Quote Originally Posted by Downtownfan View Post
You know, despite all the "buying the Argos as a chip to get the NFL" talk, I really do think that is pie- in the sky. I think the NFL is playing Toronto (again).

Sure, say old man Wilson passes on in the next three or five years. Anybody in Toronto who wants to buy the Bills (there is NO expansion on the horizon, and Toronto is now Bills territory) would have to: come up with about $1 billion US (with a Canadian dollar dropping; Tannenbaum and/or E. Rogers would have to sell their stakes in MLSE/Rogers) to beat out any other bidder from Buffalo or the US; get past the NFL itself (which has a veto on potential owners); get past Senator Schumer and Governor Cuomo (who wants to run for president in 2016); get past the US TV networks (which make no money off this); pay a $400 million exit fee from a newly renovated RW Stadium; build a stadium (Rogers Centre won't cut it-- Goddell himself said Toronto has "stadium issues"); get past a really pissed off WNY fan base, and then drop a team on Toronto, a city that has shown really no appetite for NFL football when it comes down to it.

This is pretty damn hard to overcome-- but in the meantime, MLSE/Tannenbaum have to be "good owners" to prove to the NFL that they are ready-- the Argos cannot be neglected, as it would defeat the rationale for having the team in the first place. I think we will be fine with MLSE or Tannenbaum, and before you know it, the Argos will be the only other profitable MLSE franchise in the stable.

This is going to happen fairly soon, looks like, and we will finally have stable ownership for a long time. There may be some spin ("we had to buy the Argos," "its how we get an NFL team," "this is charity") but the reality will be that we will be insulated from all kinds of media/CFL haters attacks by being part of MLSE. And we will have a newish stadium. And we will have a new TV deal. Things are looking up.
Well said! BTW, as I was watching a little of the NHL on NBC this past Sunday, the thought crossed my mind as to how American networks really want nothing to do with Canadian-based pro sports teams. When was the last time that a Canadian-based NHL team appeared on NBC for a normal regular-season game (not an outdoor game)? When was the last time that the Raptors played on ABC? How about the Blue Jays on FOX? There is no way that the U.S. networks want anything to do with an NFL team in Toronto or anywhere else in Canada which is yet another reason why that will not happen.