How Toronto Blue Jays Victories Hurt the Toronto Argonauts & the CFL.

[argofandave]

This article was written by Steve Thompson and is from www.bleacherreport.com on February 23rd, 2010.

The CFL has always been hurt by comparisons to the NFL, particularly in southern Ontario, but one of the more lasting wounds was inadvertently delivered by the Toronto Blue Jays.

More specifically, the wounds were inflicted by the combination of the Blue Jays' World Series victories in 1992 and 1993 and that drug that Canadian sports fans can't do without - American TV recognition and glory.

The Blue Jays had been quite consistent American League contenders since 1983 but always seemed doomed to being not quite good enough.

They consistently teased their fans with the thought that they might taste ultimate glory but either were defeated in the American League playoffs or choked on their way to a division title.

Off the field, the team seldom made a wrong move. Once the team became legitimate contenders in 1983, the team, the new kid on the Toronto sports scene, being only around since 1977, became the second hottest sports ticket in Toronto behind the Maple Leafs.

In 1991, the team became the first MLB team to surpass the four million mark in attendance. It was difficult to believe that unlike the Maple Leafs and Argonauts, the team had only been around for nearly a decade and a half.

The next two years put the team over the top with back-to-back World Series triumphs, climaxing with an all-time MLB legendary moment, the Joe Carter home run.

None of this should have hurt the CFL. The Argonaut ownership at the time was fronted by two legendary Canadian icons, Wayne Gretzky and John Candy, who did much to increase the popularity of the team by personal appearances.

The money for the team came from Los Angeles Kings owner Bruce McNall, then a major influence in the NHL, until his shady business dealings led to a jail sentence and the breakup of the winning ownership combination.

Meanwhile, the Blue Jays' World Series triumphs had an intoxicating effect on Toronto's sports fans that would prove dangerous to the existence of the Argonauts, if not to the CFL itself.

Canadians have always had a drug-like craving for American TV recognition and money that continues to this day.

American TV is the big time. To be a star on American television meant that you were a true star. Lorne Greene, Dan Aykroyd, and Candy himself among the many others went from obscurity to recognition once they became a hit on the American scene.

Except for hockey, and a few other actors and athletes, Canada has seldom awarded the adulation for its native sons and daughters until the Americans have done it first.

Currently there is a stamp series called "Canadians in Hollywood." You don't see stamps for actors/actresses who became famous only in Canada.

It has never stopped. Canada apes shows like American Idol, and there probably were uncountable Canadians who forsook the CTV broadcast of the opening ceremonies of the Vancouver Olympics in order to hear a blessing of Canada by NBC.

The CFL itself has not been immune to seeking American approval. One year, the guest speaker at the CFL banquet was Howard Cosell, then the hottest American sportscaster.

When the Blue Jays became contenders, American TV had to air more of their games and come to Toronto frequently. Now Torontonians could get a taste of American TV glory firsthand. Toronto became the place to be in baseball.

American TV interest peaked during the World Series years. Poor Bob Costas, who made a mild remark criticizing the Blue Jays, found himself plastered all over the local newspapers because he did not mindlessly love the team enough. Woe to the American announcer who did not follow the expected script!

So how did the Toronto Argonauts and the CFL become hurt by all of this?

After the World Series triumphs, with American TV glory all over North America and their city being the centre of the baseball universe, Toronto sports fans wanted to capture the biggest American sports prize, the Super Bowl.

The thinking became, "Now that we won the big one in baseball, let's win the biggest one in football too."

Toronto's sports fans had been able to follow the NFL since the 1950s. As the NFL became bigger in the United States, surpassing baseball in popularity, interest in the league by Toronto's sports fans grew in parallel proportion.

When there was talk of building a new stadium for the Blue Jays in the late 1980s, it was hoped that a new facility would lead to an NFL franchise.

One of the reasons why a team has not come was due to the blunder of building SkyDome or Rogers Centre with a too-small seating capacity.

But the World Series victories, coupled with American TV adulation, convinced a huge proportion of Toronto fans to shed franchises that were perceived as "minor league" and to demand a product worthy of their new status.

