns out, despite the fact they’ve become a sports equivalent of the Capulets and the Montagues, these fans see eye-to-eye on the Toronto hoopla.
“I don’t want a team in Toronto,” said one of the Canadian fans, beer in one hand, burger in the other. “It won’t be the same.”
But, I said, wouldn’t it be cool to have your own team, with the Toronto name?
“It’s the Buffalo Bills, it doesn’t work that way.”
The three fans agree on one thing: If a team comes to Toronto, it’s has to be through expansion. Bolstering the belief that the games coming to the Big Smoke could be a dress rehearsal for exactly that.
“They would sell tickets and they would have people,” said the other Canadian. “But would it be as passionate as Buffalo? I don’t think so.”
And the American preacher -- he waited his turn to share his story with me. And he was exactly the opposite of the stereotypically threatened and bitter Buffalonian. He was gracious and respectful of Toronto, and he was willing to do whatever was necessary to keep his team connected to the city.
“I would literally do anything to keep this team here -- whether it’s a game in Toronto, two games in Toronto, four games in Toronto. I’ll pay the same price for eight games here as I would for four games here, if I could keep my team.”
Although the sample size was small, the people gathering to watch the game Monday seemed to realize it was just that -- a game. I walked away with the feeling that maybe the Facebook trash-talkers were the few bad apples in what doesn’t have to be a sticky situation. After all, there’s a good chance the Bills won’t leave the city. There’s also a decent chance Toronto will be a prime destination for expansion. Maybe fans in Southern Ontario and Western New York will get the best of both worlds.
Walking away, just before dodging a group of drunk, fist-fighting fans, while avoiding stepping on the broken glass spread across the lot, and blocking out the image of a guy with blood all over his mug after taking a beer bottle to the face, I thought: “This relationship might work, and American football in Toronto could be a success without the city stepping on Buffalo’s toes.”
“But the tailgating won’t compare.”