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But what's to stop a little intra-city cooperation between Buffalo and Toronto? Why couldn't Larry Tanenbaum "give" Buffalo a couple of Raptors games – say two of the 41 for a couple of years – and in return, Toronto could get that 2008 regular season non-U.S. NFL game for which Toronto is a frontrunner?
Think about it. Tanenbaum, who rides the fastest horse in the gang known as Maple Leaf Sports and Entertainment, is on record with Ted Rogers, who owns the Blue Jays and the stadium formerly known as SkyDome, as wanting an NFL team for Toronto if and when possible.
So show some good faith here. Larry could let the Raps play a couple of games in Buffalo, maybe against the Knicks, who would doubtless sell out in New York state, and the Celtics or Detroit or somebody else. There are plenty of midweek crowds of 13,000 at the Air Canada Centre over the course of a long season. If anybody here missed a couple of games, they could be made optional for season-ticket holders.
The Raps could develop a large potential U.S. market, one they don't actively harvest at all – and yes, I know, it's nuts to suggest MLSE ever leaves a dollar on any table anywhere. Buffalo has a good sports history, remember, and a handful of colleges, which suggests a basketball audience of some size, even though the Braves lasted only eight seasons in the NBA in the 1970s before becoming the Clippers. (By the way, the TorBuff Braves, as we called them, played 16 "home'' games in Toronto from 1971 to '75. So there's precedent.) Sure, the Raps would have costs they wouldn't have at the ACC, but market the games right in a nice 19,000-seat building and they shouldn't take too much of a hit.
The Bills, meanwhile, also have a couple of games every December with rotten weather and 15,000 empty seats at Ralph Wilson Stadium. So pull one of those out of Buffalo in 2008 and move it the 100 miles to Rogers' stadium. Larry and Ted could sell the popcorn and get their foot in the NFL door. Plus, each city gets a little something, rather than the biggest bankroll doing all the talking.
Goofy idea? Maybe. But it makes a lot more sense than that other one.
Think about it. Tanenbaum, who rides the fastest horse in the gang known as Maple Leaf Sports and Entertainment, is on record with Ted Rogers, who owns the Blue Jays and the stadium formerly known as SkyDome, as wanting an NFL team for Toronto if and when possible.
So show some good faith here. Larry could let the Raps play a couple of games in Buffalo, maybe against the Knicks, who would doubtless sell out in New York state, and the Celtics or Detroit or somebody else. There are plenty of midweek crowds of 13,000 at the Air Canada Centre over the course of a long season. If anybody here missed a couple of games, they could be made optional for season-ticket holders.
The Raps could develop a large potential U.S. market, one they don't actively harvest at all – and yes, I know, it's nuts to suggest MLSE ever leaves a dollar on any table anywhere. Buffalo has a good sports history, remember, and a handful of colleges, which suggests a basketball audience of some size, even though the Braves lasted only eight seasons in the NBA in the 1970s before becoming the Clippers. (By the way, the TorBuff Braves, as we called them, played 16 "home'' games in Toronto from 1971 to '75. So there's precedent.) Sure, the Raps would have costs they wouldn't have at the ACC, but market the games right in a nice 19,000-seat building and they shouldn't take too much of a hit.
The Bills, meanwhile, also have a couple of games every December with rotten weather and 15,000 empty seats at Ralph Wilson Stadium. So pull one of those out of Buffalo in 2008 and move it the 100 miles to Rogers' stadium. Larry and Ted could sell the popcorn and get their foot in the NFL door. Plus, each city gets a little something, rather than the biggest bankroll doing all the talking.
Goofy idea? Maybe. But it makes a lot more sense than that other one.
"Expect rejection, but expect more to overcome it." 
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