Attendance dropped off at Argonaut games. It became fashionable to disparage them and the CFL. The league was seen as "being in the way" of getting an NFL team.

Sometimes the team had to resort to gimmicks to sell tickets. One memorable one was to have Muhammad Ali appear at halftime.

A group that still hasn't disbanded was formed to seek an NFL team for Toronto. Every year they make a pilgrimage to whoever is the NFL commissioner.

Attendance nor the CFL's image still really hasn't recovered.

It's the reason a horrible Buffalo Bills team can play exhibition and regular season games at monopolistic prices. There is an element that will put up with anything to get an NFL team and more American TV glory.

Almost 30,000 of the fans in Orchard Park are Canadians. No wonder Ralph Wilson looked north of the border when unemployment and underemployment eroded much of the fanbase in Buffalo.

The story of the Grey Cup tells the sad truth. Before the Blue Jays won the World Series, it seemed that Toronto was hosting the Grey Cup every other year.

After the Blue Jays victories, the Grey Cup was run out of town, only daring to show its face (successfully) in Toronto three years ago.

Some Bleacher CFL fans believe that the GTA with its five million population could support two CFL teams. On paper, they are right.

But the reality of the Toronto sports scene is something else. The CFL is only too aware of the thirst for American TV glory and becoming "big league."

Toronto has wanted to host the Olympics and a World's Fair like Vancouver. It has to be satisfied with the 2015 Pan Am Games.

So in Toronto and other parts of southern Ontario, the CFL stands on brittle ground.

Few realize that the NFL only wants to exploit the Toronto market by playing one regular season and exhibition game at monopolistic prices, peddle NFL merchandise, and spread pro-NFL propaganda.

They don't want to grant "equality" to a foreign franchise that would have a bad effect on American TV ratings if they become contenders and be an unpopular draw in American cites because they are "foreign."

But Torontonians better think twice before they wish for the end of the Argonauts, because once they are gone, nothing might come back to take their place.

[D-Gap-Willie]

This article was written by Steve Thompson and is from www.bleacherreport.com on February 23rd, 2010.





The CFL has always been hurt by comparisons to the NFL, particularly in southern Ontario, but one of the more lasting wounds was inadvertently delivered by the Toronto Blue Jays.

More specifically/ ..........,
................. / bad effect on American TV ratings if they become contenders and be an unpopular draw in American cites because they are "foreign."


But Torontonians better think twice before they wish for the end of the Argonauts, because once they are gone, nothing might come back to take their place.

Toronto sports fans never cease to amaze me. Nowhere else in the world do fans of a particular team go out of their way ( sometimes to extremes) to demonize and castigate other teams from their city - both the fans and teams members of said teams. The practice sickens me, and regardless of how it may have started, or who initiated it, I believe it is time to put a stop to it.

Now we have an article from 2010 which is full of misinformation and assumptions, dragged back from the archives to try to fan the flames a little more. This is ludicrous. Give it up ! The last time I saw behavior like this was in High school, where one would loudly proclaim that his football team was far better than another's baseball team at the same school. Mind you, this behavior was only acceptable amongst freshmen.

Time to ditch the fabricated bigotry and behave like adults. I remember the sign years ago driving into Edmonton. "The City of Champions"


ON A SIDE NOTE: Where I come from, it is considered proper to adhere to a "fair use policy" when quoting a source. That means that you quote one or two sentences ( usually the first ones(s)) and/or summarize the articles contents. This is followed by a link to the actual article, not merely the publication. The sections which are quoted are surrounded by quote marks (""). It appears as though this entire posting may be a quote, although I am unsure.

[Ron]

I highly doubt many of the 45K at each jays game give a crap what the USA thinks about it.

[PullTogether73]

I highly doubt many of the 45K at each jays game give a crap what the USA thinks about it.

I couldn't disagree more with this statement.
I think many of those in attendance at a Blue Jays game are thrilled that Americans HAVE to take notice of the Blue Jays because they are so dominant this year.

[Ron]

I couldn't disagree more with this statement.
I think many of those in attendance at a Blue Jays game are thrilled that Americans HAVE to take notice of the Blue Jays because they are so dominant this year.

The media ... yes.


The fans. NO. They just go and have fun and enjoy the dominance of the Jays for entertainment sake. Much like the many sports fans that attended Toronto Grey Cup events because they were events and had a buzz in town. I doubt they were looking for USA approval for attending those GC events.

[D-Gap-Willie]

I couldn't disagree more with this statement.
I think many of those in attendance at a Blue Jays game are thrilled that Americans HAVE to take notice of the Blue Jays because they are so dominant this year.

I can assure that those in the United States are not paying any extra attention to the Blue Jays, unless the Blue Jays are in direct competition with THEIR team for a post-season spot. The US media have been trying to hype a US-Canada rivalry but it is not happening.

I heard a couple of comments when the Blue Jays acquired Tulowitsky and Price, but they were commenting that the Blue Jays were taking an enormous risk with their lack of a pitching rotation.

The only other attention that I have seen is some who are disappointed that the Blue Jays have increased attendance, and are now not likely to move to their favorite US city.

Donald Trump is big in US headlines, not the Blue Jays

[Will]

The article presupposes that the turning point was when the Blue Jays won the 1992 and 1993 World Series, but this is only partly accurate in my opinion. Argo attendance peaked in 1976 or 1977 when the team averaged upwards of 45,000 per game, however this attendance steadily declined to somewhere around 30,000-32,000 by 1981. I don't think that decline was necessarily caused by the Blue Jays as their attendance was not great as the team went through it's expansion growing pains. The Argo decline back then was more likely due to the fact that the team was terrible. However, the Argos increased attendance closer to 40,000 in the run and shoot era of 1982-1983, but this also corresponds with the Blue Jays first season above .500 which was 1983 when they went 89-73. Two years later, the Blue Jays won the AL East and I think that marked the first year that they matched or surpassed Argo average attendance. For the record the Argos were 6-10 in 1985 due to Condredge Holloway's injury. Argo attendance continued to decline at Exhibition Stadium until their last season in that location which was 1988 while the Blue Jays attendance increased. This was in spite of good Argo teams in 1987 and 1988. The Blue Jays remained a contender in the AL East although they failed to win the division in either of those years. It is my impression that the Blue Jays did a good job of marketing the team in the 1980's and despite their playoff failures and regular season collapses the fact that an expansion team built themselves into a contender so quickly was also considered impressive for the time. I believe Paul Woods discusses briefly in his book the lack of marketing that the Ralph Sazio-era Argos used. It is almost as if the pre-1982 Argos were OK in off-field initiatives while the on-field product stunk and the whole situation reversed itself post-1982. You'll also recall that Leo Cahill knew that the Toronto sports scene would never be the same as he and his coaches were meeting in the Argo offices at Exhibition Stadium during the first Blue Jays game.

Now I will turn my attention to 1992 and 1993. The Argos won the Grey Cup in 1991, supposedly had great ownership and attendance had crept back to the 35,000-40,000 range. However, this never matched the Blue Jays who drew 4,000,000 fans to SkyDome in 1991. The Argonauts first season at SkyDome was 1989 when they finished 7-11 and had one of the more horrid offenses in team history while the Blue Jays won the AL East. After the 1991 season the decision was made to let Matt Dunigan depart for Winnipeg because the team assumed that Rickey Foggie was capable of taking the reins. This was not the case and the team dropped to 6-12 and 3-15 in 1992 and 1993 respectively. This decline coupled with (i) the Blue Jays winning the World Series and perhaps (ii) the Maple Leafs run that year really precipitated the Argos downfall. You also have to consider the disintegration of the McNall-Gretzky-Candy ownership trifecta. Also, if we want to consider the NFL factor, I'll note that the Bills won 4 AFC championships in a row at that time. How much each of this played a factor is unknown, but attendance went from above 30,000 in 1992 to 16,000 in 1994. The time Argo attendance recovered slightly was when Cynamon and Sokolowski owned the team.

It is interesting as well that when the author wrote the piece the Blue Jays attendance was not all that great. They had just traded Roy Halladay to the Phillies and talk of a long rebuild was in order. The Argos had just come off a 3-15 season and coupled with lack of promotion/comped tickets precipitated the attendance decline fro 2010 to the present. Certainly with the Blue Jays in contention in the AL East this year the issue becomes much more prevalent. But, the Argos are responsible for some of this decline of their own doing. Sure they have won 6 Grey Cups in the last 32 years, but rarely have they had a sustained period of on-field success. You also couple that with some less than ideal ownership and here we are.

D-Gap Willie is correct that the Toronto sports scene is very fractured. But, there is such a large subset of the population that considers the CFL "bush league" or "minor league." These people will still cheer for what they consider to be the major league sports teams in Toronto (Maple Leafs, Blue Jays & Raptors). I don't like to have to say what I just said, but it is the truth.

[1argoholic]

The average fan who has jumped back on the Jays band wagon is all over the praise and attention the Jays get by the big old US of A. Screw them all!!!!

I've been saying that the TO sports scene is fractured on here for years. Everyone seems to be a Leaf fan and then cheers for one or two other teams. For me it's The Argos first always. Then I follow The Rock and Leafs. I may or may not happen to catch scores or highlights of the other TO teams. They really don't matter to me. I used to be a massive Jays fan but that has fallen off over the years due to strikes, drugs,salaries and Rogers. I've never been a fan of basketball or soccer.

[AngeloV]

I highly doubt many of the 45K at each jays game give a crap what the USA thinks about it.

Then why do Jays fans often take such offence that ESPN and FOX rarely carry there games on a National level? I hear this talk at my workplace all the time. Small sample size, but likely accurate.

[Will]

Then why do Jays fans often take such offence that ESPN and FOX rarely carry there games on a National level? I hear this talk at my workplace all the time. Small sample size, but likely accurate.

I also see such discussions (also about Power Rankings) from time-to-time on Twitter although those fans are more die-hard than not.

[Neely2005]

Here's the Link for the article if anyone wants it:

http://bleacherreport.com/articles/3...ts-and-the-cfl

Then why do Jays fans often take such offence that ESPN and FOX rarely carry there games on a National level? I hear this talk at my workplace all the time. Small sample size, but likely accurate.

I've heard people call in to sports radio shows numerous times with this very complaint.

[ArgoRavi]

The funny thing is that the Argos probably end up on national TV (ESPN2) in the U.S. more than the Jays do.

[Rich]

Now I will turn my attention to 1992 and 1993. The Argos won the Grey Cup in 1991, supposedly had great ownership and attendance had crept back to the 35,000-40,000 range. However, this never matched the Blue Jays who drew 4,000,000 fans to SkyDome in 1991. The Argonauts first season at SkyDome was 1989 when they finished 7-11 and had one of the more horrid offenses in team history while the Blue Jays won the AL East. After the 1991 season the decision was made to let Matt Dunigan depart for Winnipeg because the team assumed that Rickey Foggie was capable of taking the reins. This was not the case and the team dropped to 6-12 and 3-15 in 1992 and 1993 respectively. This decline coupled with (i) the Blue Jays winning the World Series and perhaps (ii) the Maple Leafs run that year really precipitated the Argos downfall. You also have to consider the disintegration of the McNall-Gretzky-Candy ownership trifecta. Also, if we want to consider the NFL factor, I'll note that the Bills won 4 AFC championships in a row at that time. How much each of this played a factor is unknown, but attendance went from above 30,000 in 1992 to 16,000 in 1994. The time Argo attendance recovered slightly was when Cynamon and Sokolowski owned the team.

Don't forget that Toronto was awarded an NBA franchise in November '93, and the team name was established in the spring of '94, dovetailing nicely with the "major-league" mania in the city at the time.

But, there is such a large subset of the population that considers the CFL "bush league" or "minor league." These people will still cheer for what they consider to be the major league sports teams in Toronto (Maple Leafs, Blue Jays & Raptors). I don't like to have to say what I just said, but it is the truth.

I blame the league for doing very little to change people's minds. The business world is full of badly-damaged brands that have risen from the ashes to become successful again . "Have you driven a Ford...lately?"

[AngeloV]

I blame the league for doing very little to change people's minds. The business world is full of badly-damaged brands that have risen from the ashes to become successful again . "Have you driven a Ford...lately?"

I can't blame the league for this. I honestly believe that the majority of sports fans are of the casual variety. When they see that the top players in the other leagues make more than any entire teams roster in the CFL does, they automatically perceive the league as minor league. It is an ignorant opinion, but it's also the reality.

[Rich]

I can't blame the league for this. I honestly believe that the majority of sports fans are of the casual variety. When they see that the top players in the other leagues make more than any entire teams roster in the CFL does, they automatically perceive the league as minor league. It is an ignorant opinion, but it's also the reality.

Opinions can be changed by educating people. The league has done nothing to educate casual fans that the relative quality of the CFL product is not commensurate with the salary structure. They could attack this with an education/marketing campaign, but they have failed to do so.

[Will]

Opinions can be changed by educating people. The league has done nothing to educate casual fans that the relative quality of the CFL product is not commensurate with the salary structure. They could attack this with an education/marketing campaign, but they have failed to do so.

I've been thinking about the same question for several months now and that is whether the CFL should be taking the haters head-on. One thing you certainly notice among some CFL haters is just how ignorant they are about certain aspects of the league. There is woeful ignorance about TV ratings, although this year that isn't necessarily something we want to boast about.

[Rich]

whether the CFL should be taking the haters head-on.

I think they have to if they want to survive. Because the media isn't going to do it. With the exception of champions like Mike Hogan and a couple of the TSN guys, most of the media is just as ignorant about the relative quality of the CFL as the haters are. That's where the league's education campaign should start -- with the individual members of the media.

[ArgoRavi]

I've been thinking about the same question for several months now and that is whether the CFL should be taking the haters head-on. One thing you certainly notice among some CFL haters is just how ignorant they are about certain aspects of the league. There is woeful ignorance about TV ratings, although this year that isn't necessarily something we want to boast about.

The ratings really haven't been bad this year. I believe that they are tracking pretty close to where they were last season with perhaps a slight decline. I cannot recall a summer with more sports competition for the CFL than this one (i.e., a contending Jays team, Pan Am Games, FIBA, FIFA Women's World Cup). Given all of that competition, the CFL has more than held its own as far as ratings and attendance go this year. Chris Zelkovich wrote about the ratings last week: https://ca.sports.yahoo.com/blogs/eh...180744519.html

[Will]

The ratings really haven't been bad this year. I believe that they are tracking pretty close to where they were last season with perhaps a slight decline. I cannot recall a summer with more sports competition for the CFL than this one (i.e., a contending Jays team, Pan Am Games, FIBA, FIFA Women's World Cup). Given all of that competition, the CFL has more than held its own as far as ratings and attendance go this year. Chris Zelkovich wrote about the ratings last week: https://ca.sports.yahoo.com/blogs/eh...180744519.html

The haters are simply going to interpret it the other way.

[R.J]

The ratings really haven't been bad this year. I believe that they are tracking pretty close to where they were last season with perhaps a slight decline. I cannot recall a summer with more sports competition for the CFL than this one (i.e., a contending Jays team, Pan Am Games, FIBA, FIFA Women's World Cup). Given all of that competition, the CFL has more than held its own as far as ratings and attendance go this year. Chris Zelkovich wrote about the ratings last week: https://ca.sports.yahoo.com/blogs/eh...180744519.html

TSN ratings are down, but RDS ratings are up, so it's balancing itself out to a degree, however, there's no question the CFL ratings have been on the downturn since Mid September 2013.
I wonder how much higher the Argonauts - Ticats game would have been had the game been available on Southern Ontario's TSN4.